Victim's Family In Adnan Syed Case Asks MD Top Court For Appeal

BALTIMORE, MD — The family of Hae Min Lee has asked the Maryland Supreme Court to hear an appeal in the case of Adnan Syed, whose murder conviction was vacated after he served more than 20 years in prison for Lee's 1999 slaying.

According to court documents obtained by The Baltimore Banner, a lawyer for Hae Min Lee's brother, Young Lee, wrote that while "serious procedural deficiencies" were fixed when a state appeals court reinstated Syed's conviction in March, Young Lee was still not given the right to speak of challenge evidence during a hearing in the case.

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

Syed, who was initially found guilty in a 2000 trial of killing ex-girlfriend Hae Min Lee, gained national attention after the case was chronicled in the hit podcast "Serial."

Last month, Syed also asked the Maryland Supreme Court to take up the case and review the ruling to reinstate his murder conviction. The motion came three weeks after a Maryland appellate court denied a similar request.

The same day, the court issued an order preventing the reinstatement of Syed's murder conviction by a lower court, a move that prevents Syed from returning to prison during the appeals process.

Justice Shirley Watts noted in her order, which was approved with a majority of the court's seven justices, that Hae Min Lee'sfamily and the office of the state's attorney general consented to the stay of the lower court's mandate while the Supreme Court considers whether to hear the appeal and during the pendency of an appeal.

The request from Hae Min Lee's family is the latest in a legal saga involving the now 42-year-old Syed.

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.

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 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.

Since his release from prison, Syed has worked at Georgetown University and helped care for his elderly parents, the Banner reported.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

READ MORE:

• Adnan Syed Asks MD Supreme Court To Review Conviction Reinstatement
  
• Judge Denies Adnan Syed's Request To Overturn Murder Conviction Ruling
• Adnan Syed Asks Court To Reconsider Murder Conviction Ruling
• 'Serial' Subject Adnan Syed's Murder Conviction Reinstated: Report
• Adnan Syed Speaks Out After Appeal Hearing: 'We've Suffered So Much'
• Adnan Syed 'Serial' Case Warrants New Hearing, Victim's Brother Says
• Appeal By Victim's Family In Adnan Syed Case Moves Forward: Report
• 'Serial' Subject Adnan Syed's Charges Dropped By Prosecutors: Report
• 'Serial' Star Adnan Syed's Murder Conviction Tossed Out
• 'Serial' Star Adnan Syed's Conviction Could Be Vacated: Prosecutor