Adnan Syed Asks MD Court To Deny Victim's Family's Request

BALTIMORE, MD — Attorneys for Adnan Syed, whose murder conviction in the 1999 slaying of Hae Min Lee remains in limbo, asked a Maryland appeals court to deny Lee's family's petition to expand the rights of crime victims in post-conviction proceedings, according to reports.

Earlier this month, Lee's family asked the Maryland Supreme Court to hear an appeal in the case of Adnan Syed, whose story was chronicled on the hit podcast "Serial," in order to give them a more significant role by allowing them to challenge evidence and cross-examine witnesses.

In the filing, the family's lawyer asked the state's highest court to take up the appeal to ensure victims are given a "meaningful voice," according to a Baltimore Banner report.

The Lee family's petition followed a request by Syed, asking the Maryland Supreme Court to take up the case and review the March ruling that reinstated his murder conviction.

The court has yet to rule on either issue.

Syed, who was convicted in 2000 of killing his ex-girlfriend, spent more than 20 years in prison before he regained his freedom in September 2022 after Baltimore Circuit Judge Melissa Phinn vacated his conviction. The decision came 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.

The Appellate Court of Maryland reinstated Syed's conviction in March and ordered a redo of the hearing at which Syed's conviction was vacated. The panel ruled that a circuit court judge violated the rights of Lee's brother, Young Lee, who claimed he did not receive proper notice and was denied the right to be heard at the hearing.

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

Shortly before Syed's conviction was vacated, Young Lee said he felt blindsided by the sudden request. He said the family spent decades thinking his sister's killer was behind bars, only to find out prosecutors no longer had confidence in the evidence used to convict.

In addition to receiving insufficient notice to attend the hearing in person, Lee's attorneys later argued he should have been afforded a more active role in the proceeding itself.

Maryland law grants victims the "right to speak" in certain proceedings, but allowing more active participation in conviction vacatur hearings would "create a sea change in Maryland courts" by effectively letting them play the role of third-party prosecutor, Syed's attorneys wrote in their request to deny the Lee family's petition. That is a question the state legislature should decide, not the courts, the attorneys argued.

In most conviction vacatur cases, prosecutors and defense attorneys agree, with shared concerns about potential innocence. Inserting a victim or their representative into the mix would be "wildly impractical, if not disastrous," according to Syed's argument.

As the case drags on, Syed will remain free while the appeal is pending. But there is a chance he could ultimately return to prison, depending on the outcome.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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