San Diego Criminal Justice Memorial
Honorees
A memorial directory honoring deceased judges, prosecutors, and defense attorneys who advanced criminal justice in San Diego County.
John Edgar Roundtree
1880-1961
Born in Topeka, Kansas in 1880. He and his wife Mary had no children. Roundtree was a graduate of Washburn College, Topeka; Howard University, Washington, D.C.; and John Marshall College of Law, Cleveland, Ohio.
Roundtree, who had been a real estate agent, was in his 30s when he obtained his law degree from Howard University. He first established a law practice in Terre Haute, Indiana. In 1918, Roundtree registered for the draft for World War I. After the war, Roundtree moved his legal practice to Cleveland, Ohio. He moved to California and was admitted to the Bar in 1931.
After he moved to San Diego he set up a private law office before joining the District Attorney’s Family Relations Division in the early 1940s. He served in the District Attorney’s Office for 18 years as the Deputy in charge of the unit investigating failures to provide for spouses and children (later named the Family Support Division). Roundtree supervised a small staff of investigators and clerks and handled thousands of cases involving fathers who were not financially supporting their families. He prosecuted these criminal cases himself. One of his perennial defendants was a vibrant boxing figure of the 1950s, World Light-Heavyweight Champion Archie Moore. Moore, while not in court, would entertain John Roundtree’s staff and friends with exhibitions of his ring prowess.
When he retired in the mid-1950s, he returned to private practice. He was an honorary trustee of Bethel Baptist Church. He was also a member of Kappa Alpha Psi fraternity, a national fraternity formed in the early 1900’s to unite, encourage, and support African-Americans who attended college.
A distinguished gentleman, loved and respected by all, John Roundtree was the only black man employed by the District Attorney’s Office in the 1940’s and 1950s. Roundtree was a conservative and meticulous dresser with starched white collars, impeccable suits, and regimental ties – the epitome of dignity and civility. His mannered presentations in court and the respect he enjoyed with all who knew him was part of the proud tradition of our court system in the 1940s and 1950s. His excellent reputation for fairness, honesty, and candor existed throughout both the law enforcement community, the defendants he prosecuted, and the community at large. His stature in the profession continued throughout his long career and is part of the rich heritage of the Bar. He died October 14, 1961 at the age of 81 and was buried in San Diego.