Angelo Vasta

The Honourable Angelo Vasta QC is a prominent Queen's Counsel and former judge of the Supreme Court of Queensland (1984 to 1989).[1]

Vasta was called to the bar in 1968 and appointed as a QC in 1980. He maintained a successful private practice at the Queensland Bar before retiring on 1 July 2020.[2]

On 24 October 1988, Vasta either stood down or was stood down as a Judge of the Supreme Court of Queensland after evidence of his friendship with the suspended Queensland Police Commissioner Terence Lewis was given at the Fitzgerald Inquiry into police corruption.[3] He was formally removed from office on 8 June 1989 by an Act of the Queensland Parliament, the only occasion since Federation that any parliament in Australia has removed a Supreme Court judge.[4][5] His removal is now considered controversial and attempts have been made to reverse the decision.[6] The most recent effort, pioneered by Bob Katter, failed in 2017.[7]

Vasta's son, Ross Vasta MP, has been a member of the Australian House of Representatives since 2010, and previously served from 2004 to 2007.[8]

Since 1 January 2015, another son, Salvatore "Sal" Vasta, has been a judge of the Federal Circuit Court of Australia.[9] Vasta's daughter-in-law, Sal's wife, is Magistrate Deborah Vasta, a Magistrate of the Magistrates Court of Queensland.[10]

See also

References
  1. Supreme Court Library Queensland. "The Honourable Angelo Vasta". sclqld.org.au. Retrieved 13 January 2021.
  2. P. D. Connolly Chambers. "Mr Angelo Vasta QC". pdconnollychambers.com.au. Retrieved 13 January 2021.
  3. Legal Affairs and Community Safety Committee. "Honourable Angelo Vasta (Reversal of Removal) Bill 2017" (PDF). Parliament.qld.gov.au. Retrieved 2 April 2019.
  4. Campbell, Enid; Lee, H. P. (2013). The Australian Judiciary. Cambridge University Press. p. 120. ISBN 9780521769167.
  5. Legal Affairs and Community Safety Committee. "Honourable Angelo Vasta (Reversal of Removal) Bill 2017" (PDF). Parliament.qld.gov.au. Retrieved 4 October 2018.
  6. Queensland Parliament. "Honourable Angelo Vasta (Reversal of Removal) Bill 2017". legislation.qld.gov.au. Retrieved 13 January 2021.
  7. Queensland Parliament. "Honourable Angelo Vasta (Reversal of Removal) Bill 2017". legislation.qld.gov.au. Retrieved 13 January 2021.
  8. Green, Antony. "Bonner (Key Seat)". ABC Elections. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 16 October 2015.
  9. "Magistrate Deborah Vasta". sclqld.org.au. Retrieved 13 January 2021.
  10. Supreme Court Library Queensland. "The Honourable Angelo Vasta". www.sclqld.org.au/. Retrieved 13 January 2021.


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