Quote:
Originally Posted by Peanut
I agree with what you're saying. Doesn't help the fact that the whole thing still makes me really angry and sad.
Speaking of his lawyer... isn't Balfour Der basically "the" defence lawyer in Calgary? I don't really know anything about lawyers in Calgary, but he seems to be the guy on all the higher-profile cases that make the news.
Probably pretty expensive for Tschetter to try and get off as lightly as possible. So maybe he's not really helping out his kids and family in that regard. Who knows.
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Der is one of "the" major criminal lawyers in the City - certainly gets a large share of the most serious cases. Usually that happens because the individual in question is considered to be the best. Here is his bio:
About Balfour DER
Balfour Der as has been described by the Calgary Herald as “arguably Calgary’s top defence counsel.”
Mr. Der has been called upon by professional and amateur athletes, police officers, firefighters, lawyers and many others whose livelihood and reputations depended on the positive outcome of the case. Balfour Der’s clients know they can rely on him to represent their interests without exception. When he takes on a case, he does so to achieve the best results regardless of the seriousness of the charge or the circumstances of the client.
Mr. Der was a senior trial prosecutor for the Crown Prosecutor’s Office in Calgary from 1981 to 1990. During that time he honed his skills by handling hundreds of criminal prosecutions. In 1988 Balfour Der was asked to join the appellate division of the Crown’s Office where he handled appeal cases before the Alberta Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court of Canada.
In 1990 Balfour Der left the Crown Prosecutor’s Office to go into private practice where he has continued to practice exclusively in criminal law. He has successfully defended people who have been charged with the most minor of charges to the most serious. There is no area of criminal law that Mr. Der has not been involved. He has defended people charged in Alberta, British Columbia and Saskatchewan. His experience extends to areas outside of strict criminal offences including Tax Evasion, Customs Act offences and Traffic offences.
While his main work is in the trial courts, Mr. Der regularly argues appeals for not only persons he has defended, but also accuseds that have been defended at trial by other lawyers. As counsel, Balfour Der has appeared before the Supreme Court of Canada on precedent setting cases involving reasonable doubt and jury instructions, lost evidence, and double jeopardy.
In addition to his active practice, Balfour Der teaches criminal law and is the author of two criminal law text books as well as numerous papers and articles for seminars and lectures. He is on the faculty of the Canadian Police College in Ottawa, Ontario and the Bar Admission Course of Alberta. As he says, “I eat, drink and sleep criminal law.”
Balfour Der is a former Junior A hockey player. Now he spends his spare time coaching lacrosse and hockey, and running marathons.