While most of the media attention today has focused on the burial of 9-year-old Tucson massacre victim Christina Taylor Green, Federal District Judge John M. Roll was also buried today. His funeral service was held directly after Green's funeral.
The Washington Post reports that the federal courthouse in Tucson was shut down for five hours so that lawyers, court employees and Roll's judicial colleagues could attend. Roll was remembered as a man of integrity, a good judge and husband, and a religious man. "He was a wonderful role model for people because he was a compassionate and deliberate judge and he treated all parties with respect," said Vince Rabago, a lawyer in Tucson who knew Roll. Rabago called the judge "unbiased and fair," and said he "did the right thing even if it ruffled feathers.
Roll was killed when he stopped by the grocery store to say hello to Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, whom he had worked with on border control and other issues. He was the fourth federal judge killed in modern history, but the first to be slain in a random act of violence apparently unconnected to any of his cases.
Roll had been at the center of Arizona's intense political battle over immigration. Last year he received hundreds of threats after he allowed a lawsuit filed by illegal immigrants against a rancher to go forward. U.S. marshals put Roll under 24-hour protection for about a month. Roll is survived by his wife, Maureen, three sons and five grandchildren. He was 63.
Read more at the Washington Post.
In other news: Steele Drops Out of RNC Race; Throws Support Behind Cino.