John M Roll,the chief federal judge in Arizona,was fatally wounded in the attack at Tucson late Saturday. The chief judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit,Alex Kozinski,described Judge Roll as a tireless advocate for his district. On December 21,Judge Roll sent an e-mail to Judge Kozinski with an attached letter from Gabrielle Giffords. In the letter,Giffords encouraged the Ninth Circuit to declare a judicial emergency to help cope with the increased workload by extending deadlines under the speedy trial act. In the e-mail,Judge Roll wrote that the Congressional letter was unsolicited but very much appreciated. Judge Kozinski speculated just a guess, he said that Roll might have gone to the event on Saturday to thank Giffords for the letter. And he gets killed for it."
