- Carlos Cadena
Carlos Cadena (1918 - 2001) was a
lawyer ,activist andjudge based in San Antonio,Texas .Cadena graduated
Summa Cum Laude from the University of Texas Law School in 1940. His legal practice began after a term as aradio operator in theUS Army Air Forces duringWorld War II . He was later hired to teach law at St. Mary's University in San Antonio.Cadena worked with fellow attorney Gus Garcia in the landmark case "
Hernández v. Texas " (1954), arguing before theUS Supreme Court for the end of a practice of systematic exclusion ofHispanic s from jury service inJackson County, Texas . The high court ruled that people could not be excluded from jury duty based on their national origin. Even thoughMexican-American s composed more than 10% of the county's population, no person of Mexican ancestry had served in a jury there in over 25 years.Cadena was still teaching law at St. Mary's when, in 1965, Texas governor John Connolly appointed him an associate justice on the 4th
Court of Appeals . He was named the Court's chief justice in 1977 by then governorDolph Briscoe . Cadena held that position until his retirement in 1990.One of the University of Texas Law School's societies is named in his honor.
External links
* [http://www.capitol.state.tx.us/tlo/77R/billtext/HC00280I.HTM Texas House Resolution Honoring Carlos Cadena]
*Handbook of Texas|id=HH/jrh1|name=Hernández v. State of Texas
* [http://hispanicvista.com/html4/06210bgu.htm Hispanic Vista article on Carlos Cadena, Gus Garcia and their Civil Rights efforts]
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.
