In 1989, Carman successfully defended comedian Ken Dodd on charges of tax evasion, saying, "Some accountants are comedians, but comedians are never accountants." He also successfully represented Carole Richardson, one of the Guildford Four, falsely accused of a 1974 deadly pub bombing carried out by the Provisional IRA—when their convictions were quashed on appeal in 1989. In 1991, solicitor David Napley retained Carman to advise and defend Greville Janner, later Lord Janner, during investigations into allegations of child sexual abuse; according to Dominic Carman, the barrister's son, both Napley and Carman were astonished when Janner was not charged.