Slain federal judge mourned as family man

Associated Press

TUCSON, Ariz.

The federal judge killed in the Arizona shooting rampage was known for an immigration ruling that got him death threats, but on Friday, he was remembered as a man devoted to his family, his basset hounds and his Irish-Catholic heritage.

U.S. District Judge John Roll, 63, had stopped by a supermarket meet-and-greet for Rep. Gabrielle Giffords on Saturday when he was killed, along with five others. Giffords, recovering from a gunshot wound to the head, still was in critical condition but progressing.

Documents released Friday showed that the shooting suspect, Jared Loughner, 22, bought bullets at a Walmart, posted “Goodbye friends” on the Internet and took photographs of himself partially clothed and holding a gun.

Roll’s funeral Friday came amid tight security, as police officers and SWAT team members patrolled the neighborhood around St. Elizabeth Ann Seton church. About a dozen coach buses brought judges who knew Roll over the years.

The speakers focused less on Judge Roll and more on John Roll, tender and at times goofy, and largely hidden from those he served.

“It made it very personal,” said Carol Bahill, 61, whose husband knew Roll from his undergraduate and law school days at the University of Arizona. “You do feel like you knew something about him personally.”

The news media were barred from the event at the request of Roll’s family and for security reasons. The Associated Press interviewed mourners, such as Bahill, as they left the service and got an account of the funeral.

Roll’s older brother, Ed, told mourners that his family moved to Arizona from Pittsburgh when Roll was a child because their mother’s health was failing and doctors thought the weather might help.

When Roll’s mother eventually died of a heart condition, the future judge was just 15.

Her death deeply affected him, and he changed his middle name from Paul to his mother’s maiden name of McCarthy “to keep that part of the family alive,” Bahill said.

His brother said he stepped in as Roll’s de facto parent, driving him to school and chaperoning him on some dances.

Bahill said she appreciated gaining more insight into the private life and personality of Roll. His funeral came a day after that of the youngest victim, Christina Taylor Green, at the same church.

Many members of Roll’s family, including his sons and five grandchildren, participated in the funeral Mass and speakers also included a childhood friend, his chief clerk and a colleague on the federal bench.

The service ended with a rendition of “When Irish Eyes Are Smiling.”

Before Jan. 8, Judge Roll was known for the death threats he received after his ruling in a border-crossing case two years ago. He needed 24-hour protection after he said 16 illegal immigrants could file a civil- rights claim against an Arizona border rancher.