A new judge is presiding over the bond hearing in the racially charged case.

Bell has been held under $90,000 bond since last December, when he and five others were accused of beating and kicking a white classmate. That attacked happened three months after nooses were hung at Jena High School by other white students.

Bell was not entitled to bond after he was convicted in state district court. Earlier this month, the state appeals court in Lake Charles overturned that conviction and said Bell should have been tried in juvenile court -- but Bell had no way to leave jail since he no longer had a bond set.

Bell's attorneys hope to get the judge to set a lower bond for him this time.

A previous attempt to get a lower bond was denied on the grounds Bell had prior arrests.

(From The Associated Press)