CAA Attorneys Prepare Forthcoming Book About Texas 11.07 Applications
- Aaron Spolin
- 2 days ago
- 2 min read
Last year, in 2024, 26 former Texas inmates were proven innocent after having already been convicted of crimes they did not commit. According to the National Registry of Exonerations, almost all of these now-free individuals had attorneys who filed Texas 11.07 Habeas Corpus Applications. The 11.07 Application, while very difficult to win, is the most commonly used method of overturning convictions for innocent Texas inmates. It is also used to challenge other rights violations, including ineffective attorneys and improper judge rulings.
The intricacies of the Texas 11.07 will soon be more accessible to the general public, as Texas appeals attorneys Matthew Daher and Aaron Spolin plan to release a book on the subject. Titled “The Texas 11.07: Strengths, Weaknesses and Strategies,” this forthcoming book will aim to guide both lawyers and non-lawyers alike, discussing the elements that make 11.07s successful, the pitfalls that frequently result in their loss, and the approach litigators must take to have a realistic chance of freeing an innocent client.
Both authors handle criminal appeals and 11.07s at Criminal Appeals Advocates, which has an office in Austin, Texas. Mr. Spolin did not mince words when discussing the 11.07s difficulties. “Quite frankly, this is based on the experience of not having won these applications, as there are probably hundreds that are denied for every one that might be granted,” noted Mr. Spolin. “These are exceedingly difficult to win, but I have yet to see a post-conviction Texas exoneration that did not involve an 11.07 at one stage or another.”
Surprisingly, many of the 2024 Texas exonerations involved a guilty plea, according to the National Registry. As the book will emphasize, the rate of guilty pleas on cases where later evidence proved the inmates’ innocence shows how broken the Texas criminal justice system is. The inmates felt compelled by the system to, essentially, confess to a crime they did not commit.
To read the exact details of the 26 exonerated Texas inmates from 2024, visit https://exonerationregistry.org/. That site also provides information on the over 200 Texas inmates who have been freed in the last decade after proving their innocence.