Latino Legal Pioneer
by Jake Fegan
Roger Cisneros
January 22, 1924-September 18, 2017
Roger Cisneros was a prominent member of the Denver community from the time he graduated law school until his death on September 18, 2017.[1] Roger was born in Questa, New Mexico, the fifth child born to Donaciano and Todosia Cisneros on January 22, 1924.[2] His parents owned a small farm where they raised sheep and grew crops. To get a high school education, Roger was sent to Menaul High School in Albuquerque. At Menaul, Roger excelled in both academics and athletics. He was fond of reading and was one of the best track stars in his high school.[3] Even though his school had only one room, he continued to pursue education.[4]
After high school, Roger worked briefly as a riveter on aircraft in Longmont, Colorado and wanted to be a pilot in the Air Force.[5] However, the Air Force did not need any more pilots at the time, so on March 29, 1944, Roger Cisneros volunteered for military service in World War Two.[6] Due to Roger’s high intelligence, he was put into service as a cryptologist in the 333rd Army Air Corps.[7] He served in the South Pacific decoding enemy transmissions on ships outside of Okinawa for 11 months.[8] It was during this time that the United States was focused on breaking the Japanese code that used a machine the Americans called “Purple” for encrypting messages.[9] Roger returned to the United States on June 27, 1945, two months before the atomic bombs were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.[10] Once he was back in the United States, Roger served in the army for another 10 months, until he was honorably discharged at the level of Sergeant.[11] Given Roger’s darker complexion, while in the service he was often told to move seats on aircraft as whites often did not want to sit next to him. He again faced discrimination back in Longmont, Colorado when he was denied service at a “whites only” café.[12] These experiences would no doubt have a great impact on him and set the stage for his later fight against racial segregation and discrimination.
After his time in the military, Roger adamantly pursued an education. He attended the University of Denver and it was at this time that he met his wife Adelia (Dee) Trujillo Cisneros. Dee was working at the May Company Department Store, and they first saw each other on the bus after Roger was done with classes at the University of Denver.[13] They vaguely knew each other through mutual friends from church and soon began a relationship. The two were married on March 19, 1949.[14] They had their first child in 1950 and named the boy Melvin. It was at this point when Dee stopped working and decided to take care of the household. Roger graduated with a B.S. from the University of Denver in 1950 but continued to work two jobs and attended night school to earn his master’s degree from the University of Colorado at Denver.[15] They soon had two more children, Denise in 1952 and Andrea in 1956.[16]
It was during this time that Roger decided to pursue a career in law. He attended the Sturm College of Law (then called Westminster Law) at night and drove a cab to support his education and family.[17] After his graduation in 1957, Roger Cisneros was one of five Latinos to practice law in Colorado at the time. Early in his career, Roger was influential in many important court cases, such as Gallegos v. People, a case where the defendant had given police an involuntary confession. Cisneros’ appeals of the case eventually went before the U.S. Supreme Court, where the original decision was reversed.[18] In 1964, Roger was elected to the Colorado State Senate and served for 12 years.[19] Roger worked to further the fight against racial segregation and discrimination. He fought against different Colorado bills that worked to cut college education funding for Native Americans. Cisneros defended the funding due to the fact that Colorado had taken lands from Native Americans and in return students from Native American students should be accepted to universities “free of charge.”[20] He also fought against bills that would have cut education funding to Vietnam veterans that were not stationed in country. Roger fought against this bill as draftees had no say in where they were stationed.[21] Roger won reelection three times as Senator and served on many different boards and committees including the Anti-Discrimination Committee, the Civilian Review Board of the Police Station, and Governor Commission on Child Support, among many other appointments.[22] In 1978, Roger was appointed by Governor Lamm to the State of Colorado District Court until he retired nine years later.[23]
Roger Cisneros and his wife Dee remained almost impossibly active in their “retirement.” Dee was very involved in the Denver public education system and was Parent Teacher Association President of three different schools. She also volunteered in the Denver public school system for 17 years. Meanwhile, Roger was involved with the Latino community in Denver and served as the Chairman of the United Latin American Organization, President of the Latin American Educational Foundation, one of the original founders and Board Officer of the Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund, among many other important positions.[24] He was also active in the Denver Art Museum and exercised daily at the Denver Athletic Club.[25]
Unfortunately, on September 18, 2017, Judge Roger Cisneros and his wife Adelia were found dead in their home. Evidence indicated the car had been left running in their garage overnight, and the couple died together in their beds from carbon monoxide poisoning after 68 years of marriage.[26] Roger was 93 years old and Adelia was 89.
Footnotes ↓
[1] “Judge Roger & Adelia Cisneros,” Horan & McConaty, September 2017, accessed on January 16, 2020, https://horancares.com/obits/judge-roger-adelia-cisneros/.
[2] “1940 United States Federal Census,” database, ancestry.com, (accessed April 21, 2019), entry for Roger Cisneros, New Mexico.
[3] “Judge Roger & Adelia Cisneros,” Horan & McConaty.
[4] “Roger Cisneros,” Colorado Bar Association Continuing Legal Education (CBA-CLE), December 2012, accessed on January 16, 2020, https://cle.cobar.org/About/Faculty-Authors/Info/CUSTOMERCD/1423.
[5] “U.S. World War II Army Enlistment Records, 1938-1946, entry for Roger Cisneros, database, https://www.ancestrylibrary.com.
[6] Ibid.
[7] Pauline Rivera, “The Honorable Judge Roger Cisneros,” La Voz, October 15, 2008, accessed on January 16, 2020, http://www.lavozcolorado.com/detail.php?id=2989.
[8] “U.S. World War II Army Enlistment Records, 1938-1946, entry for Roger Cisneros, database, https://www.ancestrylibrary.com.
[9] Katelyn Callahan, “The Impact of the Allied Cryptographers on World War II: Cryptanalysis of the Japanese and German Cipher Machines,” 2014, accessed on January 16, 2020, https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/The-Impact-of-the-Allied-Cryptographers-on-World-II-Callahan/c7cf0c41932d61457dd943dc4dffca2c8bb92e95.
[10] Ibid.
[11] Ibid.
[12] “Roger Cisneros,” CBA-CLE.
[13] Emma Lynch, “You’re Still the One,” La Voz, February 9, 2011, accessed on January 16, 2020, http://www.lavozcolorado.com/detail.php?id=5636.
[14] Ibid.
[15] “Brown, Cisneros to Speak to Urban League,” Colorado Springs Gazette, February 25, 1970.
[16] “Judge Roger & Adelia Cisneros,” Horan & McConaty.
[17] Staff, “City Council Recognizes DU Alumni with Justice Center Naming Honors,” DU Magazine, March, 2009.
[18] “Roger Cisneros,” CBA-CLE; Ernest Gurule, “The Cisneros Legacy…And Just For All,” September 20, 2017, accessed on January 16, 2020, http://www.lavozcolorado.com/detail.php?id=9325.
[19] Ibid.
[20] Ray Broussard, “State Senate Approves Bill Cutting Free Indian Tuition,” Colorado Springs Gazette, April 24, 1971.
[21] Ray Broussard, “$2 Million Price for Tuition Waiver,” Colorado Springs Gazette, May 10, 1973.
[22] “Judge Roger & Adelia Cisneros,” Horan & McConaty.
[23] “Roger Cisneros,” CBA-CLE.
[24] Gleason, “Judge Roger & Adelia Cisneros.”
[25] Ibid.
[26] Tatiana Flowers, “Ex-Judge, Wife May Have Died Of Carbon Monoxide Poisoning,” CBS Denver, September 2017, accessed on January 16, 2020, https://denver.cbslocal.com/2017/09/19/roger-cisneros-adelia-carbon-monoxide-poisoning/.
Roger Cisneros in uniform, La Voz, http://www.lavozcolorado.com/detail.php?id=2989om)
Judge Roger Cisneros and his wife, Adelia (Dee) Trujillo. https://horancares.com/obits/judge-roger-adelia-cisneros/
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