Elizabeth O'Grady

• Prosecution experience at both the Ontario Court of Justice and the Superior Court of Justice
• Experience included trial work, judicial pre-trials, bail hearings, bail review hearings, guilty pleas and sentencing hearings.
• Trial work included prosecuting mid-complexity cases involving street-level up to multi-kilo level drug trafficking and possession charges
• Trial work also included a position as co-counsel on relatively high complexity, multi-accused exporting and criminal organization case involving multiple law enforcement agencies and an investigation into the dark web, and counsel on a federal-provincial joint prosecution involving firearms and narcotics
• From 2013-2015, I was counsel (working with co-counsel and legal assistant), responsible for the prosecution of a complex kilo level of Cocaine and Fentanyl file involving a complete Innocence-at-stake application, O’Connor application, Garofoli application, and alternate suspect application involving a third party deported to a foreign country
• This was one of Ottawa’s very first Fentanyl-trafficking prosecutions and involved prominent defence counsel sent in from Toronto
• I have had a number of other trials in which I was assigned as the lead counsel in charge of coaching and mentoring junior counsel assigned to the trial.
• In addition to regular litigation of Charter challenges, some of my experience has involved preparation of Respondent materials in a section 52 Constitutional challenge to the sentencing mandatory minimum penalties.
• Advisory role with police officers on various investigative issues ranging from on-scene questions to search warrant review.
• Taught the Confidential Informant segment of the Search Warrant basics course at the Canadian Police College.
• Member of the Diversion Working Group with a mandate to update and formalize our diversion policies and procedures in the National Capital Region.
• Experience with various other counsel duties including file screening, vetting disclosure, counsel pre-trial discussions, trial preparation and witness interviews.
• Experience with mentoring junior counsel and articling students both in trial preparation and with other litigation aspects as well.

Responsible for managing a regional office of approaximately 140 employees (70 prosecutors)

• Supervisory work involving external partners includes PPSC representation on monthly committees with senior law enforcement partners (RCMP k-division in Edmonton, CPS in Calgary), Criminal Court Management Committee (Calgary), frequent and regular Covid-related committee representative for PPSC (Provincial Court Calgary and Court of Queen’s Bench, Edmonton)
• Frequent point of contact for PPSC on general legal issues with partner-agencies and their in-house legal counsel
• Also, instructor at partner-agency training sessions (ALERT, RCMP, ACPS).
• Supervisory work internally, includes administrative tasks such as performance management, file and advisory assignment, and regular major case team meetings
• Experience in organizing and conducting staffing interviews for incoming legal practitioners and the regional Direct Indictment point of contact for PPSC headquarters
• Also responsible for organizing and administering the weekly Calgary counsel meeting during the Covid pandemic, and scheduling then communicating with partner agencies regarding court coverage during the this same time.
• Advisory work includes primary advisory Crown on large international, high complexity Tier 1 organized crime investigation (Coyote), INSET investigation advisory Crown, a substantial number of ALERT Organized Crime Team advisory files with varying complexity of legal issues, part vi applications, video general warrant applications, applications for tax records under the Criminal Code, pre-charge review on major cases.
• Designated Wiretap Agent - the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness
• Litigation work includes trial Crown on complex major case prosecutions with litigation experience on complex legal issues including investigative privilege on sensitive police techniques (Offshore), criminal organization related wiretap litigation (Offshore), disclosure application of foreign state materials (Intrigued).

Responsible for managing operations of prosecutions

• Prosecution experience at the Alberta Court of Justice, the Court of Queen’s Bench of Alberta, and the Alberta Court of Appeal
• Experience includes trial work, bail hearings and reviews, guilty plea, sentencing hearings, and all matters relating to appeals.
• Designated Wiretap Agent since February 2019
• Trial work includes preparation and conduct of a broad range of increasingly complex mid and sometimes high complexity cases involving multiple firearms, street-level up to multi-pound level drug trafficking and possession-related charges, for single accused parties, multiple accused parties and criminal organizations
• Additional experience in trial work on other federal statutes including the importation of 83 kilograms of Phenacetin from China prosecuted under the Food and Drug Act
• All trial work experience has been either in the role of solo lead counsel or as the senior counsel responsible for providing coaching and mentorship on each file.
• Member of small 3 counsel-team dedicated to litigating all Calgary federal Jordan applications (experience with litigating difficult “complexity” applications on a high complexity multi-wiretap criminal organization and conspiracy file).
• Member of the dedicated appeals team.
• Experience with various other counsel duties including file screening, vetting disclosure, counsel pre-trial discussions, witness interviews, and acting in an advisory capacity to members of the Calgary Police Service.

• Prosecution experience on the Amalgamated Team at both the Ontario Court of Justice and the Superior Court of Justice (Toronto Region)
• Experience included trial work, judicial pre-trials, bail hearings, guilty pleas, conditional sentence breach allegation hearings, and sentencing hearings.
• Trial work included the prosecution of a broad range of progressively increasing mid to high complexity cases involving multi-kilo level charges, numerous cases involved multiple accused persons (up to 9 in one case), gang-related cases, criminal organization and conspiracy charges, designated project cases including peripheral prosecutions of on-going anti-organized crime projects, and multiple cases that involved firearms
• Significant experience in prosecuting Criminal Code, Controlled Drugs and Substances Act files as well as many other Federal statutes including Income Tax Act, Employment Insurance Act, Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act, Customs Act, Canada Post Corporation Act and Aeronautics Act.
• Appointed by team leader to be a Case Management Crown, one of two prosecutors in the office responsible for post-charge review of every file and file-load management for all other counsel in the office.
• Appointed by team leader to be the representative Federal Crown for the specialty courts (Mental Health Court and Gladue Court); role included attending and participating in all committee meetings on behalf of the Federal Crown’s office and responsibility for assessing and approving all federal Mental Health diversion and Gladue diversion files at the Old City Hall courthouse.
• Experience with various other counsel duties including file screening, vetting disclosure, counsel pre-trial discussions, trial preparation and witness interviews.
• Responsible to coach and mentor three LP1s and a number of articling students during their rotation with the office
• This responsibility involved assistance and guidance with all aspects of trial preparation and conduct, as well as taking a lead counsel role on all complex and sensitive applications that would arise - my area of specialty involved innocence-at-stake and other confidential informant-related litigation.

• Prosecution experience before the Ontario Court of Justice and Superior Court of Justice (East Region).
• Trial experience pursuant to various criminal and quasi-criminal statutes including the Criminal Code and the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act
• Trial work included cases with multiple accused persons, cases involving complex Constitutional challenges including a section 52 Constitutional challenge under the National Capital Act, drug cases involving significant quantities at the kilo-level, preparation for jury trials and routine cases.
• Prosecution experience with other criminal court hearings at both the Ontario Court of Justice and the Superior Court of Justice, including Charter applications, reported extraordinary remedy hearings, bail hearings, bail review hearings, guilty pleas, contested sentencing hearings of regular stream and Drug Treatment Court files, and conditional sentencing breach allegation hearings.
• Lead counsel in the regulatory prosecutions of all Provincial Offences Act files including all regional appellate files
• This experience included prosecution of a number of regulatory files including offences under the Fisheries Act, National Capital Act, Canada Shipping Act, Small Vessel Regulations, and Contraventions Act
• This role also involved assigning cases to other counsel and providing coaching and mentorship on the prosecution of all Provincial Offences Act files.
• Assistant Crown counsel on Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty and Customs/ Immigration offence files.
• Extensive experience with various other counsel duties including file screening, vetting disclosure, counsel pre-trial discussions, judicial pre-trial meetings and all facets of trial preparation including witness interviews, the preparation and filing of facta, written submissions and casebook preparation.
• September 2008 placement in Iqaluit, Nunavut involved addressing various guilty plea, sentencing and trial issues on Criminal Code matters before the Nunavut Court of Justice.