Magistrate Janette Bell graduated from Miami University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Sociology with an emphasis in Criminology in 1987. She graduated from Cleveland-Marshall College of Law in 1990 and began practicing law in November, 1990.

While in law school, she worked as a law clerk for the Painesville office of the Legal Aid Society (1987-1989) until she was hired as a law clerk at the Lake County Prosecutor’s Office in 1989. She was then hired as an Assistant Prosecuting Attorney in 1990 after passing the bar exam.

Magistrate Bell handled juvenile matters and adult felony cases until 1995 when she became the supervisor of the Juvenile Division. She remained in that position until 2003 when she began working in the Geauga County Prosecutor’s Office. In that capacity, she supervised the adult felony and juvenile divisions until 2009 when she began her time here at Lake County Juvenile as a full-time Magistrate.

Presently, Magistrate Bell hears a wide variety of Juvenile Court matters, including delinquent, unruly and juvenile traffic offenses; abuse, dependency and neglect cases; and child custody, support, paternity and parenting time matters.

Magistrate Bell also worked at Lakeland Community College as a part-time instructor in the paralegal program from 1992 through 2012 teaching primarily Legal Research and Writing and Criminal Law and Procedure.