Adnan Syed's Murder Conviction Stands As Court Orders Redo Of Hearing That Freed Him
ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) — Adnan Syed’s murder conviction still stands after Maryland’s highest court Friday ordered a redo of the hearing that freed him. The court ruled that the earlier proceeding violated the legal rights of the victim’s family, marking the latest development in a legal saga of global interest because of the hit podcast “Serial.”
The 4-3 ruling upheld an appellate court’s decision to reinstate Syed’s conviction. It comes about 11 months after the court heard arguments last October in a case that has been fraught with legal twists and divided court rulings since Syed was convicted in 2000 of killing his high school ex-girlfriend Hae Min Lee.
The justices said that Syed, who was released from prison in 2022, can remain free as the case heads to a new lower court judge to determine whether Syed’s conviction should be tossed. Baltimore State’s Attorney Ivan Bates on Friday said his office is reviewing the ruling and declined to comment further.
The court concluded that in an effort to remedy what was perceived to be an injustice to Syed, prosecutors and a lower court “worked an injustice” against Lee’s brother, Young Lee. The court ruled that Lee was not treated with “dignity, respect, and sensitivity,” because he was not given reasonable notice of the hearing that resulted in Syed being freed.
The court also said Lee would be afforded reasonable notice of the new hearing, “sufficient to provide Mr. Lee with a reasonable opportunity to attend such a hearing in person,” and for him or his counsel to be heard.
In a dissenting opinion, Justice Michele Hotten wrote that “this case exists as a procedural zombie.”
“It has been reanimated, despite its expiration,” Hotten wrote. “The doctrine of mootness was designed