Roger Cisneros
{{Short description|American politician}}
{{Infobox officeholder
|name = Roger Cisneros
|image =
|caption =
|office1 = Member of the Colorado Senate from the 4th district
|term_start1 = January 8, 1969
|term_end1 = January 12, 1977
|predecessor1 = Richard F. Hobbs
|successor1 = Don Sandoval
|office2 = Member of the Colorado Senate from the 1st district
|term_start2 = January 11, 1967
|term_end2 = January 8, 1969
|predecessor2 = Roland L. Mapelli
|successor2 = Allen Dines
|office3 = Member of the Colorado Senate from the 6th district
|term_start3 = January 13, 1965
|term_end3 = January 11, 1967
|predecessor3 = Harry M. Locke
|successor3 = William L. Armstrong
|birth_name =
|birth_date = {{Birth date|1924|1|22}}
|birth_place = Questa, New Mexico
|death_date = {{Death date and age|2017|9|18|1924|1|22}}
|death_place = Denver, Colorado
|party = Democratic
}}
Roger Cisneros (January 22, 1924 – September 18, 2017) was an American politician who served in the Colorado Senate from 1965 to 1977.{{cite web|url=https://denver.cbslocal.com/2017/09/19/roger-cisneros-adelia-carbon-monoxide-poisoning/ |title=Ex-Judge, Wife May Have Died Of Carbon Monoxide Poisoning |publisher=Denver.cbslocal.com |date=2017-09-19 |accessdate=2018-11-12}}
Background
Cisneros was born on January 22, 1924 in Questa, New Mexico to Donaciano Cisneros and Todosia Martinez.{{Cite web |title=Roger Cisneros {{!}} VOCES |url=https://voces.moody.utexas.edu/collections/stories/roger-cisneros |access-date=2024-05-11 |website=voces.moody.utexas.edu}} Since his lived in a rural environment, Cisneros' parents sent him to school in Albuquerque to hone his academic talents.{{Cite web |title=National Museum of the United States Army |url=https://www.thenmusa.org/biographies/roger-cisneros/ |access-date=2024-05-11 |website=www.thenmusa.org}} Upon graduating high school in 1943, Cisneros joined the Army Air Corps in 1943, and was assigned to the 333rd Bombardment Group after completing his training in cryptography.
Career
Following his Army service, Cisneros pursued higher education with the aid of the GI Bill. He first earned his business degree from the University of Denver, and then graduated from the Westminster Law School in 1957. Cisneros wanted to become a lawyer due to the racial discrimination that he endured while serving in the military.
When he was admitted to practice law, Cisneros was one of only five Latino lawyers in Colorado. He was counsel in the case Gallegos vs. People, which pertained to an involuntary confession by a juvenile. When the Colorado Supreme Court affirmed the defendants' convictions, Cisneros appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court. The higher court reversed the lower court's decision.{{Cite web |title=Roger Cisneros CLE |url=https://cle.cobar.org/cvweb/cgi-bin/memberdll.dll/info?WRP=facultyBio.htm&customercd=1423 |access-date=2024-05-11 |website=cle.cobar.org}}
In 1964, Cisneros was elected to the Colorado State Senate and served two sessions.{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uDvQrJ7CpAgC |title=Congressional Record: Proceedings and Debates of the ... Congress |date=1966 |publisher=U.S. Government Printing Office |language=en}} In 1978, he was appointed by Governor Richard Lamm to serve as a judge that specialized in domestic, criminal, and civil cases on the Colorado District Court. Although Cisneros retired from the bench in 1986, he resumed private practice. Throughout his career, Cisneros served on various boards and commissions, and was even the founder of the Board of the Mexican American Legal Defense.
Personal life and legacy
Cisneros married Adelia Dee Trujillo on March 19, 1949, and they had three children. He and Adelia died of carbon monoxide poisoning on September 18, 2017, in Denver, Colorado at age 93.{{cite web|last=Nicholson |first=Kieran |url=https://www.denverpost.com/2017/09/18/deaths-southwest-denver-carbon-monoxide/ |title=Former judge and legislator, and his wife, found dead in their SW Denver home |publisher=Denverpost.com |date=2017-09-18 |accessdate=2018-11-12}}{{Cite web |last=Goodland |first=Marianne |date=2017-09-19 |title=Legendary Denver Hispanic judge, state senator and his wife die at home |url=https://gazette.com/legendary-denver-hispanic-judge-state-senator-and-his-wife-die-at-home/article_c10ec2f0-b61e-52d4-ba4f-dc745a24388a.html |access-date=2024-05-11 |website=Colorado Springs Gazette |language=en}} In 2009, a jury room inside the Denver Justice Center was named after Cisneros.
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- [https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.10517/ Roger Cisneros Collection – Library of Congress]
- [https://archives.denverlibrary.org/repositories/3/resources/3674 Roger Cisneros Papers – Denver Public Library]
- [https://cl.cobar.org/from-the-courts/people-v-gallegos/ Gallegos vs. People]
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cisneros, Roger}}
Category:Democratic Party Colorado state senators
Category:People from Taos County, New Mexico
Category:American judges of Mexican descent
Category:Hispanic and Latino American judges
Category:20th-century members of the Colorado General Assembly