Kalamazoo,
Michigan
Hon. Curtis J. Bell has served Kalamazoo County, Michigan, as a probate judge since 2005. Judge Bell presided in the Family Division of the Circuit Court from 2005 through 2013. From 2013 through January 2023, he presided over the Probate Court with an emphasis on matters related to mental health, trusts, wills, and estates. From 2014 until 2018, Judge Bell served as the Chief Judge of the 9th Circuit/Probate Court for Kalamazoo County. Effective January 1st, 2023, he is now the presiding judge for the Civil Division of the 9th Circuit/Probate Court and assigned by the Michigan Supreme Court as the business court judge for Kalamazoo County. As an adjunct professor at Western Michigan University’s Haworth College of Business, Judge Bell taught business law for over 2 decades. Since 2022, he has served as an adjunct professor for Western Michigan University Homer Stryker M.D. School of Medicine. Since 2024, Judge Bell has taught business courses in China as a visiting professor at Guizhou University of Finance and Economics on behalf of Western Michigan University. In 2017, he became faculty for the National Judicial College in Reno, Nevada. From 2018-2023, Judge Bell served as an instructor at the Kalamazoo Valley Police Academy. He currently serves on the Michigan Judicial Counsel, as president of the Michigan Probate Judges Association, and is the immediate past president for the Association of Black Judges of Michigan. From 2013 until 2020, Judge Bell served on the Governor’s Mental Health Diversion Council, where he chaired the ad hoc committee from 2014 until 2020.
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