The Hill News

Sens. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and Jon Kyl (R-Ariz) announced plans Friday to propose legislation to name a federal courthouse after one of the victims of last week's Arizona shooting.

The proposal is to name a planned courthouse in Yuma, Ariz., after federal Judge John C. Roll, one of the six victims who died in the Arizona shooting last Saturday. Roll was appointed to the federal bench in 1991 by President George H.W. Bush and served as the United States District Court judge for Arizona when he was slain.

“We had the privilege and honor of knowing and working with Chief Judge Roll for many years," the senators write in a joint statement. “Our state has lost an outstanding jurist, a true and able public servant and a great Arizonan. Therefore, we believe naming the soon-to-be constructed courthouse in his honor is befitting the rich legacy he leaves behind.”

According to the statement, Roll was a supporter of the new courthouse and h! ad recently approved the building's design. Construction is scheduled to begin in July of this year with a completion date of 2013.
 
A funeral for Judge Roll was held today in Tucson. 

Roll is among the 20 victims of the shooting in Arizona last weekend during a Congress on Your Corner event hosted by Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz.). Five others died and 14 were hospitalized including Giffords.