DA Ted Bell

District Attorney
Ted Bell

McDowell & Rutherford County

Prosecutorial District 41

(828) 288-6111
Rutherford County Courthouse 229 N. Main Street
Rutherfordton, NC 28139
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About Your District Attorney

The District Attorney for the Forty-First Prosecutorial District is Ted Bell

Thank you for visiting the web site of the District Attorney’s Office in Prosecutorial District 41. This District includes all of McDowell and Rutherford Counties in North Carolina. It is the duty of this office to represent the State of North Carolina with integrity and professionalism, while protecting victims and their rights, in the pursuit of justice.

The goal of this site is to make the information and services provided by the District Attorneys’ Office and the criminal justice system available to the public. Please take the time to search each webpage and explore all of the information we have provided you. Should you have any questions, we have also included details on how you may contact us.

“District Attorney” commonly refers to an attorney for the community elected by the people in his/her district to represent the interests of the general public, including crime victims in court proceedings against people accused of committing crimes. Other jurisdictions use various terms: Prosecutor, U.S. Attorney (a federal prosecutor), Solicitor, or State’s Attorney.

The primary duty of the District Attorney is to prosecute all criminal cases filed in the district. The District Attorney represents the state in all criminal and some juvenile matters. In addition, the District Attorney is responsible for preparing the criminal trial docket and advising law enforcement officers in the district.

Ted Bell was born in rural Pennsylvania, the son of a police officer and a nurse. At 19 he joined the Army and became a helicopter pilot. He served seven years stationed at various posts in the Republic of Korea and the U.S., including Ft. Bragg. Ted attended UNC-Chapel Hill for undergraduate degrees in Economics and Political Science and then received his law degree from UNC as well. After practicing labor and employment law in Birmingham, Alabama, he and his family returned to North Carolina. In 2008, he became an Assistant District Attorney in District 29A. Ted and his wife, an anesthesiologist, have two daughters. In his free time, Ted is a competitive pistol shooter and hunter and is also a licensed falconer.