imported>JJMC89 bot III: Moving :Category:Assistant United States Attorneys to :Category:Assistant United States attorneys per Wikipedia:Categories for discussion/Log/2025 April 1#Category:United States Attorneys

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Moving Category:Assistant United States Attorneys to Category:Assistant United States attorneys per Wikipedia:Categories for discussion/Log/2025 April 1#Category:United States Attorneys

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{{Short description|American judge (1947–2011)}}
{{Use American English|date = April 2019}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2022}}
{{Infobox officeholder
|name = John Roll
|image = Chief Judge John Roll.jpg
|office = Chief Judge of the [[United States District Court for the District of Arizona]]
|caption = Roll in 2007
|term_start = May 1, 2006
|term_end = January 8, 2011
|predecessor = [[Stephen M. McNamee]]
|successor = [[Roslyn O. Silver]]
|office1 = Judge of the [[United States District Court for the District of Arizona]]
|appointer1 = [[George H. W. Bush]]
|term_start1 = November 25, 1991
|term_end1 = January 8, 2011
|predecessor1 = [[Alfredo Chavez Marquez]]
|successor1 = [[Jennifer Zipps]]
|birth_name = John McCarthy Roll
|birth_date = {{birth date|1947|2|8}}
|birth_place = [[Pittsburgh]], Pennsylvania, U.S.
|death_date = {{death date and age|2011|1|8|1947|2|8}}
|death_place = [[Casas Adobes, Arizona]], U.S.
|death_cause = [[2011 Tucson shooting|Gunshot wound]]
|party = [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]]
|spouse = Maureen
|children = 3
|education = [[University of Arizona]] ([[Bachelor of Arts|BA]], [[Juris Doctor|JD]])<br>[[University of Virginia]] ([[Master of Laws|LLM]])
}}
'''John McCarthy Roll''' (February 8, 1947 – January 8, 2011) was a [[United States federal judge|United States district judge]] who served on the [[United States District Court for the District of Arizona]] from 1991 until [[2011 Tucson shooting|his murder in 2011]], and as chief judge of that court from 2006 to 2011. With degrees from the [[University of Arizona College of Law]] and [[University of Virginia School of Law]], Roll began his career as a court bailiff in Arizona and became an assistant city attorney of [[Tucson, Arizona|Tucson]], Arizona in 1973. Later that year, Roll became a deputy county attorney for [[Pima County, Arizona|Pima County]], Arizona until 1980, when he began serving as an [[Assistant United States Attorney]] for seven years. President [[George H. W. Bush]] appointed Roll to a federal judge seat in Arizona after Roll served four years as a state judge.

Roll was killed in the 2011 Tucson shooting while attending a constituent outreach event held by U.S. Representative [[Gabby Giffords]] in [[Casas Adobes, Arizona|Casas Adobes]], near [[Tucson, Arizona]].<ref name="cnn-doctors">{{cite news|url=http://www.cnn.com/2011/CRIME/01/09/arizona.shooting/index.html|title=Congresswoman's responses after Arizona shooting called encouraging|publisher=CNN|date=January 9, 2011|access-date=January 9, 2011}}</ref><ref name="WP-20110114-victims">{{Cite news|last1=Bell|first1=Melissa|last2=Buck|first2=James|url=http://voices.washingtonpost.com/blog-post/2011/01/arizona_shooting_victims_the_i.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120527154954/http://voices.washingtonpost.com/blog-post/2011/01/arizona_shooting_victims_the_i.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=May 27, 2012|title=Updated: List of injured victims in Arizona shooting released by Pima County sheriff|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|date=January 14, 2011|access-date=January 14, 2011}}</ref>

==Early life and education==
Roll was born in [[Pittsburgh]] to a Roman Catholic family, and grew up in Arizona. He attended [[Salpointe Catholic High School]] in Tucson.<ref name="AZStar-20110109">{{cite news|last=Gassen|first=Sarah Garrecht|url=http://azstarnet.com/news/local/crime/article_e2aadfb5-122a-5273-82c2-706bd4f11fef.html|title=A man of faith and devoted to rule of law|newspaper=[[Arizona Daily Star]]|date=January 9, 2011|access-date=January 9, 2011}}</ref> Roll received his Bachelor of Arts degree from the [[University of Arizona]] in 1969, a [[Juris Doctor]] from the [[University of Arizona College of Law]] in 1972, and a [[Master of Laws]] from the [[University of Virginia School of Law]] in 1990.<ref name="FLC">{{cite web|url=https://www.fjc.gov/history/judges/roll-john-mccarthy|title=Roll, John McCarthy – Federal Judicial Center|website=www.fjc.gov}}</ref>

==Personal life==
Roll and his wife, Maureen, had been married for 41 years at the time of his death. They had three sons.<ref name="Telegraph-20110109">{{cite news|last=Swaine|first=Jon|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/us-politics/8249152/Arizona-shooting-dead-Judge-John-Roll.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110112074929/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/us-politics/8249152/Arizona-shooting-dead-Judge-John-Roll.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=January 12, 2011|title=Arizona shooting dead: Judge John Roll|newspaper=[[The Daily Telegraph]]|access-date=January 9, 2011}}</ref> He was described as "deeply conservative", politically,<ref>[http://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/news/judge-john-roll-in-peers-thoughts-at-superior-court-investiture-6642795 Judge John Roll In Peers' Thoughts At Superior Court Investiture], PhoenixNewTimes.com; accessed May 3, 2017.</ref> and a lifelong Republican.<ref>[https://blogs.wsj.com/dispatch/2011/01/09/victim-profile-john-roll-63-arizona-federal-judge/ Victim Profile: John Roll, 63, Arizona Federal Judge, Wall Street Journal, January 9, 2011, retrieved May 8, 2019]</ref>

Roll was a Roman Catholic who attended [[Mass (liturgy)|Mass]] daily. He served as a [[lector]] in the sacred liturgy. He was an active member of the [[St. Thomas More Society]] and a Fourth Degree [[Knights of Columbus|Knight of Columbus]].<ref name="NCRegister">{{Cite web|url=http://www.ncregister.com/daily-news/remembering-judge-john-roll|title = Remembering Judge John Roll| date=January 21, 2011 }}</ref><ref name="KofC">{{Cite web|url=http://www.kofc.org/en/news/releases/az_judge_roll.html|title = Knights of Columbus mourn death of Judge John M. Roll, other victims in Tucson}}</ref>

==Legal career==

Roll was a [[bailiff]] for the [[Pima County, Arizona|Pima County]] Superior Court from 1972 to 1973. He was an assistant city attorney of Tucson in 1973, and was then a deputy county attorney of Pima County's Criminal Division from 1973 to 1980. He was a clinical instructor at the [[University of Arizona College of Law]] from 1978 to 1979, after which he served as an [[Assistant United States Attorney]] for the District of Arizona from 1980 to 1987. During that time, he was attached to an organized crime task force (1982–1986) and the Civil Division (1986–1987). After his years as an Assistant United States Attorney, he became a state judge and served on the [[Arizona Court of Appeals]], Division Two, from 1987 to 1991, and eventually became its vice-chief judge in 1991. He also served as a judge on the Pima County Superior Court, Criminal Bench, in that year.<ref name="FLC"/>

==Federal judge==

Roll was nominated by President [[George H. W. Bush]] on September 23, 1991, to a seat on the [[United States District Court for the District of Arizona]] that had been vacated by [[Alfredo Chavez Marquez]]. He was confirmed by the [[United States Senate]] on November 22, 1991, and received his commission on November 25. Roll was elevated to Chief Judge on May 1, 2006, succeeding [[Stephen M. McNamee]], and served until his death in January 2011.<ref name="FLC"/><ref name="Judicial-Milestones-May-2006">{{cite web|url=http://www.uscourts.gov/news/TheThirdBranch/06-05-01/Judicial_Milestones.aspx|title=Judicial Milestones|date=May 2006|publisher=[[Administrative Office of the United States Courts]]|access-date=January 18, 2001|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101207054715/http://www.uscourts.gov/News/TheThirdBranch/06-05-01/Judicial_Milestones.aspx|archive-date=December 7, 2010}}</ref> Roll was succeeded as chief judge by [[Roslyn O. Silver]].<ref name="WP-20110117-trial">{{cite news|last=Markon|first=Jerry|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/01/16/AR2011011604721.html|title=Federal court authorities plan to move trial of Tucson shooting suspect|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|date=January 17, 2011|access-date=January 18, 2011}}</ref>

In 1994, Roll was one of several district court judges who held that provisions of the [[Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act|Brady Law]] violated the [[Tenth Amendment to the United States Constitution|Tenth Amendment]],<ref name="Gale-19941001">{{cite web|url=http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Judge+rules+against+background+checks.-a016373704|title=Judge rules against background checks|last=Schneider|first=Jim|publisher=[[Gale (publisher)|Gale]]|date=October 1, 1994|access-date=January 8, 2011}}</ref> a holding upheld by the [[Supreme Court of the United States|United States Supreme Court]] in the related case of ''[[Printz v. United States]]''.

In 2009, Roll ruled that the case ''[[Vicente v. Barnett]]'' could go forward. The $32 million lawsuit brought by the [[Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund]] (MALDEF) against Arizona rancher Roger Barnett on behalf of 16 Mexican plaintiffs charged that the plaintiffs were assaulted, threatened, and held at gunpoint by Barnett and members of his family. After Roll's ruling and prompted by several talk-radio programs, he was the subject of hundreds of complaining phone calls and death threats and he and his family were under the protection of the [[U.S. Marshals Service]] for a month.<ref>[http://www.maldef.org/immigration/litigation/vicente_v_barnett/ Vicente v. Barnett] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110113160634/http://www.maldef.org/immigration/litigation/vicente_v_barnett/ |date=January 13, 2011 }}, [[Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund]].</ref><ref name="WashingtonTimes-20090209">{{cite news|last=Seper|first=Jerry|url=http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/feb/09/16-illegals-sue-arizona-rancher/|title=16 illegals sue Arizona rancher|newspaper=[[The Washington Times]]|date=February 9, 2009|access-date=January 9, 2011}}</ref><ref name="AZRepublic-20090709">{{cite news|last=Anglen|first=Robert|url=http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/news/articles/2009/07/09/20090709threats0709.html|title=U.S. judiciary facing rise in death threats |newspaper=[[The Arizona Republic]]|date=July 9, 2009|access-date=January 9, 2011}}</ref> Roll declined to press charges when some of those who made threats were identified.<ref name="Schwartz">{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/09/us/09judge.html|title=Amid Shock, Recalling Judge's Life of Service|last=Schwartz|first=John|date=January 9, 2011|newspaper=[[The New York Times]]|access-date=January 9, 2011}}</ref>

==Murder==

{{main|2011 Tucson shooting}}
[[File:Gabrielle Giffords shooting scene 2.jpg|thumb|upright|Roadside sign at the scene of the shooting.]]
Roll was shot on January 8, 2011, outside a [[Safeway Inc.|Safeway]] supermarket in [[Casas Adobes, Arizona]],<ref name="AZRepublic-20110109">{{cite news|last1=Kiefer|first1=Michael|last2=Bland|first2=Karina|url=http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/2011/01/09/20110109john-roll-gabrielle-giffords-arizona-shooting.html|title=Judge John Roll respected among peers|newspaper=[[The Arizona Republic]]|date=January 9, 2011|access-date=January 9, 2011}}</ref> when [[Jared Lee Loughner]] opened fire at a "Congress on Your Corner" event held by Democratic U.S. Representative [[Gabby Giffords]]. Roll had attended [[Mass (liturgy)|Mass]] earlier that morning and decided only about an hour before the shooting to attend the event.<ref name="CBS-20110108-death">{{cite news|title=Reports: Judge Roll Received Death Threats Federal Judge Killed in Ariz. Was Target 2 Years Ago After Controversial Ruling|url=http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2011/01/08/national/main7226269.shtml|publisher=[[CBS News]]|date=January 8, 2011|access-date=January 8, 2011|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110109211803/https://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2011/01/08/national/main7226269.shtml|archive-date = January 9, 2011}}</ref> Surveillance video revealed that Roll was shot once in the back after pushing down and shielding [[Ron Barber]], a staffer for Giffords who had just been shot.<ref>{{cite web|first=Zachary|last=Roth|title=Police: Slain judge 'was thinking of his fellow human more than himself'|date=January 19, 2010|publisher=Yahoo! Inc.|work=Blog: The Lookout|url=https://news.yahoo.com/s/yblog_thelookout/20110119/us_yblog_thelookout/police-video-shows-calculated-loughner|access-date=January 22, 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|first=Andrew|last=Cohen|title=Slain Judge John Roll Tried to Shield Other Tucson Victim, Video Indicates|date=January 18, 2011|publisher=AOL Inc.|work=Politics Daily|url=http://www.politicsdaily.com/2011/01/18/slain-judge-john-roll-tried-to-shield-other-tucson-victim-video/|access-date=January 22, 2011|archive-date=January 22, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110122005631/http://www.politicsdaily.com/2011/01/18/slain-judge-john-roll-tried-to-shield-other-tucson-victim-video/|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="CBS-20110119-video">{{cite news|title=Security Video Reveals Tucson Shooting Horror|url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/security-video-reveals-tucson-shooting-horror/|publisher=[[CBS News]]|page=2|date=January 19, 2011|access-date=January 20, 2011}}</ref><ref name="ABC-20110119-video">{{cite news|last=Thomas|first=Pierre|title=Security Video Reveals Tucson Shooting Horror|url=https://abcnews.go.com/US/jared-loughners-alleged-rampage-caught-tape-fbi-reviews/story?id=12644306|publisher=[[ABC News (United States)|ABC News]]|date=January 19, 2011|access-date=January 20, 2011}}</ref> Roll died from his injuries, as did five other people.<ref name="CBS-20110108-death" /> Thirteen others were injured by gunfire, but survived, including Giffords and Barber; Barber would go on to replace Giffords when she resigned from Congress to recuperate from the injuries sustained in the shooting.<ref name="WP-20110114-victims" />

[[Chief Justice of the United States|Chief Justice]] [[John Roberts]] issued a statement, memorializing Roll as "a wise jurist who selflessly served Arizona and the nation with great distinction, as attorney and judge, for more than 35 years", adding "his death is a somber reminder of the importance of the rule of law and the sacrifices of those who work to secure it".<ref name="Fox-20110108">{{cite news|url=http://www.foxnewsinsider.com/2011/01/08/statement-from-chief-justice-roberts-on-death-of-judge-roll/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110711022047/http://foxnewsinsider.com/2011/01/08/statement-from-chief-justice-roberts-on-death-of-judge-roll/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=July 11, 2011 |title=Statement from Chief Justice Roberts on Death of Judge Roll |journal=FOX Insider |publisher=[[Fox News Channel]] |date=January 8, 2011 |access-date=January 8, 2011 }}</ref>

[[File:Obama Barber University Medical Center Tucson 2011.jpg|thumb|left|upright|President [[Barack Obama]] visits a recovering [[Ron Barber]], whom Roll had reportedly shielded during the shooting.<ref name="CBS-20110119-video"/>]]
Other plaudits came from Senator [[John McCain]], who had recommended Roll for appointment to the federal bench; from Pima County Sheriff [[Clarence Dupnik]]; and from Bishop [[Gerald Kicanas]] of the [[Roman Catholic Diocese of Tucson]], who noted that Roll was an active parishioner who "lived his faith".<ref name="MSNBC-20110109-acclaim">{{cite news|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna40985623|title=Judge slain in Ariz. shooting wins wide acclaim|publisher=[[NBC News]]|agency=Associated Press|access-date=January 9, 2011}}</ref>

Then-Chief Judge [[Alex Kozinski]] of the [[United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit]], whose jurisdiction included Arizona, stated that "Judge Roll was a widely respected jurist, a strong and able leader of his court, and a kind, courteous and sincere gentleman".<ref name="MSNBC-20110109-acclaim"/> President [[Barack Obama]] commented on Roll's death in his statement issued after the shooting, noting that Roll "served America's legal system for almost 40 years".<ref>[https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/blog/2011/01/08/president-speaks-shootings-tucson-we-are-going-get-bottom-and-we-re-going-get-throug The President Speaks on the Shootings in Tucson: "We Are Going to Get to the Bottom of This, and We're Going to Get Through This"], whitehouse.gov, January 8, 2009.</ref>

Jared Lee Loughner was charged by federal prosecutors with Roll's murder. Evidence gathered by federal investigators indicates that Giffords was Loughner's main target. Roll was apparently not specifically targeted – Loughner might not have even known who he was. Roll lived in the area, and had attended the event to continue a prior conversation with Giffords about the volume of cases in Arizona Federal courts.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.azd.uscourts.gov/azd/courtinfo.nsf/4D0B9DBD4DCBDEC007257814000A667C/$file/11-0035m-Doc2.pdf?openelement|title=CRIMINAL COMPLAINT: United States of America v. JARED LEE LOUGHNER|publisher=[[United States District Court for the District of Arizona|U.S. District Court of Arizona]]|format=PDF|date=January 9, 2011|access-date=January 13, 2011|archive-date=January 11, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110111195634/http://www.azd.uscourts.gov/azd/courtinfo.nsf/4D0B9DBD4DCBDEC007257814000A667C/$file/11-0035m-Doc2.pdf?openelement|url-status=dead}}</ref>

Roll was the first federal judge murdered in office since [[Robert Smith Vance]] in 1989.<ref name=Schwartz/> Chief Judge [[Alex Kozinski]] of the [[United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit|Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals]] selected [[Larry Alan Burns]], a judge of the [[United States District Court for the Southern District of California|Southern District Court of California]], to be the presiding judge over Loughner's trial,<ref name=recorder_20110112>{{cite journal|url=http://www.law.com/jsp/ca/PubArticleCA.jsp?id=1202477872855|title=San Diego Federal Judge Tapped for Loughner Case|last=LaRoe|first=Ginny|journal=The Recorder|date=January 12, 2011|access-date=January 13, 2011}}</ref><ref name=tpm_20110112>{{cite news|url=http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2011/01/due_to_arizona_conflicts_california_judge_takes_ov.php|title=Due To Arizona Conflicts, California Judge Takes Over Loughner Case|last=Reilly|first=Ryan J.|journal=[[Talking Points Memo]]|access-date=January 13, 2011|archive-date=January 18, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230118122431/http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2011/01/due_to_arizona_conflicts_california_judge_takes_ov.php|url-status=dead}}</ref> after all federal judges in Arizona recused themselves because of their ties to Roll.<ref name="USAToday-20110111-recusal">{{Cite news|last=Johnson|first=Kevin|url=https://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2011-01-12-defense12_ST_N.htm|title=In Loughner case, Ariz. federal judiciary considers recusal|newspaper=[[USA Today]]|date=January 11, 2011|access-date=January 12, 2011}}</ref><ref name="CNN-20110112-lawyer">{{Cite news|last=O'Neill|first=Ann|url=http://www.cnn.com/2011/CRIME/01/12/arizona.judy.clarke.profile/|title=Lawyer keeps even the most loathed criminals off death row|publisher=CNN|access-date=January 12, 2011}}</ref>

==See also==
{{Portal|Biography|United States|Politics|Law}}
* [[List of United States federal judges killed in office]]
{{Clear}}

==References==
{{Reflist|colwidth=30em}}

==External links==
* [https://www.fjc.gov/history/judges/roll-john-mccarthy FJC Bio]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20110116222616/http://www.uscourts.gov/News/NewsView/11-01-10/Chief_U_S_District_Judge_John_M_Roll_1947-2011.aspx Chief U.S. District Judge John M. Roll, 1947–2011] at the [[Administrative Office of the United States Courts|Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts]]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20110110105018/http://judgepedia.org/index.php/John_Roll John Roll] at [[Judgepedia]]

{{s-start}}
{{s-legal}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Alfredo Chavez Marquez]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=Judge of the [[United States District Court for the District of Arizona]]|years=1991–2011}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Jennifer Zipps]]}}
|-
{{s-bef|before=[[Stephen M. McNamee]]}}
{{s-ttl|title={{nowrap|Chief Judge of the [[United States District Court for the District of Arizona]]}}|years=2006–2011}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Roslyn O. Silver]]}}
{{s-end}}

{{AZDistrictChiefJudges|state=collapsed}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Roll, John McCarthy}}
[[Category:1947 births]]
[[Category:2011 deaths]]
[[Category:2011 Tucson shooting]]
[[Category:21st-century American judges]]
[[Category:American Roman Catholics]]
[[Category:American murder victims]]
[[Category:American prosecutors]]
[[Category:Arizona Republicans]]
[[Category:Arizona state court judges]]
[[Category:Assistant United States attorneys]]
[[Category:Deaths by firearm in Arizona]]
[[Category:James E. Rogers College of Law alumni]]
[[Category:Judges of the United States District Court for the District of Arizona]]
[[Category:Lawyers from Pittsburgh]]
[[Category:People murdered in Arizona]]
[[Category:Superior court judges in the United States]]
[[Category:United States district court judges appointed by George H. W. Bush]]
[[Category:University of Arizona alumni]]
[[Category:University of Virginia School of Law alumni]]

John Roll - Revision history

imported>JJMC89 bot III: Moving :Category:Assistant United States Attorneys to :Category:Assistant United States attorneys per Wikipedia:Categories for discussion/Log/2025 April 1#Category:United States Attorneys