PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

Criminal District Attorney, Collin County, Texas, January 1, 2003 - present

• Member, Collin County Bail Bond Board
• Member, Collin County Criminal Justice Council
• Member, Collin County Emergency Management

Private Practice of Law, July 1, 2001 - November 15, 2002

Justice, 5th District Court of Appeals of Texas at Dallas, November 24, 1997 - June 30, 2001

• First judge from Collin County ever elected to the Court of Appeals in Dallas

Judge, 199th Judicial District Court, Collin County, Texas, January 1, 1981 - November 24, 1997

• Local Administrative Judge for the District Courts, 1981 - 1997
• Chairman, Board of District Judges, 1981 - 1997
• Chairman, Collin County Purchasing Board, 1981 - 1997
• Chairman, Collin County Juvenile Board, 1981 - 1997
  Collin County named its new juvenile detention center the "John R. Roach Juvenile Detention Center" in November 1998

Private Practice of law

• Solo practitioner in general practice, 1979 and 1980

Assistant District Attorney

• Section Chief, Specialized Crime Division; Dallas County, Texas, 1974-1978
  Prosecuted "white collar" crime cases

Admitted to the Bar, April, 1974

• Admitted to practice before the Supreme Court of the United States; the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit; the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas; and all the courts of the State of Texas

 

PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITIES

Author

• Roach's Texas Rules of Civil Evidence Annotated
  West Group/Lawyers Cooperative Publishing Company, 1997
• Roach's Texas Rules of Evidence Annotated
  West Group, 1998 - 2005 (co-authored with Presiding Judge Michael J. McCormick, Texas Court of Criminal Appeals (ret.))

Lecturer

• Frequent lecturer and speaker to business, civic, political and legal organizations

Law and the Community

• Court Appointed Special Advocate Program
  Authorized and supported the creation of the CASA program in Collin County; Recipient, CASA Founder's Award, 2003
• Guardian Ad Litem Child Support Collection Program
  Created this program; child support collections rose from 25% to more than 80%; privately operated and self-supporting; no cost to the taxpayer

 

PROFESSIONAL RECOGNITION AND TRAINING

Board certified

• Civil Trial Law, Texas Board of Legal Specialization, 1987 - present
• Family Law, Texas Board of Legal Specialization, 1984 - 1999
• Criminal Law, Texas Board of Legal Specialization, 1984 - present

John R. Roach Juvenile Detention Center

• Named and dedicated by Collin County in November, 1998

 

PROFESSIONAL ORGANIZATIONS

• Litigation and Criminal Law sections of the State Bar of Texas
• Member, Collin County Bar Association
• Member, Texas District and County Attorneys Association

 

EDUCATION

University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, Alabama, Juris Doctor, 1974

Auburn University at Montgomery, Montgomery, Alabama, B.A. History, 1971

 

MILITARY SERVICE

United States Air Force

• 1965 - 1968; rank of sergeant; Vietnam veteran; honorably discharged

 

FOREIGN LANGUAGE

Spanish

• Proficient in reading Spanish; adequate in conversational Spanish; goal is fluency

 

COMMUNITY ACTIVITIES

• Member, Advisory Board, Great Plains District, Circle Ten Council, Boy Scouts of America
• Chairman, Nominating Committee, Great Plains District, Circle Ten Council, Boy Scouts of America, 2001
• Chairman, School Night for Scouting, Great Plains District, Plano, Tx., 2003
• Member, Board of Trustees, First United Methodist Church, Plano, Tx., 2002 - 2004; Board Chairman, 2003, 2004
• Member, Board of Directors, Virtuoso Society Member and Sponsor, Plano Symphony Orchestra
• Director, Collin County Christian Prayer Breakfast, Inc.; President, 2003, 2004
• Member, Plano Sunrise Rotary Club, Plano, Tx.
• Member, Board of Directors, Collin County Children's Advocacy Center, Inc.

 

PERSONAL

Family

• Married to Mary McCall Roach for more than 39 years; four grown children; eight grandchildren

Interests and Hobbies

• Scuba diving (formerly rated as an instructor and master diver trainer by the Professional Association of Diving Instructors); snow skiing; sailing; travel; team steer roping; firearm sports; learning Spanish