Aguilar’s family lived in a one-room house before immigrating from Mexico in search of a better life in the U.S. when Aguilar was 7 years old. He excelled in his K–12 education and attended college. The U.S. Army paratrooper and Vietnam veteran said that he was inspired to become a lawyer while attending UC San Diego, where he first protested the university’s low Latino enrollment. Aguilar believed he could be a more effective social justice advocate as an attorney. After earning his Juris Doctor from UC Davis Law School, he was offered a position with the Legal Aid Society, but eventually returned to UC San Diego as Staff Counsel and Director of Student Policies and Judicial Affairs. Today, the LRLA has a paid membership of 500, all of whom remain committed to the organization’s original goals: “to advance the Latino community through political activity and advocacy” and, according to Judge Arreola, to also increase the number of Latino judges. As of fall 2024, there were 32 San Diego Superior Court Judges of Latino heritage compared to the four when the association was founded. Some of these Judges were associated with the LRLA at the beginning of their legal careers.
SD County Superior Court Judge Rafael Arreola • Judicial Career 1981–2007 (Photo courtesy©Rafael Arreola Archives)
La Raza Lawyers Association The LRLA was founded in 1976 by attorneys Roy Cazares and Rafael Arreola; both became San Diego County Superior Court Judges. The volunteer advocates began with 12 attorneys, five of them women and interns, recalls retired Judge Arreola. They first met in the San Diego County Public Law Library. Before LRLA was incorporated, Arreola led the organization. He earned his law degree from Stanford University Law School in 1974. While a law student, he organized a small group of law students and successfully pressured the University to admit more Latino law students, which at that time was capped at five per school year. LRLA’s first official President was Cazares, a U.S. Army veteran, whose family immigrated from Mexico when he was a child. He earned his Juris Doctor (JD) from Harvard University in 1973. As an attorney, he was successful in filing a 1975 civil rights lawsuit against the San Diego Police Department for discriminatory practices against a group of 11 police officers who were all rehired. This was part of his legacy that was reported by the San Diego Union Tribune on June 13, 2024. In 1979, the organization was then incorporated as a paid membership nonprofit led by then president and attorney Nick Aguilar, who also exemplifies the American Dream.
SD County Superior Court Judge Roy Cazares • Judicial Career 1982–2000 (Photo courtesy ©Cazares Family Archives)
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San Diego Latino Legacy – Timeline • Milestones • Stories
Chapter 6 – Perseverance
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