Portraits of the Community - Angelo Branca
IN CELEBRATION OF ITALIAN HERITAGE MONTH
Angelo Branca
The Italian-Canadian Folk Hero
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/file:angelobranca.jpg "From Wikimedia Commons, The Free Media Repository" "Angelo Branco, Vancouver lawyer, c. 1930s. photo scanned from Vincent Moore, gladiator of the courts: Angelo Branca, Vancouver: Douglas & Mcintyre, 1981. Photo is from before 1948 and therefore public domain, and was not published in the United States."
Angelo Branca (born. 1903) was an Italian-Canadian lawyer during the 20th century. Branca was known as a folk hero among the Italian-Canadian community in Vancouver and was praised for his good deeds as a pro-bono defence lawyer who represented the downtrodden during the Great Depression.
It was during Branca’s early years as a young lawyer that he earned his reputation not only as a skilled attorney, but as a friend of those in need, often working for minimal pay to defend bootleggers and others accused of criminality in Vancouver. His reputation grew, and he was soon offered a more lucrative clientele. Even with this notoriety, he never forgot those from his old neighborhood in the East End and he continued to defend them even as his career flourished.
Branca’s record was close to impeccable; while sources vary, he is reported to at most have lost four murder cases of a total of 62, with only two of those found guilty being sentenced to death. It is reported in his obituary that over two thirds of Branca’s murder cases were done on legal aid, meaning that he effectively made no money for them. In 1938, Branca served as a prosecutor for the Crown for a portion of his career. At the time, he was the youngest ever prosecutor for the Crown.
Branca’s career in the government put him in the spotlight for many important cases in BC. He defended 17 Vancouver Police Department officers who had lost their jobs due to 1935 reforms made by the then mayor of Vancouver, Mayor McGeer. Branca was able to have almost all the officers reinstated. Branca also prosecuted for the Mulligan Affair, an event in which the Vancouver Chief of Police, Walter Mulligan, was found to be instrumental in a huge corruption scandal between the police and organized crime. Despite his increasing prestige, Branca continued to help those who needed it most. Following World War II, he defended many Italian Canadians who were interned as ‘enemy aliens’ after war broke out in Europe.
Later in life, Branca found himself with a seat on the Supreme Court of BC in 1963, and later the British Columbia Court of Appeals in 1966. He would stay in that position until his retirement in 1978. He died shortly thereafter in 1981, reportedly having battled cancer for some time.
Branca is remembered fondly as a skilled lawyer and friend to the community. He was honoured with a number of awards and honorary degrees during his life in recognition of his contributions to many aspects of society, including being knighted by Pope Paul VI. Branca was also known to have distinguished himself as an amateur boxer, wherein he was also quite successful.