© 2026 WGCU News
News for all of Southwest Florida
Donate
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

A Maryland court reinstates Adnan Syed's conviction and orders a new hearing

NPR | By The Associated Press
Published March 28, 2023 at 3:10 PM EDT
Adnan Syed gets emotional as he speaks to reporters outside the Robert C. Murphy Courts of Appeal building after a hearing on Feb. 2 in Annapolis, Md.
Barbara Haddock Taylor
/
The Baltimore Sun via AP
Adnan Syed gets emotional as he speaks to reporters outside the Robert C. Murphy Courts of Appeal building after a hearing on Feb. 2 in Annapolis, Md.

ANNAPOLIS, Md. — A Maryland court did not give the family of the murder victim in the case chronicled in the hit podcast "Serial" enough time to attend a court hearing in person that led to Adnan Syed's release, a Maryland appellate court ruled Tuesday, and it ordered a new hearing to be held.

Though Syed's conviction has been reinstated, he will not be taken back into custody.

In a 2-1 decision, the Appellate Court of Maryland ruled the state's law provides victims with the right to prior notice of the hearing on a motion to vacate convictions, and that right was violated in the case of the family of Hae Min Lee, Syed's ex-girlfriend and high school classmate who died more than two decades ago.

The court ruled that giving her brother, Young Lee, only one business day before the hearing was "insufficient time to reasonably allow Mr. Lee, who lived in California, to attend the hearing in person," and required him to attend the hearing remotely.

"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 court ruled.

The court ruled it is obligated to remedy the lower court's violations, "as long we can do so without violating Mr. Syed's right to be free from double jeopardy."

"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," the ruling said. "We remand for a new, legally compliant, and 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."

The family had asked the court for a redo of the September hearing that led to Syed's release.

Copyright 2023 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

Tags
National News
The Associated Press
[Copyright 2024 NPR]
Trusted by over 30,000 local subscribers

Local News, Right Sized for Your Morning

Quick briefs when you are busy, deeper explainers when it matters, delivered early morning and curated by WGCU editors.

  • Environment
  • Local politics
  • Health
  • And more

Free and local. No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.

More from WGCU
  • Elections
    Crowded field of candidates vie for two U.S. Congressional districts representing SWFL
    Sheldon Zoldan/Special to WGCU
    The 16 Republicans seeking to represent two Southwest Florida districts in the U.S. Congress will be the most-watched local races of the August 18 primary.
  • Environment
    Introduction for Brown-headed Nuthatch
    Dr. Jerry Jackson
    The Brown-headed Nuthatch is a tiny bird with a very short tail and a very squeaky voice. Indeed, its voice sounds like that of a “rubber ducky”.The Brown-headed Nuthatch is one of three nuthatch species found in Florida, but the only one regularly found in south Florida. The Brown-headed Nuthatch is a bird of pines and is found in pinelands of Florida and the Southeast. It is a bird that feeds on insects and spiders that it finds in bark crevices and among the needles of pines. It eats pine seeds retrieved from open cones. Nuthatches fill a niche somewhat similar to that of a woodpecker – except that they not only move up a tree surface, but also down – head-first – thus they readily finds insects and spiders from above as well as from below or from the side – approaches that woodpeckers usually take.Like woodpeckers, nuthatches are cavity nesters. They readily excavate their own nest in well-rotted wood, use a natural cavity, or make use of an abandoned woodpecker cavity. Brown-headed Nuthatches are social birds and constantly chatter – squeaking – as they hunt for food. Florida’s other two nuthatches are similar in their behavior, but different in their habitats. The White-breasted Nuthatch nests and hunts primarily in hardwood trees in north Florida and elsewhere in eastern North America. The Red-breasted Nuthatch, is a winter visitor to north Florida from boreal forests far to the north.
  • Environment
    Florida Forest Service battle 525-acre wild fire in Hendry County; blaze 50 percent contained Sunday
    WGCU Staff
    A 525-acre wildfire was being fought in Hendry County by the Florida Forest Service Sunday evening.