He then spent 13 years in private practice in his hometown while also serving as a municipal judge in 5 towns and cities of Oklahoma.
In 2005, he was appointed to fill a vacancy on the Oklahoma Court of Civil Appeals, a position he still holds to this after winning votes on retention in 2006, 2012 and 2018.
v. City of Claremore, where the appeals panel overturned a lower court decision because the police had refused to release the patrol car's dash-cam video of a DUI arrest.
Judge Bell showed that the evidence in question was not exempted from the Open Records Act, as claimed by the police, and must be released on request.
[6] The case was appealed after Judge Sheila A. Condren had ruled against Ward & Lee's client, Richard Stangland, who had been arrested for DUI by a Claremore Police Department (CPD) officer.
The core issue in this case was the refusal of the CPD to release the dash-cam video of the arrest (along with certain other items of evidence), so that Attorney Lee could present them at the lower court trial.
CPD replied that it adhered to a policy written by Police Chief in 2011, stating that evidence such as dash cam videos and audios were not public records and must not be released for any reason without his specific approval.
The appeals verdict also noted that, "...any person denied access to a public record and who successfully brings a civil action for declarative or injunctive relief is entitled to reasonable attorney fees.