Angelo Branca
Encyclopedia
Angelo Ernest Branca was a judge in British Columbia
's Supreme Court
and Court of Appeal
from 1963 until 1978, a prominent Italian-Canadian
leader, especially of the Vancouver
Italian community, and a Canadian amateur middleweight boxing champion.
on Vancouver Island
to Italian
immigrant parents. Branca's father, Filippo, was a miner before joining the Klondike Gold Rush
and becoming one of its few success stories after returning with $10,000 ($ in dollars). The family eventually settled in Vancouver's East End
, where Angelo attended school at Lord Strathcona Elementary
and Britannia Secondary
schools.
building at Main and Hastings Streets. Many of his early cases were defending local bootleggers and he earned a reputation as "A dear friend of the little guy" for his willingness to provide his services pro bono, particularly during the lean depression years. Branca soon earned a reputation as one of the most formidable defense lawyers in the province, attracting a rich and powerful clientele in addition to the downtrodden in his old neighbourhood. Throughout his career, he defended 63 people charged with murder and only four of those were convicted.
at the post office
paraded east down Hastings Street, smashing windows along the way.
The brutality of the RCMP
in its treatment of the downtrodden protesters provoked a major public outcry. The next day, ten thousand people turned out to a protest at the Powell Street Grounds (today's Oppenheimer Park). Because there was little chance of a jury of peers convicting the rioters, Branca convinced the Attorney-General to stay most of the charges, and of the 23 charged, only two were convicted but received only small fines that were paid by sympathizers.
Other notorious local cases Branca worked included the defense of 17 Vancouver Police officers that were purged from the force in 1935 by the reform administration of Mayor Gerry McGeer
. Almost all of them were reinstated and exonerated thanks to Branca's efforts. Also in 1935, Branca defended Vancouver's "Public Enemy number one," local brothel keeper and bootlegger, Joe Celona. During the Second World War
, Branca came to the defense of Italians who had been interned as a threat to national security. Branca was also a lead attorney in prosecuting the "Mulligan Affair" in 1955, in which the police chief was found to have established an elaborate "pay off" system with segments of the criminal underworld.
in 1963, where he served until his retirement in 1978. A statue of Christopher Columbus
was erected in 1986 on Clark Drive at the Piazza Italia. It was dedicated to Branca for his leadership in the local Italian community and was donated by the Italian
City of Genoa
. In 2000, the monument mysteriously disappeared, apparently stolen, only to later reappear at the Italian Garden at Hastings Park. The likely reason for the guerrilla relocation is that the original Clark Drive site, to the dismay of the Italian community, became a busy thoroughfare for transport trucks and hence unfriendly to pedestrian traffic.
Angelo graduated from law school and was admitted to the BC bar in 1926 and was appointed Kings Counsel in 1949. These were the first steps of a long road that brought him to the pinnacle of his profession.
Mr. Branca was appointed to the BC Supreme Court in 1963 and then elevated to the BC Court of Appeal in 1966.
Judge Branca retired at the age of 75 and returned to the practice of law.
Between 1929 and 1963 Mr. Branca defended some 63 men charged with murder, he won acquittals for all but three. He prosecuted 7 murder trials.
The Canadian Lawyer magazine rated Angelo Branca as the most famous criminal defense lawyer in Canada's history.
Judge Branca received an Honorary Doctor of Laws degree from St. Martin's college in Olympia Washington in 1973.
In addition, he was the recipient again of an Honorary Doctor of Laws degree from Simon Fraser University in 1975.
Judge Branca received the Abraham Lincoln International Reverence of Law award from the Fraternal Order of Eagles, St. Louis Missouri, in 1977. Branca was the 11th recipient of this award in its history, first awarded to President Truman, and later to Chief Justice of the supreme Court of the United States, Earl Warren. Judge Branca was the first Canadian recipient.
Angelo B
Branca excelled in the boxing ring just as he did in the law courts. He was always physically fit which assisted him in his mental acuity. He ran 5 miles a day around McLean park before running was "in." He had a boxing bag mounted in his home in his basement and work out daily.
Angelo's boxing career was brief but as in everything he undertook, he excelled in it. To quote Mr. Branca: "I beat everyone I fought against in the ring by the fifth round." Angelo went on to win the middleweight championship of Canada in 1934. On winning this championship, Mr. Branca was asked to become a professional fighter but at the age of 31, he made the decision to devote all his time and expertise to the law. Following this time of competition, Mr. Branca taught boys at the Vancouver College to box and was a mentor to them for many years.
In 1967, Judge Branca invited former heavyweight champion of the world, Rocky Marciano to come to Vancouver to referee amateur in Vancouver to a great fanfare.
Judge Branca's philanthropic involvement was legendary.
In 1966, Angelo was a prime mover in the amalgamation of four of the oldest Italian Canadian societies in the City of Vancouver into one society bearing the name, Confratellanza Italo Canadese.
He was co - Chairman of the Pacific region of the Canadian Council of Christians and Jews.
Angelo was chairman of the Finance committee of Camp Miriam and dedicated his time to raising funds for children unable to pay for camp fees.
Judge Branca was invested as a Knight of St. Gregory the Great by Pope Paul VI in 1977.
Judge Branca was the second Canadian recipient of the Yeshiva University award from Yeshiva University in New York in 1969.
Mr. Branca was the recipient of an Honorary fellowship from the University of Bar-Llam, Tel Aviv, Israel in 1976.
He was also the recipient of the medal of the President of Israel in 1976, at the time, the only other Canadian recipient of this award was the Prime Minister John Diefenbaker.
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
's Supreme Court
Supreme Court of British Columbia
The Supreme Court of British Columbia is the superior trial court for the province of British Columbia. The BCSC hears civil and criminal law cases as well as appeals from the Provincial Court of British Columbia. Including supernumerary judges, there are presently 108 judges...
and Court of Appeal
British Columbia Court of Appeal
The British Columbia Court of Appeal is the highest appellate court in the province of British Columbia, Canada. The BCCA hears appeals from the Supreme Court of British Columbia and a number of boards and tribunals. The BCCA also hears criminal appeals from the Provincial Court of British...
from 1963 until 1978, a prominent Italian-Canadian
Italian-Canadian
An Italian Canadian is a Canadian of Italian descent or heritage. According to the 2006 census of Canada, 1,445,335 Canadians consider themselves to be of Italian origin. The Italian-Canadian population climbed by more than 12% and half have combined Italian origins along with another ethnic...
leader, especially of the Vancouver
Vancouver
Vancouver is a coastal seaport city on the mainland of British Columbia, Canada. It is the hub of Greater Vancouver, which, with over 2.3 million residents, is the third most populous metropolitan area in the country,...
Italian community, and a Canadian amateur middleweight boxing champion.
Early life
Angelo Branca was born in what is now a ghost town on Mount SickerMount Sicker
Mount Sicker is a small mountain on Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada. It is near Crofton, Chemainus and Duncan.-Mining history:In the autumn of 1895, three American prospectors—F.L. Sullivan, T. McKay and Henry Buzzard—discovered traces of copper, gold and silver on Mount Sicker and...
on Vancouver Island
Vancouver Island
Vancouver Island is a large island in British Columbia, Canada. It is one of several North American locations named after George Vancouver, the British Royal Navy officer who explored the Pacific Northwest coast of North America between 1791 and 1794...
to Italian
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
immigrant parents. Branca's father, Filippo, was a miner before joining the Klondike Gold Rush
Klondike Gold Rush
The Klondike Gold Rush, also called the Yukon Gold Rush, the Alaska Gold Rush and the Last Great Gold Rush, was an attempt by an estimated 100,000 people to travel to the Klondike region the Yukon in north-western Canada between 1897 and 1899 in the hope of successfully prospecting for gold...
and becoming one of its few success stories after returning with $10,000 ($ in dollars). The family eventually settled in Vancouver's East End
Strathcona (Vancouver)
Strathcona is Vancouver, British Columbia's oldest residential neighbourhood. It is bordered by Chinatown to the west, Clark Drive to the east, Burrard Inlet on the north, and Canadian National Railway and Great Northern Railway classification yards to the south.-History:Over 8,000 people now live...
, where Angelo attended school at Lord Strathcona Elementary
Lord Strathcona Elementary School
Lord Strathcona Community Elementary School is the oldest school in Vancouver, British Columbia. It was founded in 1891 and is in the secondary school catchment area for Britannia Secondary School. It is located in the Strathcona neighbourhood and has a culturally diverse student body...
and Britannia Secondary
Britannia Secondary School
Britannia Community Secondary School is a public community secondary school located in the Grandview–Woodland neighbourhood on the east-side of Vancouver, British Columbia. The school educates its students using a district-wide block schedule program that alternates four blocks every two days....
schools.
Early career
Branca began practicing law in 1926, and opened his law office on the second story of the Royal BankRoyal Bank of Canada
The Royal Bank of Canada or RBC Financial Group is the largest financial institution in Canada, as measured by deposits, revenues, and market capitalization. The bank serves seventeen million clients and has 80,100 employees worldwide. The company corporate headquarters are located in Toronto,...
building at Main and Hastings Streets. Many of his early cases were defending local bootleggers and he earned a reputation as "A dear friend of the little guy" for his willingness to provide his services pro bono, particularly during the lean depression years. Branca soon earned a reputation as one of the most formidable defense lawyers in the province, attracting a rich and powerful clientele in addition to the downtrodden in his old neighbourhood. Throughout his career, he defended 63 people charged with murder and only four of those were convicted.
Career highlights
In 1938, Branca became the youngest prosecutor in the province. His first case was to prosecute unemployed rioters who, after being brutally ejected from a sitdown strikeBloody Sunday (1938)
Bloody Sunday was the conclusion of a month-long "sitdowners' strike" by unemployed men at the main post office in Vancouver, British Columbia...
at the post office
Canada Post
Canada Post Corporation, known more simply as Canada Post , is the Canadian crown corporation which functions as the country's primary postal operator...
paraded east down Hastings Street, smashing windows along the way.
Royal Canadian Mounted Police
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police , literally ‘Royal Gendarmerie of Canada’; colloquially known as The Mounties, and internally as ‘The Force’) is the national police force of Canada, and one of the most recognized of its kind in the world. It is unique in the world as a national, federal,...
in its treatment of the downtrodden protesters provoked a major public outcry. The next day, ten thousand people turned out to a protest at the Powell Street Grounds (today's Oppenheimer Park). Because there was little chance of a jury of peers convicting the rioters, Branca convinced the Attorney-General to stay most of the charges, and of the 23 charged, only two were convicted but received only small fines that were paid by sympathizers.
Other notorious local cases Branca worked included the defense of 17 Vancouver Police officers that were purged from the force in 1935 by the reform administration of Mayor Gerry McGeer
Gerry McGeer
Gerald Grattan McGeer was a lawyer, populist politician, and monetary reform advocate in the Canadian province of British Columbia...
. Almost all of them were reinstated and exonerated thanks to Branca's efforts. Also in 1935, Branca defended Vancouver's "Public Enemy number one," local brothel keeper and bootlegger, Joe Celona. During the Second World War
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, Branca came to the defense of Italians who had been interned as a threat to national security. Branca was also a lead attorney in prosecuting the "Mulligan Affair" in 1955, in which the police chief was found to have established an elaborate "pay off" system with segments of the criminal underworld.
Later life
Branca was appointed to the bench of the Supreme Court of British ColumbiaSupreme Court of British Columbia
The Supreme Court of British Columbia is the superior trial court for the province of British Columbia. The BCSC hears civil and criminal law cases as well as appeals from the Provincial Court of British Columbia. Including supernumerary judges, there are presently 108 judges...
in 1963, where he served until his retirement in 1978. A statue of Christopher Columbus
Christopher Columbus
Christopher Columbus was an explorer, colonizer, and navigator, born in the Republic of Genoa, in northwestern Italy. Under the auspices of the Catholic Monarchs of Spain, he completed four voyages across the Atlantic Ocean that led to general European awareness of the American continents in the...
was erected in 1986 on Clark Drive at the Piazza Italia. It was dedicated to Branca for his leadership in the local Italian community and was donated by the Italian
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
City of Genoa
Genoa
Genoa |Ligurian]] Zena ; Latin and, archaically, English Genua) is a city and an important seaport in northern Italy, the capital of the Province of Genoa and of the region of Liguria....
. In 2000, the monument mysteriously disappeared, apparently stolen, only to later reappear at the Italian Garden at Hastings Park. The likely reason for the guerrilla relocation is that the original Clark Drive site, to the dismay of the Italian community, became a busy thoroughfare for transport trucks and hence unfriendly to pedestrian traffic.
Awards
Angelo was a zealous participant, not an observer, in all facets of his life. The determination, lucidity and sheer power of this outstanding Italian Canadian was evident from an early age and throughout his life, in spite of great odds and the awful barrier of discrimination.Angelo graduated from law school and was admitted to the BC bar in 1926 and was appointed Kings Counsel in 1949. These were the first steps of a long road that brought him to the pinnacle of his profession.
Mr. Branca was appointed to the BC Supreme Court in 1963 and then elevated to the BC Court of Appeal in 1966.
Judge Branca retired at the age of 75 and returned to the practice of law.
Between 1929 and 1963 Mr. Branca defended some 63 men charged with murder, he won acquittals for all but three. He prosecuted 7 murder trials.
The Canadian Lawyer magazine rated Angelo Branca as the most famous criminal defense lawyer in Canada's history.
Judge Branca received an Honorary Doctor of Laws degree from St. Martin's college in Olympia Washington in 1973.
In addition, he was the recipient again of an Honorary Doctor of Laws degree from Simon Fraser University in 1975.
Judge Branca received the Abraham Lincoln International Reverence of Law award from the Fraternal Order of Eagles, St. Louis Missouri, in 1977. Branca was the 11th recipient of this award in its history, first awarded to President Truman, and later to Chief Justice of the supreme Court of the United States, Earl Warren. Judge Branca was the first Canadian recipient.
Angelo B
Branca excelled in the boxing ring just as he did in the law courts. He was always physically fit which assisted him in his mental acuity. He ran 5 miles a day around McLean park before running was "in." He had a boxing bag mounted in his home in his basement and work out daily.
Angelo's boxing career was brief but as in everything he undertook, he excelled in it. To quote Mr. Branca: "I beat everyone I fought against in the ring by the fifth round." Angelo went on to win the middleweight championship of Canada in 1934. On winning this championship, Mr. Branca was asked to become a professional fighter but at the age of 31, he made the decision to devote all his time and expertise to the law. Following this time of competition, Mr. Branca taught boys at the Vancouver College to box and was a mentor to them for many years.
In 1967, Judge Branca invited former heavyweight champion of the world, Rocky Marciano to come to Vancouver to referee amateur in Vancouver to a great fanfare.
Judge Branca's philanthropic involvement was legendary.
In 1966, Angelo was a prime mover in the amalgamation of four of the oldest Italian Canadian societies in the City of Vancouver into one society bearing the name, Confratellanza Italo Canadese.
He was co - Chairman of the Pacific region of the Canadian Council of Christians and Jews.
Angelo was chairman of the Finance committee of Camp Miriam and dedicated his time to raising funds for children unable to pay for camp fees.
Judge Branca was invested as a Knight of St. Gregory the Great by Pope Paul VI in 1977.
Judge Branca was the second Canadian recipient of the Yeshiva University award from Yeshiva University in New York in 1969.
Mr. Branca was the recipient of an Honorary fellowship from the University of Bar-Llam, Tel Aviv, Israel in 1976.
He was also the recipient of the medal of the President of Israel in 1976, at the time, the only other Canadian recipient of this award was the Prime Minister John Diefenbaker.