Griffin Bell, former attorney general, dies at 90

Reputation for integrity
A sharp dresser with a Southern drawl, Bell was more sought-after than many Wall Street lawyers. His reputation for integrity and his status as a former attorney general brought him many high-profile cases.

He was hired by E.F. Hutton to investigate charges that some members of the brokerage firm had engaged in complex fraud schemes. He also headed investigations into the Exxon Valdez oil spill in Alaska, and Procter & Gamble Co. hired him to sue people who circulated false rumors that the company's moon-and-stars logo was a satanic symbol.

In 1986, he went to Nicaragua to help represent captured American mercenary Eugene Hasenfus. And in 1992, President George H. W. Bush hired Bell to be his private lawyer in the Iran-Contra scandal.

His support of Vandiver in Georgia's 1958 governor's race won him the appointment as chief of staff and placed him in the middle of the school desegregation fight. Bell negotiated with black leaders to avoid violence and initiated the Sibley Commission, which held statewide public hearings on integration.

Vandiver, whose campaign slogan of "No, Not One" signified his intent to keep Georgia's schools from integrating, eventually backed off and pushed the Legislature to repeal state segregation laws.

"I think maybe the reason he put me in there was because I had told him privately I thought he was making a grave mistake taking such a strong position," Bell recalled during an interview in the New York Times Magazine in 1977.

Moderate philosophy
In 1961, President Kennedy appointed Bell to the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans. He served there for 15 years, building a record as a moderate who shied away from busing as a means of school desegregation.

His rulings generally supported civil rights in employment and voting cases, and he wrote opinions in defense of civil rights demonstrations.

"I've always believed I should be moderate on the bench," he told the Senate Judiciary Committee during hearings on his confirmation as attorney general.

Bell's latest book "Footnotes to History: A Primer on the American Political Character," recently was published by Mercer University Press. It is a collection of speeches he gave during his long career. Originally scheduled for release this spring, the publisher pushed up the release date after Bell's health declined.

Bell continued to practice law well after his 80th birthday, despite battling kidney disease and pancreatic cancer in recent years. A steady stream of family and friends had trekked down to his Americus home over the last few months to pay their respects.

"He was the very same man I met here in 1983," said Robert Hays, chairman of King & Spalding, who visited Bell in November. "To a person, everyone remarked that he had not missed one step during any of his time. He ended his life with as much clarity and insight as he ever had."

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