Elected to Office: August 27, 2012
Address:
Justice A.A. Birch Building, 408 2nd Avenue North, Suite 4130, P.O. Box 196300 Nashville, Tennessee 37219
Administrative Assistant: Elizabeth Andrade
Email: ElizabethRAndrade@jisnashville.gov
Phone: (615) 862-8341
Fax: (615) 862-8343
Judge’s Biography
Judge Rachel L. Bell is a third generation Native Nashvillian and proud graduate of Hillsboro Comprehensive High School, where she was a stellar basketball player. Judge Bell received a NCCA, Division I-Women’s Basketball scholarship to Auburn University winning the SEC Tournament Championship her Freshman Year in 1997 and finished her collegiate career at The University of Memphis earning her Bachelor of Science in Education and her Juris Doctorate Degree from Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law.
In 2012, Judge Bell, was elected General Sessions Court Judge, Division VIII (8) and unanimously re-elected in 2014 and 2022 to her 3rd term, with her campaign slogan: “Nashville’s Judge serving ON and OFF the bench, Ringing the BELL for Justice!!“®
Judge Rachel is the first openly bi-sexual judge in the State of TN and first elected Judge to identify LGBTQ+ in Nashville, TN. She is also the founder of the Music City Community Court (MCCC) with a mission to create initiatives focused on preventive, diversionary and restorative justice. Its vision is to do all it can to help break the playground to prison pipeline; to restore and rehabilitate lives by using its power and resources to move the needle for marginalized people. MCCC is the first in the State of TN and has 3 specialty courts named RESTORE Re-Entry Court for Returning Citizens, C.A.R.E. (Creating Avenues for Restoration & Empowerment) Diversionary Court for offenders that are Ages 18-30 and the L.E.G.A.C.Y. (Let Every Goal Achieve Continuous Yields) Housing Resource Diversionary Court & Program that provides tools to assist tenants dealing with rent arrearages and eviction. During COVID in 2021, Judge Rachel’s work was featured during the White House Eviction Prevention Summit, the Black News Channel and MSNBC’s Andrea Mitchell Show with Former Secretary of HUD, Julian Castro.
Judge Rachel has won numerous awards a few to mention, the TN Human Rights Award for Outstanding Service, the Women Who Rock Nashville “Judicial Excellence Award, the Power Moves Award, the NAACP LEGACY Award, the Janice M. Holder Access to Justice Award and the LEGALTECH Award for use of technology within the courts. She also serves as an Adjunct Professor at Fisk University with the John R. Lewis Graduate Social Justice and Leadership Program. Judge Rachel is a true advocate for the LGBTQ+ community and is a David Bohnett Fellow with the LGBTQ+ Victory Institute and was selected and completed the Harvard Kennedy School for Senior Executives in State and Local Government.
Judge Rachel is an active member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Incorporated, New Covenant Christian Church, Disciples of Christ and worships with her wife at Friendship Missionary Baptist Church, A City of Grace. Judge Rachel is on the Board of Directors for the Minerva Foundation, Stonewall Bar Association, Napier Looby Bar Association, the National Bar Association LGBTQ+ Committee, the National Bar Association Judicial Council Communications Chair and is the President and Board Chair for the Bordeaux Chamber of Commerce and Ring the BELL Foundation.
Judge Rachel lives in Nashville, TN with her wife, Dr. Dorsha N. James, MD who is the Medical Director at Tennessee State University. They both own Solutions NOW, Inc. as consultants in their respective fields and are truly focused on the I AM … JUST HUMAN movement to provoke people to make the choice to step away from the labels used to define us and instead choose to see everyone under the unifying umbrella of humanity. The I AM . . . JUST HUMAN campaign encourages individuals to build relationships on the foundation of unconditional love and partake in community outreach and activism.
Judge Rachel cares deeply about equal justice and her mantras are to “Control the Controllable” ® and “Justice does NOT stop at the courthouse steps!” ®
NEWS:
June 27, 2024 – “Judge Rachel L. Bell Honored for LGBTQ+ Leadership”
Judge Rachel L. Bell honored for LGBTQ+ Leadership – Nashville PRIDE, Inc.
February 4, 2021 – North Nashville judge runs “unprecedented’ courtroom aimed to rehabilitate low-level criminals
NASHVILLE, Tenn (WKRN) — The McGruder Center sits in the heart of North Nashville. For some, it’s a refuge, surrounded by violence.
For the past 3 years, violent crime has rocked Nashville’s North Precinct, with 77 homicides in that time. It’s a grim fact one judge is hoping to turn around.
On a normal day, when someone commits a crime, the process is generally the same. The person is arrested, appears before a judge inside the Justice A.A. Birch Building, the judge makes his or her ruling, and the process continues from there. However, a different kind of courtroom is helping to stop young adults from becoming repeat offenders.
“I have always known that North Nashville and parts of Nashville, had some serious issues that were dealing with lack of resources and opportunities and you know when you’re growing up in North Nashville you can’t help but know that there are some issues,” explained Judge Rachel Bell, Founder of the Music City Community Courtroom.
Judge Bell has served as a General Sessions Court Judge since 2012. Bell, a third generation Nashvillian, was re-elected to her seat in 2014 on the slogan, “Nashville’s Judge serving ON and OFF the bench, Ringing the BELL for Justice!!”