Linda Bell

Judge Linda Bell serves as the Chief Judge for the Eighth Judicial District Court of Clark County. Judge Bell first took the bench in January of 2009. In 2019, her peers on the bench elected Judge Bell to serve as the Chief Judge of the largest court in the State of Nevada. As Chief Judge, Judge Bell is responsible for overseeing the entire operation of a large, high-volume court. Approximately 750 people work for the court and the court receives more than 100,000 new cases each year involving felony criminal, civil, and family matters.

Under the leadership of Chief Judge Linda Bell, the Eighth Judicial District Court took swift action to manage the unprecedented challenges of a pandemic. Judge Bell also led development and implementation of a COVID-19 trial plan to allow jury trials to move forward safely when many other courts remained closed. During her tenure with the court, Judge Bell has been a driving force in the proliferation of specialty courts in District Court, and currently presides over the Gambling Treatment Court.

A third generation Nevadan, Judge Bell grew up primarily in Reno, where she attended Anderson elementary school, Pine Middle School and Wooster High School. She completed high school in Las Vegas, graduating with honors from Bonanza High School. Judge Bell also graduated with honors from University of Nevada, Reno. In 1993, Judge Bell received her law degree magna cum laude from the University of San Diego School of Law.

Judge Bell was admitted to the Nevada State Bar in October of 1993. After graduation, she worked as a law clerk to the Honorable Sally Loehrer in the Eighth Judicial District Court. Following her clerkship, Judge Bell worked in private practice, practicing in the areas of medical malpractice and family law. After three years in private practice, Judge Bell served as a public defender for five years in Clark County, handling felony criminal trial cases. She then spent seven years in the non-capital post-conviction unit of the Law Offices of the Federal Public Defender, handling complex post-conviction cases. Judge Bell argued a number of times before the Nevada Supreme Court and Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.

Judge Bell is deeply committed to giving back to the community. She has been a mentor and role model to countless judges, lawyers, and students. She gives her time generously to educate youth in a variety of programs from elementary school to college, including Project Real and Trial by Peers. She was honored as the Trial by Peers youth program Judge of the Year in 2011. She volunteered as a Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) to speak on behalf of abused and neglected children – a program that she now oversees in her role as Chief Judge. Among other professional and community activity, Judge Bell has previously served as a board member of Family and Child Treatment, a board member of the Southern Nevada Women Attorneys and a board member of the Nevada Attorneys for Criminal Justice.

Judge Bell serves as Immediate Past Chair of the National Conference of State Trial Judges and served as Chair of the ABA Judicial Division Ethics and Professional Responsibility Committee for two years. Judge Bell is a past president of Nevada District Judges Association. She served as president of the Howard D. McKibben Chapter of the American Inn of Court from May 2012 to May 2014. Since 2011, Judge Bell has taught criminal law and criminal procedure at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Judge Bell graduated from the Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce Leadership Las Vegas program in 2008 and remains actively involved in Leadership Las Vegas. Judge Bell was a 2019 recipient of the Clark County Law Foundation Liberty Bell Award and the 2021 recipient of the Southern Nevada Women Attorney’s annual Miriam Shearing Award.