ANNAPOLIS, Md. — Attorneys for Adnan Syed are asking the Supreme Court of Maryland to review an appellate ruling last month reinstating his murder conviction.
Syed's defense team argues the Appellate Court of Maryland's decision was based on a procedural error that would not have impacted the outcome of a hearing before a lower court.
The hearing in question was held back in September in Baltimore City Circuit Court at the request of then City State's Attorney Marilyn Mosby.
Her office asked a judge there to vacate Syed's conviction and sentence based on newly uncovered evidence which they say put his guilt into doubt.
That judge approved Mosby's request and freed Syed.
He'd been sentenced to life in prison for the 1999 murder of his ex-girlfriend Hae Min Lee.
Her brother, Young Lee, claims to only been given one business day's notice about the hearing.
He wanted to attend in person, but was unable to make it due to living in California.
The circuit judge declined Lee's request to delay the hearing, instead allowing him to appear on Zoom.
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Lee filed an appeal, claiming his rights were violated by the lack of notice and being denied a chance to show in person.
The Appellate Court for those reasons sided with Lee, ordering a new vacatur hearing in City Circuit Court.
As result the appellate judges reinstated Syed's conviction and sentence, but did not order him back to jail.
In their latest appeal Syed's defense team is asking the state's highest court to consider the following four questions.
- Whether [Mosby's] decision to dismiss charges against Syed made the appellate challenge moot?
- Whether zoom attendance satisfied [Young Lee's] right to attend the hearing?
- Whether the notice of the hearing was sufficient given the ability to attend virtually?
- Whether [conviction reinstatement] is appropriate without showing the result of the vacatur hearing would have been different?
The first three questions were addressed in the appellate court's ruling reinstating Syed's conviction.
"The State’s entry of a nolle prosequi did not render the Mr. Lee’s appeal moot under the circumstances of this case," the March 28 opinion stated in part. "Allowing a victim entitled to attend a court proceeding to attend in person, when the victim makes that request and all other persons involved in the hearing appear in person, is consistent with the constitutional requirement that victims be treated with dignity and respect."
The panel of judges declined to reconsider their opinion based off the fourth question, however they denied Lee's motion to challenge new evidence the state claims to have that clears Syed of his sister's murder. To that end the appellate court ordered the circuit judge to allow Lee's impact statement to be given in person and for the new evidence to actually be presented by the state and heard before a ruling is made on the case.
"We remand for a new, legally compliant, transparent hearing on the motion to vacate, where Mr. Lee is given notice of the hearing that is sufficient to allow him to attend in person, evidence supporting the motion to vacate is presented, and the court states its reasons in support of its decision."
MORE: Appellate court refuses to reconsider ruling reinstating Adnan Syed sentence
Read the full appellate court decision here.
