David McGonigal
Call: 1982
David McGonigal
B.A. (Hons)
Gray’s Inn
Legal Aid Supplier Number 8555Z
Contact
T: 01274 722 560 or 0113 246 2600
David McGonigal has over 30 years’ experience acting for both the prosecution and defence at all levels of the criminal courts and in all offences regularly tried there.
He is a Grade 4 prosecutor. His experience allows him to adapt to the individual defendant or witness and decide the best approach to obtain the desired result. His familiarity with the use of expert evidence, whether for the prosecution or defence, allows him to extract the relevant material clearly and concisely for a jury to understand.
After 35 plus years at the Bar he still enjoys and looks forward to the next case.
Reputation
David is a senior member of the Criminal Team.
Expertise
Crime
Over recent years David has been instructed at all serious levels of criminal activity – serious violence, drugs, serious sexual assaults, frauds and people trafficking and related offences. In the last year he has defended in attempted murders and cases of serious violence, importation and distribution of drugs, kidnapping and false imprisonment, rapes and other sexual assaults and causing death by dangerous driving.
David has particular experience in child sex abuse trials arising out of South Yorkshire, having represented defendants in a number of the long running trials. He has acted on both sides in many other cases of historical rape and sexual assault cases. Many of those have involved complainants who were vulnerable due to their age and or their experiences and many have required the assistance of intermediaries. Recently he has been involved in cases involving alleged abuse by those in authority, over many years, of numerous children in schools and churches.
David has recent experience in prosecuting and defending in cases where the defence of sexsomnia has been put forward. The defence has been supported by experts to explain alleged rapes and sexual assaults while the defendant is allegedly asleep. This appears to be a developing area of the law with the defence being raised more frequently as it becomes more widely acknowledged.
Notable Cases
R v MUA (and 3 others) (2024): Defending man charged with supplying drugs form south to north of England.
R v B (2024): Prosecuting defendant who abused baby.
R v PG (2023): Defending man charged with people trafficking.
R v MT (2023): Defending in conspiracy to murder and conspiracy to cause gbh. Allegedly set up the murder in Leeds.
R v D (2023): Prosecution of defendant who worked in religious setting and abused male children.
R v Ahmed and others [2023] EWCA Crim 281: Defending David Stansfield - combined sentence appeal setting out proper approach when sentencing young people of historic offences.
R v SS (2022): Possession with intent of 15 KG cocaine.
R v R and H (2022): Attempted Murder.
R v KS (2022): Attempted Murder.
R v B (2022): Historic sexual abuse in school.
R v R (2021) Historic sexual abuse.
R v Cheshire (2021): Prosecution of former headmaster for sexually abusing children in the 1970s and 80s.
R v N (2021): Prosecution of long term benefit fraud.
R v F (2021): Defence of female, with mental illness, charged with s.18 wounding.
R v C (2021): Defence of man charged with attempted murder.
Clerks
