Sheldon Tate brings more than 40 years of courtroom experience to his criminal defence practice.
He graduated from the University of Alberta with an LL.B. in 1984 and articled in Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, with Richard, Vertes, Peterson & Lang under the mentorship of Ted Richard. He was called to the Bar of the Northwest Territories in July 1985, and within hours conducted and won his first jury trial.
From the outset of his career, Sheldon focused exclusively on criminal law. He conducted dozens of jury trials in northern Canada before being recruited to Kamloops by Peter Jensen. He has since practised criminal law across Alberta, Ontario, British Columbia, Yukon, and the Northwest Territories, appearing before trial courts at every level and before the Alberta, B.C., and N.W.T. Courts of Appeal, as well as the Supreme Court of Canada.
Sheldon is best known for his extensive trial experience. He has defended clients in some of the most serious and complex criminal matters, including homicide of all forms, home invasions, major assaults, firearms offences, drug offences, and serious traffic cases. His longest jury trial exceeded one year – the landmark Gustafson Lake trial (1995). Since the 1990s, his practice has been deliberately focused on trial work.
