Peter S. Keyes Barrister & Solicitor - Edmonton

Peter S. Keyes

Born in rural Alberta and raised in Edmonton, Peter attended the University of Alberta and graduated with Honours.  After deciding to become a lawyer, Peter attended Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia for its respected law school. Upon completion, Peter articled in rural Alberta in criminal defence under a senior criminal defence lawyer. Soon after his call to the bar, Peter returned to Edmonton and opened his own law office. At his office in Edmonton, Peter works closely with a senior criminal defence lawyer. Peter also maintains a satellite office in Athabasca to better serve clients in rural Alberta.

Early in his career, Peter has successfully defended clients accused of some fairly serious charges. In Court of Queen’s Bench, these successes include trials for a home invasion shooting, a series of convenience store robberies with a firearm, and serious sexual assault cases. For sexual assault cases, Peter has been successful in securing acquittals in multiple jury trials. In Court of Queen’s Bench, Peter has also been successful in Charter litigation to exclude drug evidence because it was obtained by police in a manner that violated Charter rights.

In Provincial Court, Peter has a track record with success in defending theft, domestic assault, sexual assault, impaired driving, firearms, and youth charges. Where a finding of guilt could not be avoided, Peter has been successful in contested sentence hearings to obtain lower jail sentences (where a jail sentence was unavoidable), probation instead of jail, and discharges where possible.

To more effectively represent his clients, Peter regularly participates in professional development programs. In 2017, Peter completed the 37th Annual Intensive Advocacy program (Legal Education Society of Alberta), a 6-day trial “boot camp” where he was trained in cross-examination by some of the most respected trial judges and trial lawyers in Alberta. Peter regularly attends criminal law seminars to keep up with recent developments in the law, including a week-long national criminal law program in Ottawa (July, 2019).

Peter has successfully represented all types of clients, from professionals facing career-ending consequences if convicted, to more “frequent fliers” in the criminal justice system. Many of Peter’s clients are Indigenous. Peter is sensitive towards the inter-generational trauma and systemic racism that result in the overrepresentation of Indigenous individuals in the criminal justice system. Therefore, Peter makes a point of aggressively defending his Indigenous clients to make sure that they are not oppressed by the system.