Legal Challenge Filed Weeks After Ex-Wife Bijou Phillips Moves to Change Daughter’s Name

Convicted Actor Files Habeas Corpus Petition

November 18, 2025: Actor Danny Masterson, who is currently serving a 30-years-to-life sentence for the rape of two women, has filed a petition for habeas corpus seeking to have his 2023 convictions overturned. The legal filing, submitted by his appellate team on Monday, November 17, alleges that the actor received ineffective assistance of counsel during his trial.

The petition specifically blames his trial attorney, Philip Cohen, for implementing a “botched trial strategy” that allegedly violated Masterson’s constitutional rights.

Key claims against the former defense attorney include:

Failure to Call Witnesses: Masterson’s new lawyers claim Cohen only spoke to two of over 20 potential defense witnesses who had been recommended and could have offered exculpatory evidence. Masterson alleges he “implored” Cohen to present a minimal defense, but the counsel refused.

Scientology Arguments: The filing argues Cohen failed to properly rebut the prosecution’s claims about the Church of Scientology’s role in discouraging the women from reporting the assaults, alleging that the jury “heard only half the story.”

Ex-Wife Seeks Name Change for Daughter

This aggressive legal action comes just weeks after a deeply personal move by Masterson’s estranged wife, Bijou Phillips. Phillips filed for divorce in September 2023, shortly after Masterson’s sentencing, and filed a separate petition on October 24th to legally change their 11-year-old daughter’s full name from Fianna Francis Masterson to Fianna Francis Phillips, swapping out her ex-husband’s surname for her own.

Phillips’ move to legally distance their daughter from the Masterson name is awaiting a judge’s approval and highlights the dramatic personal fallout the conviction has had on the family. Masterson had previously agreed to give Phillips full legal and physical custody of their daughter, with visitation rights.

The actor’s new legal challenge alleges that the “unfairness” of his second trial was due to prosecutorial misconduct, judicial bias, and the failure of his defense counsel. Masterson remains incarcerated at California Men’s Colony.