Curtis William Roll

Curtis W. Roll was born on August 29, 1884 in Fredericksburg, Washington County, Indiana. He attended Indiana University, receiving his A.B. in 1909 and his LL.B. from the law school in 1912. He was admitted to the bar in 1912 and began his legal practice in Howard County. He was the Howard County attorney from 1913 to 1914, and he was a prosecuting attorney from 1912 to 1931. In 1930 he ran for a seat on the Indiana Supreme Court and was elected in the Democratic wave of that year. Justice Roll would serve on the Indiana Supreme Court for 12 years, from January 1931 to January 1943. He authored numerous opinions during his tenure, including two significant ones with noted political repercussions. In 1938 Raymond Willis, the defeated Republican candidate for U.S. Senate and eleven other candidates brought suit seeking recounts in seven counties, due to alleged fraud and other irregularities. The Court unanimously rejected the appeal, stating that recounts for state and senatorial race had to be done statewide. Another significant case involved an attempt by the General Assembly in 1941 to strip Governor Harry Schricker of virtually all his powers. The Court held that the laws were unconstitutional and a violation of the separation of powers. Justice Roll declined to run for a third term on the Court in 1942. He returned to private practice, first in Indianapolis and then in 1948 to Kokomo. He remained active in the practice of law until his death on November 8, 1970. He was buried in the Paoli Community Cemetery in Paoli, Orange County, Indiana.https://www.repository.law.indiana.edu/notablealumni/1041/thumbnail.jp