Griffin Boyette Bell (October 31, 1918 – January 5, 2009) was the 72nd Attorney General of the United States, having served under President Jimmy Carter. Previously, he was a U.S. circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. Education and career Born on October 31, 1918, in Americus, Georgia. He served in the United States Army from 1942 to 1946 in the Quartermaster Corps and Transportation Corps. He was stationed at Fort Lee, Virginia. He attained the rank of major. After leaving the army, Bell received a Bachelor of Laws in 1948 from Mercer University School of Law. He entered private practice in Savannah, Georgia from 1948 to 1952. He was in private practice in Rome, Georgia from 1952 to 1953 and then was in private practice at King & Spalding in Atlanta, Georgia from 1953 to 1961. He was Chief of Staff to Governor Ernest Vandiver from 1959 to 1961. Federal judicial service Bell received a recess appointment from President John F. Kennedy on October 5, 1961, to the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, to a new seat authorized by 75 Stat. 80. He was nominated to the same position by President Kennedy on January 15, 1962. He was confirmed by the United States Senate on February 5, 1962, and received his commission on February 9, 1962. He served as a board member of the Federal Judicial Center from 1973 to 1976. His service terminated on March 1, 1976, due to his resignation. Role in the 1966 Georgia gubernatorial election In the aftermath of the disputed 1966 Georgia gubernatorial election between Democrat Lester Maddox and Republican Howard "Bo" Callaway, Bell joined Republican Judge Elbert Tuttle in striking down the Georgia constitutional provision requiring that the legislature chose the governor if no general election candidate receives a majority of the vote. The judges concluded that a malapportioned legislature might "dilute" the votes of the candidate with a plurality, in this case Callaway. Bell compared legislative selection to the former County Unit System, a kind of electoral college formerly used in Georgia to select the governor but invalidated by the U.S. Supreme Court. Bell and Tuttle granted a temporary suspension of their ruling to permit appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court and stipulated that the state could resolve the deadlock so long as the legislature not make the selection. In a five-to-two