• Not Guilty

    Sexual Assault Offence

    Not Guilty

    S.H.

    S.H. was a taxi driver that was charged with sexual assault. It was alleged that S.H. drove the complainant home and sexually assaulted her in her residence while she was intoxicated. S.H. had no prior criminal record and decided to retain Mr. Katrib’s services.

    Whether the complainant consented to the sexual activity was the only issue to be decided at trial. Mr. Katrib argued the defence of mistaken belief in consent and was successful. The court found S.H. not guilty. 

  • Not Guilty

    Sexual Assault on a Minor

    Not Guilty

    D.E.

    D.E. retained Mr. Katrib to assist him in defending charges of sexual assault on a minor. D.E. and the complainant met on an online chat site. D.E. had no prior criminal record and was a permanent resident. As permanent residence, D.E. faced deportation if convicted of sexual assault.

    The complainant argued that she told D.E. her real age, but D.E. maintained that she said she was over 18 years old. D.E. picked up the complainant from her school and they had sex in his vehicle. The matter was set for trial and Mr. Katrib was successful in arguing the defence of mistaken belief in age and D.E. was found not guilty.

  • Stay of Proceedings

    Murder

    Stay of Proceedings

    M.A.

    Our client was charged with homicide along with the use of a firearm. It was alleged that M.A. shot the victim in a parkade downtown Calgary. M. A. maintained his innocence from the beginning. Mr. Katrib ultimately had the charges dismissed just prior to the preliminary hearing.

  • Successful in
    appealing
    the conviction

    Sex Assault Appeal

    Successful in Appealing the Conviction

    M.H.

    M.H.  retained Mr. Katrib to clear his name of a sexual assault conviction. Mr. M had been convicted of sexual assault at trial with his previous lawyer. It was alleged that Mr. M attacked a female hotel employee, held her against her will, and sexually assaulted her. 

    Mr. Katrib was successful in arguing for his innocence. The Court of Appeal overturned the conviction due to evidentiary issues.  The prosecutor did not seek to proceed with a second trial.  M. H. was released from custody after having been wrongfully convicted, his conviction overturned and his charges ultimately withdrawn.

  • Charges Withdrawn

    Mischief - Criminal Code
    And
    Failure to comply with instructions from
    a crew member respecting the safety of the aircraft Aeronautics Act

    Charges Withdrawn

    A.

    Ms. A contacted our office for assistance after being charged with mischief and failure to comply with instructions regarding her face mask on an aircraft.

    At first glance these charges appeared to be minor, however there were serious consequences given the potential immigration jeopardy. Ms. A was a foreign national. Our client was on an airplane traveling to visit her daughter. During the flight Ms. A removed her mask and was told to put her mask back on. Unfortunately, her noncompliance and explanation were not enough, which resulted in misunderstanding and Ms. A being charged.

    Given Ms. A was a foreign national it was critical that a criminal record be avoided. Mr. Katrib was able to negotiate with the assigned prosecutor and Ms. A’s charges were withdrawn without the need for a trial.

  • Charges Withdrawn

    Common Assault

    Charges Withdrawn

    I.J.

    Mr. J attended the office because he was charged with assault. Mr. J and others were involved in an altercation that took place downtown with another individual. What started as a consensual fist fight escalated into a more serious assault where the other party in the fight was found unconscious and bleeding, requiring EMS attention.

    As part of his release conditions, Mr. J was banned from the entire downtown area. However, Mr. Katrib was successful in arguing that this condition be removed. Ultimately, the charge against Mr. J was withdrawn.

  • Alternative-Measures

    Mischief

    Alternative-Measures

    J.

    Mr. J was charged with mischief for causing property damage. While with a group of friends at the swimming pool, I.J. and his friends broke a light and the glass fell into the pool. Not only did this cause damage to the property, but it was also aggravated by the fact that this was a safety hazard. The damage was over $100,000.00

    Mr. Katrib was able to effectively divert Mr. J’s matter to the Alternative Measures Program (AMP). AMP is a program that steers individuals out of the justice system in cases of minor criminal offences. Offenders take responsibility for the charges but imposes a punishment outside the court system. AMP results in no criminal record.

  • Alternative-Measures

    Alternative-Measures

    O.

    Ms. O contacted Mr. Katrib to assist with a number of charges arising from an incident at the Calgary airport. While preparing to board a flight, Ms. O was denied boarding due to her Identification being expired. Ms. O needed to get where she was going urgently, so she tried to board the plane and pushed past the airport staff. When the airport staff asked her to leave, she refused, and the police were called. When the police arrested and removed Ms. O she was alleged to have resisted the peace officers and during the struggle to have kicked the peace officer. Ms. O was also charged with storming the bridge of the aircraft, an indictable offense.

    This was a very stressful situation for Ms. O, as these charges had the potential to impact her future career path. The type of career she was pursuing would not accept someone with a criminal record. The matter was scheduled for trial. However, Mr. Katrib was able to have meaningful discussions with the prosecutor beforehand.

    The prosecutor agreed with Mr. Katrib that Ms. O’s matter should be directed through the Alternative Measures Program (AMP). In the end Ms. O had her charges withdrawn.

  • Peace Bond

    Common Assault

    Peace Bond

    H.

    Mr. H was drinking and had an argument with his wife, and she alleged that Mr. H had choked her. Mr. H had a prior criminal record; however, it was unrelated. Mr. H was not permitted to return home to the family home. Mr. Katrib was able to get the prosecutor to agree to allow Mr. H to have contact with his family and return home.

    Mr. Katrib guided Mr. H towards resolving the matter by way of a Peace Bond. Mr. H received counseling for his marriage, anger management, and substance abuse. A Peace Bond is an effective way to avoid a criminal record. Given Mr. H’s circumstances, Mr. Katrib was able to get the Crown Prosecutor to agree to a Peace Bond. Essentially, a Peace Bond is a protection order that imposes specific conditions to prevent the defendant from causing any further harm. Typically, a Peace Bond lasts for approximately 1 year from the date it is entered into. This resulted in Mr. H having no criminal record.

  • Not Guilty of Murder
    - Charges Reduced

    Second Degree Murder

    Not Guilty of Murder - Charges Reduced

    J.P.

    J.P. retained Mr. Katrib after being charged with second degree murder. J.P. had no criminal record and was a young man. J.P. was charged alongside four others with participating in the stabbing death of another young male outside a nightclub.  

    At trial Mr. Katrib and his co-counsel were successful in arguing that the Crown Prosecutor could not prove the offense. Instead Mr. Katrib advocated that J.P. could only be held responsible for the lesser offense of manslaughter, if at all. Although there was ultimately a conviction, the reduction to manslaughter had a significant impact in terms of sentencing. Second degree murder can have a potential 25-year jail sentence. Since J.P. was only convicted of the lesser offense of manslaughter, he received a reduced sentence of 7 years less his pre-trial custody.

  • Conditional Discharge

    Assault on a Minor

    Conditional Discharge

    K.

    The client was charged with assaulting his son. When his son was misbehaving, Mr. K was alleged to have disciplined his son using a belt and a garden hose. Mr. K admitted to the offence, but Mr. Katrib was able to assist him through the process of a guilty plea and argued that the appropriate sentence was a conditional discharge. The prosecution was opposed to a conditional discharge.

    A conditional discharge is a sentence that does not result in a criminal record. Essentially it is a form of probation with certain conditions, for example Keep the Peace and Be of Good Behaviour (KPBG) and participate in types of counselling such as anger management. If the offender follows the conditions and completes their probation, then it does not become part of the offender’s criminal record.

    It is rare that courts grant a conditional discharge in the case of an assault on a child. However, Mr. Katrib was able to effectively advocate for this client and demonstrate to the court that Mr. K was deserving of a conditional discharge. The prosecutor opposed this sentence. The court agreed with Mr. Katrib and granted Mr. K a conditional discharge.

  • Successfully Appealed
    the Charges

    Identity Fraud and
    Obstruction of a Justice

    Successfully Appealed the Charges

    M.

    Mr. M was a foreign national who retained Mr. Katrib to assist him in appealing a conviction for Identity fraud and obstruction of justice. On the day of trial, Mr. M’s previous lawyer Mr. N had convinced him to accept a deal and plead guilty to the charges, without properly advising him that he would be deported if he plead guilty. Mr. M was served with a deportation order.

    Mr. Katrib was successful in overturning the convictions at appeal by arguing that Mr. M’s previous lawyer was ineffective. Mr. Katrib was able to win Mr. M another opportunity for a new trial, so he could avoid being deported. When it came to set the matter for trial again, the prosecutor and Mr. Katrib spoke, and the prosecutor decided not to pursue the charges. Mr. M was able to stay in the country and this matter was removed from his record. 

  • Charges withdrawn

    DUI

    Charges withdrawn

    J.M.

    The client retained Mr. Katrib when he was charged with driving under the influence of alcohol. J.M. was pulled over for a traffic stop for speeding. During the traffic stop the police asked J.M. how much he had to drink. He said that he had 1 beer and a water three hours before. The police tried at least three times to obtain a breath sample from J.M, but eventually they obtained a failed result. J.M. was arrested and charged.

    The matter was set for trial. Mr. Katrib drafted and filed a comprehensive Charter Notice with a significant amount of case law before trial. A Charter Notice is a written argument by the defence that outlines how the accused’s rights were violated. A rights violation can lead to evidence being “tossed out”, so the Crown Prosecutor cannot use it at trial.

    Mr. Katrib successfully argued that J.M.’s rights were violated in many ways. For example, he was unable to call a lawyer of his choice and he was denied the use of the bathroom. Because J.M.’s rights were violated, his statement to the police and other evidence had to be excluded. After reviewing Mr. Katrib’s Charter Notice the Crown Prosecutor decided not to pursue the charges.

Contact Mr. Katrib to set up a free consultation to discuss any and all of your criminal law matters.

Serving across Alberta, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Ontario and Saskatchewan.

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