Adnan Syed Asks Court To Reconsider Murder Conviction Ruling

BALTIMORE, MD — Adnan Syed, whose case was chronicled on the hit podcast "Serial," has asked a Maryland appeals court to reconsider its decision to reinstate his murder conviction in the 1999 death of his ex-girlfriend, Hae Min Lee, according to reports.

The court reinstated Syed's conviction last month, deciding a lower court's decision to toss it violated the rights of the victim's family.

In a 2-1 decision, the court ordered a redo of the September hearing at which Syed's conviction was vacated. The panel ruled that a circuit court judge violated the rights of Young Lee, who claimed he did not receive proper notice and was denied the right to be heard at the hearing.

Though Syed's conviction was reinstated, he was not taken back into custody.

In the motion for reconsideration obtained by The Baltimore Banner, Syed's lawyers argued the court failed to require Young Lee to show how the hearing's outcome would have been different if he attended in person.

"Clarifying the extent to which victims like Young Lee are entitled to be present in the courtroom for a vacatur hearing should not extend the wrongful conviction, deep trauma, and possible incarceration of a man and family who have already endured decades of injustice," Syed's lawyers wrote.

Syed was found guilty in a 2000 trial of killing Hae Min Lee, who died by strangulation on Jan. 13, 1999. Her body was found in Leakin Park in Baltimore after being reported missing.

Syed's case gained national attention when it was chronicled on the hit podcast "Serial" after he was found guilty of killing Hae Min Lee.

In September 2022, Baltimore Circuit Judge Melissa Phinn vacated Syed's first-degree murder conviction in Hae Min Lee's death after former Baltimore City State's Attorney Marilyn Mosby and Syed's lawyer filed motions questioning the integrity of the trial and evidence that sent Syed to prison.

Prosecutors dropped all charges against Syed in October.

In December, Young Lee's lawyer asked the court to reverse its decision to vacate charges against Syed.

"The state's attorney gave him less than one business day's notice of the relevant hearing," the brief stated. "Neither the State's motion nor in-court proffer provided enough detail for him to understand, let alone challenge, the evidence purportedly supporting vacatur."

In the brief, Young Lee's lawyer asked the panel of judges for a new hearing that would allow him to present evidence and call witnesses challenging what the state presented during Syed's original hearing.

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