'Serial' Subject Adnan Syed's Murder Conviction Reinstated: Report

BALTIMORE, MD — A Maryland appellate court on Tuesday reinstated the murder conviction of "Serial" podcast subject Adnan Syed, deciding a lower court's decision to toss out his conviction violated the rights of the victim's family, The Washington Post reported.

In a 2-1 decision, the court ordered a redo of the September hearing at which Syed's conviction was vacated, according to the Post. 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.

“Because the circuit court violated Mr. Lee’s right to notice of, and his right to attend, the hearing on the State’s motion to vacate ... this Court has the power and obligation to remedy those violations, as long we can do so without violating Mr. Syed’s right to be free from double jeopardy,” the court wrote in an opinion obtained by The Baltimore Banner.

“We can do that, and accordingly, we vacate the circuit court’s order vacating Mr. Syed’s convictions, which results in the reinstatement of the original convictions and sentence.”

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 she was 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, Baltimore Circuit Judge Melissa Phinn vacated Syed’s first-degree murder conviction in Hae Min Lee's death after 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.

The judge ordered Syed unshackled in court and to remain on GPS monitoring pending a new trial. She also told prosecutors they had 30 days to either schedule a new trial or drop the case.

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 states. "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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