Carlos C. Cadena (1917–2001) was an American lawyer, civil rights activist and judge based in San Antonio, Texas.
[1] Carlos Cristian Cadena, who was the son of Mexican immigrants, was born in San Antonio, Texas, in 1917 and attended Catholic school.
Cadena's long legal career was interrupted only by a term as a radio operator in the US Army Air Forces during World War II.
He continued to serve part-time as a senior appellate justice, as well as acting of counsel to the San Antonio law firm of Charles A. Nicholson, until his death from lung cancer in 2001.
In February 2009, the Public Broadcasting System showed a program A Class Apart, centering on the Hernandez case and its social implications for Mexican Americans.