Matthew H. Frederick has extensive experience in high stakes litigation at trial and on appeal. He has argued more than 25 appeals in state and federal courts, including the U.S. Courts of Appeals for the Fifth and D.C. Circuits and the Texas Supreme Court. Mr. Frederick has also served as lead trial counsel in multiple cases involving state redistricting and election laws.
Before joining Lehotsky Keller Cohn LLP, Mr. Frederick served as Deputy Solicitor General in the Office of the Attorney General of Texas, where he represented the State in dozens of appeals in state and federal courts. For example, Mr. Frederick secured victories in the U.S. Supreme Court against challenges to state redistricting plans, and he successfully defended state agencies and officials in a broad range of constitutional and regulatory cases, including many election-law disputes.
Mr. Frederick previously practiced as a commercial and appellate litigator at Reeves & Brightwell, LLP, and Vinson & Elkins, LLP, in Austin, Texas, where he represented clients in complex business disputes and class-action litigation.
After graduating from The University of Texas School of Law, Mr. Frederick served as a judicial clerk for Judge Michael McConnell of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit and Judge Samuel B. Kent of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas.
Court Admissions
Texas Bar
Supreme Court of the United States
United States Courts of Appeals for the Fifth, Ninth, Tenth, and District of Columbia Circuits
United States District Court for the District of Columbia
United States District Courts for the Northern, Southern, Eastern, and Western Districts of Texas
Representative Experience
Redistricting and Elections
Successfully defended Texas congressional and state legislative redistricting plans against claims under the Constitution and the Voting Rights Act. Abbott v. Perez, 138 S. Ct. 2305 (2018).
Successfully defended Texas Senate redistricting plan against one-person, one-vote challenge. Evenwel v. Abbott, 136 S. Ct. 1120 (2016).
Obtained stay pending appeal of preliminary injunction against enforcement of signature-matching and voter-notification procedures for mail-in ballots. Richardson v. Texas Secretary of State, 978 F.3d 220 (5th Cir. 2020).
Obtained stay pending appeal of preliminary injunction against enforcement of Texas statute eliminating one-punch straight-ticket voting. Texas Alliance for Retired Americans v. Hughs, 976 F.3d 564 (5th Cir. 2020).
Successfully defended Texas’s method of appointing presidential electors against one-person, one-vote and First Amendment challenges. League of United Latin American Citizens v. Abbott, 951 F.3d 311 (5th Cir. 2020).
Successfully defended Texas voter-registration law against claims under the Equal Protection Clause and the National Voter Registration Act of 1993. Stringer v. Whitley, 942 F.3d 715 (5th Cir. 2019).
Successfully defended Texas voter-identification law against claims under the Constitution and the Voting Rights Act. Veasey v. Abbott, 888 F.3d 792 (5th Cir. 2018).
Successfully defended State against effort to impose preclearance “bail in” under Section 3 of the Voting Rights Act. Perez v. Abbott, 390 F. Supp. 3d 803 (W.D. Tex. 2019).
Equal Protection, Privileges or Immunities
Successfully defended statute providing educational benefits for veterans against claim that Texas-residency requirement violated the Equal Protection Clause and the constitutional right to travel. Harris v. Hahn, 827 F.3d 359 (5th Cir. 2016).
Immigration
Secured decision vacating district court’s injunction against Texas statute prohibiting harboring of unlawful aliens. Cruz v. Abbott, 849 F.3d 594 (5th Cir. 2017).
First Amendment
Secured decision vacating district court’s injunction against Texas statute prohibiting state entities from contracting with companies that boycott Israel. Amawi v. Paxton, 956 F.3d 816 (5th Cir. 2020).
Fourth Amendment
Obtained summary reversal of a lower court decision denying a police officer’s claim of qualified immunity from suit arising out of a high-speed pursuit. Mullenix v. Luna, 136 S. Ct. 305 (2015) (per curiam).
Eighth Amendment
Obtained decision reversing permanent injunction and rendering judgment for defendants in class action claiming that prison’s efforts to mitigate risk of COVID-19 violated the Eighth Amendment and the Americans with Disabilities Act. Valentine v. Collier, 993 F.3d 270 (5th Cir. 2021).
Appellate Jurisdiction
Secured initial en banc decision holding that an order denying a defendant’s motion for appointment of counsel in a § 1983 case is not immediately appealable. Williams v. Catoe, 946 F.3d 278 (5th Cir. 2020) (en banc).
Habeas Corpus
Successfully defended state court conviction against habeas petitioner’s claims that trial counsel rendered ineffective assistance during voir dire, during guilt-innocence phase, and during punishment phase of capital murder trial. Thomas v. Lumpkin, 995 F.3d 432 (5th Cir. 2021).
Successfully defended state court conviction against habeas petitioner’s claim that trial court denied her right to present a complete defense by excluding expert testimony regarding her psychological functioning and truthfulness during videotaped interrogation. Lucio v. Lumpkin, 987 F.3d 451 (5th Cir. 2021) (en banc).
Successfully defended state court conviction and sentence against claims that the prosecution struck jurors on the basis of race and that trial counsel rendered ineffective assistance at the mitigation phase of capital murder trial. Sheppard v. Davis, 967 F.3d 458 (5th Cir. 2020).
Successfully defended state court conviction against habeas petitioner’s claim that his conviction violated the collateral-estoppel aspect of double jeopardy. Langley v. Prince, 926 F.3d 145 (5th Cir. 2019) (en banc).
Successfully defended state court conviction and sentence against habeas petitioner’s claim that trial counsel was ineffective in presenting mitigation evidence at punishment phase of capital murder trial. Trevino v. Davis, 861 F.3d 545 (5th Cir. 2017).
Successfully defended state court conviction against federal habeas petitioner’s due-process claim of prosecutorial misconduct based on references to plea-discussion proffer at trial. Whitaker v. Davis, 853 F.3d 253 (5th Cir. 2017).
Obtained decision holding that district court’s order reopening time for habeas petitioner’s appeal exceeded the scope of the mandate from previous appeal. Perez v. Stephens, 784 F.3d 276 (5th Cir. 2015).
Successfully defended state court conviction against claim that jury instruction on voluntary intoxication violated habeas petitioner’s Eighth Amendment right to have capital sentencing jury consider mitigating evidence. Sprouse v. Stephens, 748 F.3d 609 (5th Cir. 2014).
Publications and Presentations
United States Supreme Court Update, The Appellate Advocate, Contributor, 2018–present
Anatomy of a Good Oral Argument, National Attorneys General Training & Research Institute, Appellate Advocacy Training, Las Vegas, Nevada, Oct. 7, 2019 (with Jason LaFond)
Anatomy of a Good Oral Argument, National Attorneys General Training & Research Institute, National Appellate Training, Washington, D.C., May 9, 2017 (with Cam Barker)
Supreme Court Summary 2017, State Bar of Texas, 29th Annual Course in Advanced Government Law, Austin, Texas, July 28, 2017
The Structure of Effective Briefs, Office of the Attorney General, Aug. 24, 2015
Advantages and Pitfalls in Corporate Representative Depositions, 26 Corp. Counsel Rev. 309 (2007) (with Robert C. Walters and David R. Woodcock, Jr.)
Note, Adrift in the Harbor: Ambiguous-Amphibious Controversies and Seamen’s Access to State Workers’ Compensation Benefits, 81 Texas L. Rev. 1671 (2003)
Education
J.D., The University of Texas School of Law, 2003, high honors
Chancellor at Large
Editor in Chief, Texas Law Review
B.A., History, Tulane University, 1999, cum laude