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Toby has built a broad criminal practice encompassing prosecution and defence work. He is a diligent and tenacious trial advocate, developing appellate experience, and has a history of proven trial successes. He has been instructed in cases of significant gravity and complexity, acting alone, or as a led-junior, with favourable results.
Prosecuting and defending in matters of serious violence, sexual offending, firearms and weapons offences, Toby is well-regarded for a ‘common sense’ style of advocacy with juries. He also has experience of less routine matters including quasi-criminal applications, gang injunctions, confiscation, and civil committal for contempt.
Toby has been appointed as a CPS Level 3 panel advocate and is a member of the RASSO panel. Toby applies himself to fair, reasoned, and proportionate prosecuting, unafraid to tackle challenging cases or complex applications.
When defending, he deploys his array of experience in robust and rigorous defence of his clients and is a tenacious trial advocate. He has proven successes in resolving matters favourably at trial, and beforehand. He takes special interest in early engagement to resolve matters before they are litigated before a jury, with demonstrable results for Defendants. Unafraid to take difficult, but strategic, decisions, Toby is well-respected by professional and lay-clients alike.
Toby has a background as a Senior Paralegal in criminal defence, with a focus on white-collar crime, confiscation, and matters of serious violence – his client manner was described as ‘second to none’ and this trend continues into his practice. He completed pupillage with Chambers and now takes an active role in the recruitment, and training, of the next generation of criminal advocates.
To instruct Toby please get in touch with the clerking team who will be happy to assist.
Call: 020 7092 1900 or email clerks@4bb.co.uk
Toby has experience of both prosecution and defence work in the Crown Court and Magistrates’ Court. He has been instructed in the full spectrum of criminal offences and ancillary proceedings.
Whether prosecuting or defending, Toby engages early on and takes pragmatic and strategic steps in any case, mindful of later ramifications. Robust advice and an excellent manner with clients (or witnesses) means he is regularly instructed by the Crown and Defence alike.
He is well-versed in deployment of expert evidence where necessary and praised for his meticulous case preparation, comprehensive submissions, and persuasive advocacy.
Accepting instructions in all fields of criminal law, Toby brings his previous experience of pre-charge and pre-trial litigation to bear when representing clients.
Toby engages with clients from an early stage, advising on strategic decisions in the round, whilst bringing a first-rate client service. Toby is adept at handling matters of growing complexity including cases with a mental health dimension or vulnerability, multi-handed cases, and youth defendants and witnesses (including age determinations of youths where age is disputed). He is a pragmatic, robust, and adaptive advocate.
His recent case load includes armed robbery, death by dangerous driving and drug importation. He has experience in advancing defences of modern slavery, particularly with young people.
Engaged early on, Toby was instructed to defend M in matters of violence over several months alleged in a domestic context. Concerns were raised regarding improper pressure placed upon the complainant by police to support a prosecution. As a result of repeated legal argument, tactical deployment of defence material, the Crown went on to Offer No Evidence.
L was charged as part of a National Crime Agency investigation into drug trafficking into the United Kingdom. 50kg of controlled drugs were seized from L when stopped on arrival. The Crown’s expert was unable to rebut the defence advanced: L was an unsuspecting victim of planted drugs as part of a ‘rip on/rip off’ importation scheme. L was acquitted.
Toby represented Z, charged with aggravated burglary. It was said Z was armed with a machete, intending to cause harm to occupiers and interveners. Deployment of CCTV and robust submissions to the Crown resulted in acquittal due to a lack of evidence.
When prosecuting, Toby places fairness and proportionality at the forefront. Having advised the Crown on merits of proceedings, applicability of defences as well as considering positions on appeal (including judicial review).
Unafraid to tackle extensive and voluminous casework or multi-handed prosecutions, Toby prides himself on distilling cases for jury consideration. He presents cases with a common-sense approach.
Previous case work has included sexual offending, indecent images, matters of violence, conspiracy, and coordinated acquisitive offending.
Represented the Crown at sentence in respect of a footballer having caused serious injury by dangerous driving – for which he was sentenced to 12 months’ immediate custody.
Toby was engaged by the Crown to provide early-stage advice on immigration offences, where the Defendant asserted a defence under s.31 Immigration & Asylum Act 1999. Toby advised on applicability of international treaties on refugees.
Acting alone, Toby prosecuted a two-handed burglary spree which took place shortly before Christmas 2021.
Instructed in conspiracies involving organised criminal gangs, Toby is deft at dealing with matters of considerable weight, gravity, or volume.
Toby has been instructed in multi-handed drug conspiracies, importation of drugs, and pre-planned acquisitive offending. He is capable of managing multiple Defendants as a prosecutor.
He has recent experience of dealing with organised gangs in conspiracy to steal, using sophisticated methods of theft (and investigation). He is well versed in matters affected by Public Interest Immunity, including undercover operations, covert surveillance, and ‘bugged’ recordings.
Instructed as junior counsel for the Crown, Toby was led by John Carmichael in a multi-handed drug conspiracy and money laundering trial. After 4 weeks, S (D1) was convicted of the conspiracy with others, and A (D2) of a separate drug supply operation, both were convicted of money laundering. More than £100,000 was said to have been obtained in a year-long supply operation.
Toby has ample experience of offences concerning firearms. He takes special interest in such offences and has dealt with matters involving converted firearms, as well as live firearms used in the commission of offences.
He has managed cases concerning firearm attribution hinging on forensic evidence, armed robbery involving serious harm, and imitation firearms used to threaten members of the public.
Toby has appeared in a number of armed robbery matters, on behalf of the Crown and the Defence.
Led-junior for D, who orchestrated armed robberies of a wholesalers and cash-in-transit van. D was prosecuted twice. The first trial collapsed due to police collusion. The second trial concluded with the Crown offering no evidence after 5 days of legal argument. The case concerned allegations of planted evidence, dishonest police investigators, and improper pressure placed on the Crown by senior police officers and deliberate misinformation provided to the Prosecution.
Experienced in dealing with young people, Toby appreciates the need for bespoke, tailored, client care with youth defendants.
His client manner, ability to provide ‘common sense’ explanations and advice, and ability to distil vast quantities of evidence render him a capable advocate for young people. He is adapt at persuading the Crown to consider alternatives to prosecution and has successfully advanced modern slavery defences.
Successfully defended a youth in two separate trials arising as part of the same investigation. Having resisted a number of applications by the Crown at trial (to adduce evidence of absent complainants) the Crown offered no evidence in a 3-handed attempted robbery. U was also charged with a county lines drug supply offence. Acting as Assigned Counsel, Toby worked closely with instructing solicitors to bring the case to a favourable conclusion: asserting modern slavery, and deploying expert psychological evidence, the Crown went on to offer no evidence at that trial.
P breached a gang injunction on more than 150 occasions. Toby represented P in committal for contempt proceedings brought by the Metropolitan Police Service.
Following early engagement and service of legal argument to exclude the core evidence of the Crown’s case, proceedings were discontinued owing to the weight of that argument. A faced allegations of robbery, aggravated by threats of a knife.
Toby is a Level 3 and RASSO panel advocate, and has experience in dealing with sexual offences from both a prosecution and defence perspective. He has also dealt with sexual offences involving youths (as Defendants) and cases involving production of indecent images.
He is acutely aware of the sensitivities of such cases and approaches trial advocacy with care and precision. Inherently involving historic, or large scale disclosure, Toby is adept at managing the ‘paper aspects’ of such cases with a view to jury presentation.
P was alleged to have sexually assaulted a lone female as part of a group.
P was acquitted after trial and maintains their good character
Prosecuted S, senior household staff to foreign ruling royals, for repeated sexual assault of hotel staff in London. S waived privilege, and simultaneously argued no waiver applied, claiming his police station representative pressured him into giving a full account of offending and he had never seen, or signed, his defence statement. The case involved careful consideration of privilege, waiver, complaint evidence, inferences from inconsistencies, and reliability of confession evidence.
Toby has developing experience in criminal appeals. He has appeared on behalf of the Crown in the Court of Appeal in matters relating to manifestly excessive sentences, and is routinely instructed to advise on merits of appeal, and responses.
Toby appeared on behalf of the Crown as the respondent to an appeal against sentence. The appellant argued the trial (and sentencing) judge had erred in imposing a 12 year extended determinate sentence. The Court of Appeal quashed the sentence and substituted a 10 year extended determinate sentence.
Toby has appeared in matters of group violence, affray, premeditated gang violence, as well as kidnap and torture.
He has prosecuted matters relating to the forcible detention of women and drug runners subject to violent enforcement of ‘gang-land’ hierarchy. Toby has approached such cases with diligence and robust, persuasive, advocacy.
Instructed to prosecute T, Toby secured unanimous convictions for s.18 GBH and attempt s.18 GBH on two prison officers. T had prepared boiling water and sugar as part of a random ‘ambush’ attack on prison officers in HMP Peterborough. He was deemed dangerous and sentenced to 17 years’ custody.
Toby prosecuted G who was privately represented by a silk alone, charged with stalking and threats with a bladed article. Legal argument as to applicability of a defence of non-insane automatism concluded in the Crown’s favour. Frequent submissions featured on availability of ‘reasonable excuse’ in the context of mental health crisis. G was convicted of stalking and possession of the blade after trial.
With a background in white-collar crime and protracted confiscation proceedings, Toby ably and deftly handles matters relating to the Proceeds of Crime regime.
Toby has been instructed in several drug-related confiscation matters, including a re-assessment of Defendants’ means almost a decade after the original order. He both prosecutes and defends such cases, and has in mind the implications for third parties with financial interests in assets.
Toby prosecuted a s.18 and attempted s.18 against two prison officers which resulted in grave, life-changing injuries. The Defendant contested the matter in his 3-day trial. He had suggested he was listening to voices and suffered from psychosis. Two psychiatrists rejected this.
The Defendant was sentenced to 17 years’ custody, having been determined a dangerous offender.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cpqlg0pjqy2o
Toby, led by Abigail Penny, defended two gunpoint robberies (a cash-in-transit and wholesalers involving restraining of the staff) and a commercial burglary. Police collusion emerged in the first trial of D and the jury were discharged.
At re-trial the Defence argued abuse of process. The Crown ultimately referred the Senior Investigating Officer (a police DCI) to professional standards for investigation for his conduct in the first trial.
The Crown went on to offer no evidence on day 5 of legal argument.
https://www.sussexlive.co.uk/news/sussex-news/police-hunt-after-two-masked-6454049
Instructed to represent D, charged with strangulation and other violent offences, Toby managed voluminous disclosure of phone data as the trial progressed. That disclosure revealed the complainant’s evidence that she had been threatened with being shot was provably false.
Given the chance to correct the record when recalled, the complainant maintained she had been threatened despite the Crown conceding it was not a message exchange to which she was a party. Cross-examined on her perjury, she admitted to deliberately lying to the jury on oath. She refused to answer further questions when reminded of her right not to self-incriminate.
The Crown offered no evidence on all counts after urgent review.
Toby Manhire was instructed to represent D, whose indictment included two counts of intentional strangulation,…
Toby Manhire was led by Abigail Penny in the trial of D, charged with two…
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