Tobias Smith

Barrister

Tobias is a defence specialist covering all aspects of criminal law He has experience in defending all manner of criminal cases, including serious violence, public order offences, drugs and modern slavery, dishonesty offences, and sexual offences.

A fearless advocate, Tobias has been noted for his sound judgment under pressure, his ability to carefully construct legal arguments, and his deft handling of prosecution disclosure failures.

Since joining chambers following successful completion of his pupillage, Tobias has acted in serious criminal cases, including murder, complex drug conspiracies, kidnapping and blackmail, serious violence, money laundering, fraud, and sexual offences.

Tobias has expertise in cases involving the civil jurisdiction of the criminal courts. He has acted for football fans defending charges of public order and violence committed at football matches or resisting applications for football banning orders. He has resisted applications for gang injunctions in the magistrates’ court, and on appeal in the Crown Court. He has experience in applications for Criminal Behaviour Orders, Stalking Protection Orders, and Domestic Violence Protection Orders.

Tobias regularly represents clients in relation to driving matters in the Crown Court. He has acted for clients accused of drink or drug driving, careless driving, failure to stop and a myriad of other offences. He has a track record of success in helping clients who face disqualification as a “totter” keep their drivers’ license through exceptional hardship arguments.

During 2020, Tobias volunteered to act as a legal observer at the Black Lives Matter protests.

Background

Prior to coming to the bar Tobias has worked as a paralegal at two of the UK’s leading criminal law and human rights firms, Hickman and Rose and Leigh Day. He gained experience in criminal law, inquests (particularly those relating to the deaths of mental health inpatients and deaths at the hands of the police), civil actions against the police, and judicial reviews of CPS charging decisions.

Prior to embarking on a career in law, Tobias had a number of roles within the Labour Party including a stint as a parliamentary assistant. He also worked in PR and as a personal tutor specialising in helping children with special educational needs.

Homicide and Serious Violence

R v AC – Murder – Teeside Crown Court - Acted for defendant in five handed murder trial. The case was a cut-throat defence involving five defendants, all said to have been present at the death and had been involved in the disposal of the body of the deceased. Led by John Cooper KC.
R v RM – Attempted Murder – Central Criminal Court - Acted for a defendant accused of attempted murder in relation to an attack with a machete on the London Underground network. At the time of the attack, the defendant was suffering from a psychotic episode at the time of the attack. The case raised difficult legal questions around the interaction with the subjective element of self-defence, and the defence of insanity. Led by Warwick Aleeson.
R v KB – Murder – Snaresbrook Crown Court - Acted for a defendant accused of stabbing a man during the course of an argument over an apparent drug debt, causing his death. The case raised issues relating to the applicability of the defence of loss of control, and self-defence. Led by Laurie-Anne Power KC.
R v NG – s18 and Robbery – Southwark Crown Court - Acted for a woman charged with attacking and robbing a vulnerable victim. The victim suffered from mental health conditions which arguably made his account unreliable. The case raised issues relating to expert psychiatric evidence, hearsay and the admissibility of evidence from mentally disordered witnesses.
R v GB – Kidnapping and Blackmail – Northampton Crown Court - Acted for a young defendant charged with kidnapping a teenager at knife point and contacting the victim’s older brother to demand ransom money.
R v RC – s18 Wounding with Intent – Willesden Youth Court - Acted for a youth with autistic spectrum disorder accused of stabbing another teenager in the course of an attack on the victim.
R v LG – Assault Occasioning Actual Bodily Harm – St Albans Crown Court. Acted for a defendant accused of domestic assault against his then partner.
R v GG – Affray – Maidstone Magistrates’ Court – Represented defendant accused of using vehicle to threaten violence against another person.
R v IS & DS – Section 5 Public Order Act 1986 - Loughborough Magistrates’ Court – Defended twin brothers accused of public order offences alleged to have been committed following a premier league football match.

Firearms and Weapons Offences

R v OE – Conspiracy to Possess Firearms with Intent to Endanger Life - Nottingham Crown Court – Acted for a Defendant who is said to be part of a Nottingham drugs gang that had been involved in a number of shooting incidents in the city. The case was largely circumstantial and rested on detailed analysis of phone and cell site data. Led by Matt Radstone.
R v SY– Threatening with a Bladed Article - Inner London Crown Court - The defendant was accused of threatening a courier with a knife during a dispute about a delivery. The case hung on the credibility of the complainant’s evidence.
R v RM – Possession of a Bladed Article - Snaresbrook Crown Court - The defendant was found not guilty following a successful submission of no case to answer.

Drugs and Organised Crime Offences

R v ZM – Conspiracy to Supply Heroin and Cocaine – Kingston Crown Court - Acted for a youth with ASD who was alleged to have participated in a street supply conspiracy responsible for dealing 20kg of class A drugs. Matter raised issues relating to modern slavery and the NRM referral process.
R v OO – PWITS – Woolwich Crown Court - Acted for a defendant accused of possession with intent to supply after having been the victim of a stabbing. Drugs and a telephone containing messages linked to drug supply were found at the scene of the offence.
R v SP – Conspiracy to Supply - Lincoln Crown Court - Acted for a defendant accused of participating in a large wholesale drug supply operation. Led by Osman Osman.
R v AN – PWITS - Guildford Crown Court, Secured a suspended sentence for a young adult who had pleaded guilty to class A drug supply. The defendant had previous convictions for similar offending.
R v SG – PWITS - Snaresbrook Crown Court – Acted for a defendant accused of Class A drug supply
R v FM – PWITS –Newport (IOW) Crown Court – Secured a suspended sentence for a young adult who pleaded guilty to multiple counts of Class A drug supply.

Fraud, Money Laundering Offences, and Confiscation

R v MA – Money Laundering – Guildford Crown Court – Acting for defendant accused of laundering money obtained during the course of a fraud.
R v PP – Various Offences - Chelmsford Crown Court – Secured a further suspended sentence of imprisonment for a defendant who had pleaded guilty to offences of fraud, theft, and criminal damage committed in breach of a previous suspended sentence order.
R v AI – Fraud by False Representation – Portsmouth Crown Court – Represented defendant charged with the fraudulent sale of counterfeit mobile phones that had been sourced from China.
R v MF – Possession of Counterfeit Currency - Central Criminal Court – Represented defendant found with a number of counterfeit £20 notes.
R v PM – Fraud – Southwark Crown Court – While in pupillage worked extensively for a client accused of VAT fraud worth £500,000 in connection with his role as sales director for a manufacturing company. Dominic Thomas supervised.
R v JP - Confiscation - Leicester Crown Court – Instructed to act in 2-week confiscation proceedings relating to drug trafficking. Led by John Cooper KC.
R v MS – Confiscation – Southwark Crown Court - Acted for defendant in confiscation proceedings following the defendant’s conviction relating to a money laundering conviction.

Sexual Offences

R v KB – Disclosing Private Sexual Images - Woolwich Crown Court – Represented a defendant accused of uploading intimate photographs of his former partner to Facebook. The case rested on the true identity of the person depicted in the photograph.
R v ZM – Sexual Assault – Wood Green Crown Court. Acted for defendant accused of sexually assaulting a housemate.
R v JJ – Sexual Assault – Inner London Crown Court - Represented defendant suffering with paranoid schizophrenia accused of sexually assaulting his former partner.

Judicial Review

Re: DCACT – Advised in relation to a proposed judicial review of a decision of a local authority to remove a vulnerable adult from the care of the service provider who had been caring for them for over three decades. Led by John Cooper KC.
Re: CWP – Acted in the pre-action stage of a proposed judicial review of a decision by the Magistrates’ Court to refuse a certificate for counsel (a form of legal aid funding).

Civil Orders in the Crown and Magistrate’s Court

Chief Constable of Hampshire Constabulary v JC - Salisbury Crown Court – Acted for a youth respondent to an application for a gang injunction. Acted in both the first hearing and on appeal to the Crown Court.
MPS v NK - Stratford Magistrates’ Court – Acted for a respondent in a civil application for a football banning order.
Chief Constable of Kent Police v GB – Chatham Magistrates’ Court – Acted for the respondent in opposing an application by the police for a stalking protection order.