John L. Carroll

American judge (1943–2023)

John Lawrence Carroll (October 19, 1943 – August 14, 2023) was an American judge and academic administrator who was a U. S. magistrate judge for the Middle District of Alabama from 1986 to 2001. He was also a member of the Judicial Conference of the United States's Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. He served as the dean of the Cumberland School of Law in Homewood, Alabama, from 2001 to 2014.

John Lawrence Carroll was a native of Washington, D. C., born there on October 19, 1943, into a Catholic family of Irish descent. He graduated from Gonzaga College High School, a Jesuit academy in the District of Columbia, in 1961. magna cum laude, having served as member of the Cumberland Law Review, on national moot court team and as student bar president. Upon receiving his law degree, Carroll entered the Master of Laws program at Harvard Law School, where he studied constitutional law. He also applied for a staff position at the Southern Poverty Law Center, and worked his first case with the SPLC representing an African American former Marine sergeant accused of a double murder; he and his co workers were nearly "run off the road" by local residents who were angry that the defendant did not receive the death penalty. Carroll became legal director of the Southern Poverty Law Center in 1975, serving for nine years. Carroll later said of his time with the SPLC that he wanted to commit himself with "both excellence and to making a difference". In 1986, he applied for an opening in the U. S. magistrate position at the Middle District of Alabama's court. He was ultimately selected for the position and served as a federal trial judge until 2001. Carroll also worked with the Federal Judicial Center, where he chaired the Magistrate Judges' Education Committee, overseeing the training of other magistrate judges. Carroll was appointed by chief justice William Rehnquist to serve on the Judicial Conference of the United States's Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, which analyzes and makes recommendations to the United States Supreme Court and the United States Congress for federal rule changes. Carroll also cited strong alumni participation, teaching practical legal skills and outreach efforts as accomplishments he was proud of during his tenure. He was succeeded in that position by Tom Albritton in April 2015. Carroll was also a member of the Alabama Access to Justice Commission and the Alabama Professionalism Commission. In 2020, Carroll launched the Cumberland Veterans Legal Assistance Clinic (C VETS), serving as the veteran organization's supervising attorney.

Carroll met his wife Susan Gaskins while serving in the Marine Corps; after leaving Vietnam, he was stationed at Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point in North Carolina, where he was set up for a blind date with Gaskins. The couple married in 1970, a year after they met, and had one daughter together. Outside of his legal career, Carroll was an active cyclist, runner and guitarist. As dean, he annually challenged his students in the Susan G. Komen Cure for Cancer Run, promising to buy dinner for any student who could beat him in the race. Carroll died on August 14, 2023; his death was announced by Samford University the same day. He was 79.