Susanville’s founder wore many hats, one being an attorney at law. There is the interesting tale when Roop was to take the bar examination for the Nevada Territory. At that hearing, a lawyer from Carson City attempted to provide Roop with some assistance. The bar examination was fairly simple and one of the more difficult questions was the definition of a corporation. The Carson attorney informed Roop that “A corporation is a creature of the law, having certain powers and duties of a natural person.” When Judge Gordon Mott, who presided over the examination asked Roop to define a corporation Roop replied, “A corporation is a band of fellows without any soul of whom the law is a creature, who have some powers and take a great deal many more, and entirely ignore the statutory duties imposed on them.” Thus, with that remark Roop was admitted to bar.
In 1865 Roop was elected Lassen County District Attorney and was re-elected to a second term in 1868. He never served the second term, as he did not post the required bond.