Rosalyn Blake Bell

Judge Rosalyn Blake Bell's achievements in justice and law spanned over 40 years. In 1983, she became the second woman appointed to the Maryland Court of Special Appeals (now the Appellate Court of Maryland). In both her personal and professional life, Bell tirelessly advocated for women, within the profession of law and as litigants and victims in the legal system.

Bell was born in Trenton, New Jersey, in 1923, to Roger H. and Eva R. Blake. After her parents' divorce, she spent most of her childhood living with her mother, who owned her own business, a flower shop. Her mother raised her as a single parent and working woman, unusual for the time. Bell said her mother always wanted to have a career and it never occurred to her to deviate from this life course.

After earning a Bachelor of Science from Simmons College in 1944, her employer, a lawyer, urged her to earn a law degree. In 1947, she and her husband of two years, Kirk V. Bell, enrolled in law school at National University (now merged with George Washington University) in Washington, D.C. Even though her son was born after her first year of school, Bell continued her legal education at night and graduated with honors. She was admitted to the District of Columbia Bar in 1951 and the Maryland Bar in 1965.

Bell primarily cared for her home and family during the next ten years and did not return to full-time law until the early 1960s. She and her husband started their private practice after they moved to Montgomery County, Maryland.

In Montgomery County, she co-founded and was the director of the Montgomery-Prince George's Continuing Legal Education Institute from 1973-1977. She held the Governorship of the Maryland State Bar Association in 1976, and again in 1989. Bell was the President of the Maryland Women's Bar Association from 1983 to 1985.

Bell's distinguished career as an attorney was recognized in 1978 when she was appointed to the District Court of Maryland in Montgomery County, at a time when there were only seven other women judges in the state. Two years later, she was elevated to Associate Judge of the Montgomery County Circuit Court. Bell served on the Court of Special Appeals from 1983 until 1993.

Bell remained a dedicated women's rights advocate throughout her years on the bench. Her initiative resulted in the establishment of the Montgomery County Spouse Abuse Task Force. This group brought about many improvements in the legal system's response to victims of domestic violence through public education efforts and legislative activities. She led this task force for many years following its inception in 1981. Bell was a leader in the gender fairness movement on both the state and national level. Her work with the Special Joint Committee on Gender Bias in the Courts, which relied heavily on a study on alimony and financially dependent spouses in Montgomery County conducted personally by Bell, resulted in improved handling of domestic cases in Maryland.

In 1987, Bell was named chair of the National Association of Women Judges National Task Force on Gender Bias in the Courts, an event attended by over 140 judges, judicial educators, and staff in Williamsburg, Virginia. Also, in 1987, Bell initiated a conference for training women lawyers in the judicial selection process, a conference so successful that it was repeated by the Maryland Women's Bar in 1990. Before the original conference, only 17 (8 percent) of Maryland's 214 appellate and trial judges were women. By 1993, there were 32 women judges (15 percent), many of whom attended this program.

Bell served on Governor Schaefer's Task Force of Family Law, established in January 1991. This task force examined the current system of family law in Maryland in light of the magnitude of social and economic consequences of divorce. It addressed the inequities that result from the current system. The task force delivered its report in October 1992.

Rosalyn Blake Bell devoted her personal and professional life to improving women's lives. In the words of her nominator:

"Judge Bell does more than show the way; she takes the responsibility of reaching behind her to help other women along the path."

Biography courtesy of the Maryland Commission for Women, 1993; updated 2023.