Matt Daher Publishes Article on Long Sentences from Ineffective Lawyers
- May 11
- 3 min read
Updated: May 12
Criminal Appeals Advocates is pleased to publish a new article by Matt Daher, the lead attorney for our Texas cases, titled From Bad Lawyering To Long Sentencing: How Ineffective Assistance of Counsel at Sentencing Can Impact Appeal Options. Written for Texas inmates and their families, the article explains in plain language when an attorney's failures at sentencing rise to a constitutional violation, and what an inmate can do about it after the fact.
Download the full article here:
Why This Article Exists
Sentencing is one of the most misunderstood corners of Texas post-conviction practice. Most resources written for inmates and families focus on guilt-stage challenges: sufficiency of the evidence, suppression issues, jury selection. The lawyering that happens at sentencing, which is where most Texas sentences are actually decided, gets far less attention. Yet in our experience the gap between competent and inadequate representation does some of its most lasting damage at exactly that stage. A missing mitigation expert, an uncorrected enhancement paragraph, or a plea offer that was never properly explained can add years or decades to a Texas sentence. Texas law provides a remedy for those failures, but only if the inmate knows the remedy exists, knows how to raise it, and acts before the procedural deadlines run.
This article was written to put that knowledge in the hands of the people who need it: incarcerated Texans, their families, and attorneys handling post-conviction matters who want a plain-language overview of the legal framework.
What the Article Covers
The article walks readers through:
The Strickland framework. The two-part federal test that governs every ineffective-assistance claim, why it was built for sentencing from the start, and why "reasonable probability" is a more forgiving standard than it first sounds.
What sentencing mistakes actually look like in Texas. Failures to investigate or present mitigation evidence at the punishment phase. Failures to correct inaccurate criminal-history information used to enhance punishment. Failures to call defense experts. Failures to advise on parole, the punishment range, or the stacking of consecutive sentences. Plea-stage mistakes governed by Lafler v. Cooper and Missouri v. Frye.
Capital cases. A focused discussion of the Supreme Court's mitigation-investigation cases (Wiggins v. Smith, Rompilla v. Beard, and the 2020 Texas case Andrus v. Texas) and what they require of trial counsel in death penalty proceedings.
The three options for raising the claim. The article discusses three ways to claim that your lawyer was ineffective at sentencing. Option 1: Direct appeal, why it is rarely the right vehicle for sentencing IAC after Thompson v. State. Option 2: State habeas under Article 11.07 (noncapital) and Article 11.071 (capital), the workhorse of post-conviction practice in Texas. And option 3: Federal habeas under 28 U.S.C. § 2254, the third door, with its one-year deadline and "doubly deferential" standard of review.
Practical guidance for families. What the strongest claims have in common, what records to start gathering now, and why timing matters.
Who This Article Is For
The article was written with two audiences in mind. The first is the Texas inmate who suspects the lawyer's work at sentencing fell short of what the Constitution required. The second is the family member trying to make sense of how the sentence ended up where it did, and what can still be done. The article is not a substitute for legal advice, but it is a clear-eyed map of the legal terrain so that families can ask the right questions and act before deadlines run.
A Note on the Author
Matt Daher is the lead attorney for CAA's Texas cases and has more than sixteen years of experience litigating matters in state and federal courts. His Texas practice focuses on direct appeals, Article 11.07 writs of habeas corpus, and federal habeas petitions. He is the author of Justice Lost, Justice Gained: How Five Texas Inmates Won Their 11.07 Appeals and Inequality in the Texas Criminal Justice System.
Download the Article
The article is available as a free PDF for inmates, families, and attorneys.
If you or a loved one believes a Texas conviction or sentence was the product of ineffective representation, contact Mr. Daher and his team at (737) 338-3233.
