Donald I. Brenner (1945 – March 12, 2011) was a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

judge A judge is a person who presides over court proceedings, either alone or as a part of a panel of judges. A judge hears all the witnesses and any other evidence presented by the barristers or solicitors of the case, assesses the credibility an ...

who served as the Chief Justice of the

Supreme Court of British Columbia Supreme may refer to: Entertainment * Supreme (character), a comic book superhero * ''Supreme'' (film), a 2016 Telugu film * Supreme (producer), hip-hop record producer * "Supreme" (song), a 2000 song by Robbie Williams * The Supremes, Motown-e ...

from 2000 until he stepped down from the position in 2009. In total Brenner spent more than 20 years as a member of the provincial Supreme Court. The ''

Vancouver Sun The ''Vancouver Sun'', also known as the ''Sun'', is a daily broadsheet newspaper based in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The newspaper is currently published by the Pacific Newspaper Group, a division of Postmedia Network. Published s ...

'' called Brenner "the man who was most responsible for reforming the province's top trial bench." Brenner was born in

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

to a

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veteran and graduated from St. George's School in

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

in 1962. He obtained a commercial

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when he was eighteen years old. He joined

Canadian Pacific Airlines Canadian Pacific Air Lines was a Canadian airline that operated from 1942 to 1987. It operated under the name CP Air from 1968 to 1986. Headquartered at Vancouver International Airport in Richmond, British Columbia, it served domestic Canadian a ...

in 1966 as a pilot and finished his professional pilot career as a

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. Brenner obtained a

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...

from the

University of British Columbia The University of British Columbia (UBC) is a public university, public research university with campuses near Vancouver and in Kelowna, British Columbia. Established in 1908, it is British Columbia's oldest university. The university ranks a ...

and enrolled in

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in 1967. He received a

law degree A law degree is an academic degree conferred for studies in law. Such degrees are generally preparation for legal careers. But while their curricula may be reviewed by legal authority, they do not confer a license themselves. A legal license is gra ...

from the

University of British Columbia Faculty of Law , mottoeng = Let justice be done though the heavens fall , type = Public Law School , endowment = , head_label = Dean , head = Ngai Pindell , established = , city = Vancouver , state = Br ...

in 1970 and joined the bar in 1971. In 1999, Brenner became chairman of the Supreme Court of British Columbia's

litigation - A lawsuit is a proceeding by a party or parties against another in the civil court of law. The archaic term "suit in law" is found in only a small number of laws still in effect today. The term "lawsuit" is used in reference to a civil actio ...

management committee. He also co-founded the B.C. Supreme Court's

information technology Information technology (IT) is the use of computers to create, process, store, retrieve, and exchange all kinds of data . and information. IT forms part of information and communications technology (ICT). An information technology system (I ...

committee. Under Brenner, who became Chief Justice in 2000, the British Columbia Supreme Court adopted a code of civil rules, the first major change in the court's procedures since the 19th Century. The B.C. Supreme Court is also one of the technological in Canada, as Brenner spearheaded to move to adopt

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, electronic filing systems, and adopt new litigation management systems. Brenner stepped down as Chief Justice in 2009 and was succeeded by Chief Justice

Robert Bauman Robert E. Bauman (born April 4, 1937) is an American lawyer and politician. He is a former member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Maryland's 1st congressional district (1973–1981). Bauman was a prominent conservative advocate in the ...

. Don Brenner died unexpectedly of natural causes on March 12, 2011, at the age of 64. He was survived by his wife, Robin, and two daughters.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Brenner, Donald 2011 deaths Judges in British Columbia Canadian aviators Peter A. Allard School of Law alumni 1945 births St. George's School (Vancouver) alumni Lawyers in British Columbia