Cocke County General Sessions Judge John A. Bell has been awarded the Bronze Star for his work in Iraq as the chief of the Northern Iraq Office of Judicial Operations (NIOJO).
Bell is a lieutenant colonel in the Army Reserve, serving in the 3397th Garrison Support Unit in Chattanooga. He was called to active duty in January, 2003, and served as chief of the Criminal Division at Fort Campbell until he was deployed to Iraq. During his service in Iraq, he supervised the judicial system for Northern Iraq and was responsible for 27 courthouses, 112 Iraqi judges - including 27 he participated in firing - prosecutors, and attorneys.
Bell said his mission as chief of NIOJO was to transform the judicial system in Northern Iraq from "a corrupt, broken and dysfunctional system into a system that is ethical, efficient, fair and worthy of emulation." His goals included rebuilding and modernizing courthouses; restructuring the courts, mentoring legal professionals and establishing "the rule of law as the foundational bedrock of society"
The Bronze Star was awarded to Bell for "meritorious service during combat operations as chief, Northern Iraq Office of Judicial Operations."
A narrative accompanying the Bronze Star said Bell "oversaw ground-breaking work in restoring the rule of law as a foundational touchstone of Iraqi society. In this effort, unguided by doctrine or history, John and his team set the standard throughout Iraq for the creation and validation of a new judicial system."
When he arrived in Iraq, Bell joined a small team of judge advocates and paralegals charged with creating a judicial system for the second largest city in the country and its outlying areas. He oversaw the development and maintenance of a court appointed attorney program designed to provide free counsel for indigent Iraqis accused of committing crimes. A small volunteer group initially is now comprised of over 700 trained and certified Iraqi attorneys, Bell said.
Bell also established a first-ever anti-corruption agency in the Nineveh Province. The agency will help insure that the Nineveh Province government does not return to a corrupt form, he said.
The Cocke County judge was instrumental in establishing due process rights for all suspects accused of committing crimes throughout Nineveh Province. The rights, modeled on the Miranda rights found in the United States, provide the right to remain silent and the right to an attorney. Bell trained prosecutors, judges and defense counsel on the application and impact of the rights.