Attorney
Jodie A. Bell
Jodie Bell is an experienced trial attorney who, for over twenty years, has handled hundreds of criminal matters at various stages in state and federal court at the trial and appellate levels. She has obtained favorable results from juries in both state and federal court. Ms. Bell also represents prospective attorneys on matters pending before the Board of Law Examiners.
In 1994, Ms. Bell graduated from Golden Gate University School of Law with an emphasis in public interest law. While in law school, Ms. Bell interned at the San Francisco Office of the Public Defender, the First District Appellate Project and the Women’s Employment Rights Clinic. Following graduation, Ms. Bell practiced law, primarily criminal defense, in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Ms. Bell moved to Tennessee in 1997 where she secured a clerkship with the late Davidson County Criminal Court Judge Thomas H. Shriver, assisting in researching issues and writing opinions.
Following her clerkship, Ms. Bell began service as a Davidson County Assistant Public Defender where she handled thousands of criminal matters. Ms. Bell founded the criminal defense firm of Bell, Tennent and Frogge, pllc, where, for eleven years, Ms. Bell continued her trial, appellate and post-conviction practice in the State and Federal Courts of Middle Tennessee, handling complex criminal matters. Today, Ms. Bell is a solo practitioner who continues to fight for justice on a daily basis.
Ms. Bell appreciates that a criminal accusation is one of the most stressful and uncertain situations facing an individual and that an accusation or conviction can have extremely serious consequences that not only can impact a person’s freedom, but can affect their family, their employment and general well-being. Ms. Bell strives to provide comprehensive representation that is aggressive, empathetic and thorough. In addition to criminal matters, Ms. Bell handles forfeiture matters, orders of protection and assists potential attorneys with licensing issues before the Board of Law Examiners.
Ms. Bell is a member of the National Association of Criminal Defense Attorneys, the Tennessee Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, the Nashville Bar Association and the Lawyer’s Association for Women. Ms. Bell has also served as a board member for Reconciliation Prison Ministries and the Tennessee Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers. Ms. Bell frequently speaks at training seminars on issues related to criminal defense and acts as a mentor for new attorneys to state and federal criminal practice. Ms. Bell served on the 2018 committee to rewrite the local federal criminal rules for the District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee and has consistently served in various roles promoting and supporting the Criminal Justice Act Panel for the Middle District of Tennessee. Ms. Bell was named the 2014 CJA Panel Attorney of the Year for the Middle District of Tennessee. Ms. Bell is also a 2019 Nashville Bar Association Fellow.
Education
GOLDEN GATE UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF LAW
1994
Bar Admissions
TENNESSEE, CALIFORNIA