Betty Brock Bell

Judge Betty Brock Bell was the first African American woman Justice of the Peace in Harris County, Texas.

Bell, a civil rights pioneer and long time campaign manager for the Democratic Party, served on the bench for over 20 years until her forced retirement in 2005.

For the last decade of her career Bell was engaged in a near constant fight with the Houston Bar Association. The conflict stemmed from an 1995 incident in which Bell ordered an attorney held in contempt for disrespecting her in the hallway of her courtroom. Bell believed that attorneys were not entitled to any special treatment in her court and often insisted that they be treated no differently than regular people. According to Judge Bell, the attorneys came to resent the fact that they were not given special treatment and retaliated against her in the bar association poll.

Sources

Houston Press story about Bell's fight with the Houston Bar Association