In January 1999, Woodlawn High School student Hae Min Lee went missing, and a few weeks later, she was found murdered.[1] A jury found Lee’s 17-year-old ex-boyfriend, Adnan Syed, guilty of her murder and sentenced him to life in prison.[2] Syed maintained his innocence throughout his trial and sentencing.[3] In 2014, a podcast named Serial brought national attention to Syed’s case, revealing a possible alibi witness and inconsistencies in cell tower data upon which the prosecution had relied on during the trial.[4] Syed remained in the national news cycle in the following years, as he unsuccessfully appealed his conviction to higher courts and HBO released a documentary about his legal struggles.[5] However, in the fall of 2022, Syed’s luck finally changed.

On September 19, 2022, Baltimore City Circuit Court Judge Melissa Phinn vacated Syed’s 1999 murder conviction.[6] Two new Maryland laws allowed Syed to be released from prison: the Juvenile Restoration Act, “which allows people accused of crimes as children and teens to appeal their sentences after serving 20 years,”[7] and another law that made overturning  “tainted or unjust” convictions much easier for prosecutors.[8] Syed walked out of the courthouse a free man the very same day, finally free from this horror, or so he thought.[9]

Assistant State’s Attorney Becky Feldman was in touch with Young Lee, brother of victim, Hae Min Lee, regarding Syed’s hearing in the week prior.[10] The day before the hearing, Lee advised Feldman that he would attend the hearing remotely via Zoom.[11] While Lee attended the hearing virtually and gave a statement over Zoom, Lee’s counsel attended the hearing in-person and argued that Lee was not provided sufficient notice which would have allowed him to attend the hearing in-person. [12] Feldman had been in touch with Lee, however, Lee was at work during the hearing and had to rush home, and speak to the court with no preparation about the loss of his sister.[13] Lee then appealed the Circuit Court’s decision to vacate Syed’s conviction to the Appellate Court of Maryland.[14]

Before the Appellate Court of Maryland were three issues: whether the appeal was moot because the State’s Attorney’s office dropped the charges against Syed, whether the Court should issue an opinion on the claim for Lee’s victims’ rights claim if the appeal is moot, and  whether Mr. Lee received notice of the proceeding that complied with Maryland law.[15] Two of the three judges held that the matter is not moot, and that Lee’s victim’s rights were in fact violated.[16]

The Court found that the case was not moot because the State entered a nolle prosequi, choosing not to file a new case against Syed and harming Lee’s chances at an appeal, and the Court found this to violate “Lee’s right to be treated with dignity and respect” under the Maryland Constitution.[17] While Lee did give a statement over Zoom, one day was not enough notice for Lee to attend, and the Court explicitly stated that allowing the victim to attend in person and give a statement in person is congruent with this constitutional right.[18] Appellate courts may allow exceptions to mootness so that the courts can create precedent to guide future cases; however, it may be more efficient for Maryland legislatures, rather than the courts, to issue rules to clarify the time requirement for when a prosecutor must give a victim notice of a vacatur hearing.[19]

On April 26, 2023, Erica Suter, Syed’s attorney and the director of the Innocence Project at the University of Baltimore School of Law, filed a motion for reconsideration with the Appellate Court of Maryland.[20] The Court issued a two-sentence order denying Syed’s motion because the motion “is based on an argument not previously raised.”[21] While victims’ rights are very important and should not be undermined, there needs to be a “balance” between victims’ rights and the courts’ necessity of ensuring the integrity of every conviction.[22] For now, the Appellate Court of Maryland has reinstated Syed’s conviction and sentence and remanded his case back to Circuit Court for a new vacatur hearing to give Lee an opportunity to attend the hearing in person.[23]

---

Gina Gharbawi is a third-year law student at the University of Baltimore School of Law and a second-year staff editor for Law Forum. She received her Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. In the past, she clerked for the Honorable Quincy Coleman in Howard County Circuit Court and for the Office of the Attorney General in the Organized Crime Unit. After graduation in May 2023, Gina will be a law clerk for the Baltimore City State’s Attorney’s Office.

Read more: Victims’ Rights and Conviction Integrity in the Case of Adnan Syed

[1] Daniel Victor, Timeline: The Adnan Syed Case, N.Y. Times (Mar. 29, 2023), https://www.nytimes.com/article/adnan-syed-serial-timeline-serial.html.

[2] Id.

[3] Dan Belson, A Timeline of Adnan Syed’s Journey Through Baltimore’s Criminal Justice System, Balt. Sun (Mar. 28, 2023 at 2:54 P.M.), https://www.baltimoresun.com/news/crime/bs-md-ci-cr-adnan-syed-timeline-20230130-qhgng26n35b43megv4d7hyzloy-story.html.

[4] Victor, supra note 1.

[5] Belson, supra note 3.

[6] Alex Mann & Lee O. Sanderlin, Adnan Syed Walks Out of Baltimore Courthouse After Judge Overturns His 2000 Murder Conviction, Balt. Sun (Sept. 20, 2022 at 8:40 A.M.), https://www.baltimoresun.com/news/crime/bs-md-ci-cr-adnan-syed-hearing-to-vacate-conviction-20220919-ynxvlcuqpbch5h6h2xl5xleh7q-story.html.

[7] Lea Skene, Hot Two New Maryland Laws That Paved the Way for Adnan Syed’s Long-Awaited Release from Prison, Balt. Sun (Sept. 25, 2022 at 5:00 A.M.), https://www.baltimoresun.com/news/crime/bs-md-cr-syed-case-policies-20220925-ltjjuq2aabhsblvrrmuxa7mh6e-story.html.

[8] Justin Fenton, Maryland Lawmakers Pass Bill to Make it Easier for Prosecutors to Overturn Convictions, Balt. Sun (Apr. 10, 2019 at 3:20 P.M.), https://www.baltimoresun.com/news/crime/bs-md-ci-prosecutors-overturn-conviction-bill-20190410-story.html.

[9] Victor, supra note 1.

[10] Lee v. State, No. 1291, 2023 Md. App. LEXIS 206, at *10-11 (App. Mar. 28, 2023).

[11] Id.

[12] Mann & Sanderlin, supra note 6.

[13] Michael Levinson & Abbie VanSickle, Court Reinstates Adnan Syed’s Murder Conviction in ‘Serial’ Case and Orders New Hearing, N.Y. Times (Mar. 28, 2023), https://www.nytimes.com/2023/03/28/us/adnan-syed-serial-conviction-reinstated.html.

[14] Lisa Robinson, Appellate Justices Hear Appeal from Lee Family over Adnan Syed’s Vacated Murder Conviction, WBAL (Feb. 2, 2023 at 6:15 P.M.), https://www.wbaltv.com/article/appeal-heard-lee-family-adnan-syed-vacated-murder-conviction/42744827.

[15] Id.

[16] Id.

[17] Lee v. State, No. 1291, 2023 Md. App. LEXIS 206, at *51-52 (App. Mar. 28, 2023) (see Md. Const., Decl. of Rts., art. 47(a); CP § 11-1002(b)(1)).

[18] Id.

[19] Steven Klepper, Adnan Syed’s Freedom Is at Risk Due to Hearing’s Short Notice, Bloomberg Law (Mar. 29, 2023 at 12:29 P.M.), https://news.bloomberglaw.com/us-law-week/adnan-syeds-freedom-is-at-risk-due-to-hearings-short-notice.

[20] Dylan Segelbaum, Adnan Syed Asks Maryland Appeals Court to Reconsider Decision to Reinstate Conviction, The Balt. Banner (Apr. 26, 2023 at 7:35 P.M.), https://www.thebaltimorebanner.com/community/criminal-justice/adnan-syed-appeals-reinstated-conviction-maryland-court-GJUEZPW45ZDVPBZI6ZF55QJPBE.

[21] Dylan Segelbaum, Maryland Appeals Court Denies Adnan Syed’s Motion to Reconsider Decision to Reinstate Conviction, The Balt. Banner (May 2, 2023 at 7:03 P.M.), https://www.thebaltimorebanner.com/community/criminal-justice/adnan-syed-ruling-motion-for-reconsideration-5UQVWFJETFHQJBAPHNPTQXPZXY.

[22] Associated Press, Adnan Syed Case Pits Victims’ Rights Against Justice Reform, The Daily Record (Mar. 30, 2023), https://thedailyrecord-com.proxy-bl.researchport.umd.edu/2023/03/30/adnan-syed-case-pits-victims-rights-against-justice-reform.

[23] Lee v. State, No. 1291, 2023 Md. App. LEXIS 206, at *1 (App. Mar. 28, 2023).