After graduating from law school Bell worked as a St. Louis County public defender. He later joined the faculty of Florissant Valley Community College as a professor in the criminology department. Additionally, he also was appointed to be a municipal court judge in Velda City and municipal prosecutor in Riverview. While working as a municipal judge in Velda City, Bell was sued by Arch City Defenders, a local nonprofit, for running an illegal bail system. In 2015 during the Ferguson Protests he was elected to the city council with strong support from some activists. During his time on the council he helped to implement the consent decree to reform the city’s criminal justice system through both police and court reform.