The weekly TGCvocations column asks practitioners about their jobs and how they integrate their faith and work. Interviews are conducted and condensed by Bethany L. Jenkins, director of TGC’s Every Square Inch.
Ken Bell is a senior partner at Clark, Partington, Hart, Larry, Bond & Stackhouse in Pensacola, Florida, where he leads the firm’s appellate/trial support group and maintains an active alternative dispute resolution (ADR) and litigation practice. Formerly, he served as a circuit judge for 12 years and a justice on the Florida Supreme Court for six years.
What is the biggest difference between being a judge and being a lawyer?
Judges and lawyers play distinct, integral roles in our justice system, which is designed to peacefully resolve legal disputes. Lawyers are professional storytellers. They tell their client’s version of a controversy and argue why the law supports a conclusion in their favor. As neutral arbiters, judges distill what really happened from the competing stories. This true story is typically in between the advocated positions presented. The judge then concludes the controversy by applying the law to this story. In this way, temporal justice is done according to the rule of law.
What do you mean by “temporal” justice?
It’s beautiful to see humans created in the image of God ordering their societies in just ways: punishing criminals, protecting society, peacefully resolving civil disputes. For me, the judicial process mirrors Psalm 1, which says that evil will not stand in the company of the righteous.
Yet this system is imperfect. On two separate occasions, for example, I had to impose grossly unjust sentences—life in prison—on men who had committed property crimes. One asked me, “Judge, can you tell me that’s fair?” I replied honestly, “No, I can’t.” But I was as subject to the law as they. I had to impose the mandated sentence.
Did you have opportunities to effect change in the system?
Yes, in some ways. I served on the national board of Justice Fellowship, which promotes biblical principles of restorative justice. Also, God opened my eyes to an inequality between juvenile males and juvenile females—males usually found rehabilitative programs within two months, but females often waited a year for beds to open up. Although there was only so much I could do, I used my position as the catalyst for community leaders to close the gap. Eventually, PACE Center for Girls, which had one program in Jacksonville, was opened in Santa Rosa County. PACE now serves 2,000 girls annually at its 17 centers throughout Florida.
As a lawyer, have you ever had to decline working with a client for ethical reasons?
Only once. Prior to taking the bench, a big real estate client asked me to conform to a standard, but unethical—if not illegal—closing practice. He told me, “Everyone does it.” I declined the request, and he remained a client. Since leaving the judiciary, I’ve never been asked to do anything unethical or immoral. I have, however, represented a business client with a product I dislike. I do that because I believe everyone is entitled to a fair representation in court, and the client insists its attorneys act to the highest of standards.
Where do you find hope and guidance in your work?
When I was a judge, I memorized Jehoshaphat’s charge to the judges in Judah: “Consider what you do, for you judge not for man but for the LORD. He is with you in giving judgment. Now then, let the fear of the LORD be upon you. Be careful what you do, for there is no injustice with the LORD our God, or partiality or taking bribes” (2 Chron. 19:6-7). Similarly, our modern justice system says, “Justice is blind.” Unlike many other countries, we do not tolerate partiality or bribes. When I wore the robe, I was a steward of justice under God for his purposes and under the people for their interests and protection. As a lawyer, I find hope and guidance in the same truths. I respect people, but I’m no respecter of persons in terms of their power or position.
Is there enough evidence for us to believe the Gospels?
In an age of faith deconstruction and skepticism about the Bible’s authority, it’s common to hear claims that the Gospels are unreliable propaganda. And if the Gospels are shown to be historically unreliable, the whole foundation of Christianity begins to crumble.
