Angelo Branca

Angelo Branca was born in what is now a ghost town on Mount Sicker on Vancouver Island to Italian immigrant parents.

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.

[2] 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.

His first case was to prosecute unemployed rioters who, after being brutally ejected from a sitdown strike at the post office paraded east down Hastings Street, smashing windows along the way.

The next day, ten thousand people turned out to a protest at the Powell Street Grounds (today's Oppenheimer Park).

[3] 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.

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.

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.

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.

Branca received the Abraham Lincoln International Reverence of Law award from the Fraternal Order of Eagles, St. Louis Missouri, in 1977.

On winning this championship, 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.