--- title: "Kenneth Davis Bell Sr. | KnowJudges" canonical: "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/kenneth-davis-bell-sr" page_type: "judge_profile" updated: "2026-10-08" --- # Kenneth Davis Bell Sr. U.S. District Court for the Western District of North Carolina · Judge ## Profile - Court: U.S. District Court for the Western District of North Carolina - State: North Carolina - Role: Judge - Service status: active - Last verified: 2026-07-25 ## Summary Official statewide and applicable court procedural guidance applies to this judge. ## Biography ### Professional career - Judge, District Court, W.D. North Carolina, 2019-present - American federal judge serving on the United States District Court for the Western District of North Carolina since June 12, 2019 - Assistant U.S. attorney, Western District of North Carolina, 1983-1988, 1990-2003; first assistant U.S. attorney, 1993-2003 ### Education - Wake Forest University School of Law — J.D. (1983) - Wake Forest University — B.A. (1980) ### Additional information - Private practice, Charlotte, North Carolina, 2003-2019 - In 2003, he received the DOJ’s John Marshall Award for prosecuting the first conviction for material support to a terrorist organization — a Hezbollah cell - He also ran unsuccessfully for North Carolina’s 5th Congressional District in 1990. - Private practice, Winston-Salem, North Carolina, 1988-1990 - Born 1958 in Bedford, Ohio. - Date of birth: 1958-01-01 - Birth place: Bedford, OH ## Before you appear - Read the judge-specific standing order first when one is listed. - Check the docket and case orders for requirements that supersede broader guidance. - Confirm current remote-access and courtroom technology arrangements before the proceeding. ## Courtroom Rules ### civil remote testimony Scope: courtwide In federal district-court civil proceedings, testimony is ordinarily taken in open court; remote contemporaneous testimony requires good cause in compelling circumstances and appropriate safeguards. Evidence excerpt: For good cause in compelling circumstances and with appropriate safeguards, the court may permit testimony in open court by contemporaneous transmission from a different location. [Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 43(a), Testimony in Open Court](https://www.uscourts.gov/forms-rules/current-rules-practice-procedure/federal-rules-civil-procedure) Source checked: 2026-07-26 ### criminal recording and broadcasting Scope: courtwide Federal district courts may not permit courtroom photography or broadcasting during criminal judicial proceedings unless a statute or another federal rule provides an exception. Evidence excerpt: Except as otherwise provided by a statute or these rules, the court must not permit the taking of photographs in the courtroom during judicial proceedings or the broadcasting of judicial proceedings from the courtroom. [Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 53, Courtroom Photographing and Broadcasting Prohibited](https://www.uscourts.gov/court-records/access-court-proceedings/remote-public-access-proceedings/history-cameras-broadcasting-and-remote-public-access-courts) Source checked: 2026-07-26 ## Sources - [Official profile](https://www.fjc.gov/node/6489616) - [Official roster](https://www.fjc.gov/node/6489616) - [Federal Judicial Center biography](https://www.fjc.gov/node/6489616) - [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/8546/kenneth-davis-bell-sr/) - [Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 43(a), Testimony in Open Court](https://www.uscourts.gov/forms-rules/current-rules-practice-procedure/federal-rules-civil-procedure) - [Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 53, Courtroom Photographing and Broadcasting Prohibited](https://www.uscourts.gov/court-records/access-court-proceedings/remote-public-access-proceedings/history-cameras-broadcasting-and-remote-public-access-courts) - [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/8546/kenneth-davis-bell-sr/) - [Wikidata: Kenneth D. Bell](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q51726184) ## JSON-LD ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/kenneth-davis-bell-sr", "url": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/kenneth-davis-bell-sr", "name": "Kenneth Davis Bell Sr. | KnowJudges", "description": "Kenneth Davis Bell Sr., U.S. District Court for the Western District of North Carolina. 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Section-specific exceptions, waivers, later amendments and case orders remain applicable. This is a source excerpt, not an exhaustive statement of the rule. [Official source](https://www.uscourts.gov/sites/default/files/document/federal-rules-of-civil-procedure.pdf). Collected 2026-10-27. - [Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure, December 1, 2025](https://knowjudges.com/courtroom-rules/national-shared-set-8721a344fececced2257fe1d) — Criminal proceedings in United States District Courts; this conservative mapping does not distribute appellate-specific provisions to appellate judges. Section-specific exceptions, waivers, later amendments and case orders remain applicable. This is a source excerpt, not an exhaustive statement of the rule. [Official source](https://www.uscourts.gov/sites/default/files/document/federal-rules-of-criminal-procedure.pdf). Collected 2026-10-27.