Adnan Syed's attorneys plan to appeal to the Supreme Court of Maryland
BALTIMORE -- Maryland's second-highest court has denied Adnan Syed's request to reconsider the reinstatement of his murder conviction.
Syed, whose case gained national attention when it was featured on the podcast "Serial," was released from prison in September of 2022 after serving more than 20 years for the murder of his Woodlawn High School classmate and ex-girlfriend Hae Min Lee.
The 18-year-old high school student went missing in January 1999. Her body was found weeks later in Baltimore City's Leakin Park.
"When we saw this decision today, we were satisfied," Lee Family Attorney Ari Rubin said. "We believe that the court made, largely, the right decision."
WJZ spoke to Rubin—one of the attorneys for Lee's family—about the court battle.
"This specific case is about the rights of a victim in deciding whether to overturn 20 years of settled litigation," Rubin said.
Syed's attorney released a statement saying she was dismayed by this outcome.
It was only last September when Syed's sentence was vacated and he was released from prison.
His conviction was reinstated in March after the Lee family filed an appeal saying their rights were violated because they weren't given the opportunity to attend the hearing that led to Syed's release. Her brother, who lives out of state, appeared on Zoom during the proceeding.
In April, Syed's legal team requested that the appeals court reconsider that decision. That request was denied on Tuesday.
WJZ also spoke with lawyer Lisa Matthewson, who specializes in the appeals process.
She said a ruling like this one is rare for an appeals court because it has no bearing on Syed's innocence.
"Essentially, what the court did was reinstate the convictions without considering whether this mistake of Zoom versus in-person could conceivably have made a difference to the outcome," Matthewson said.
Syed's attorneys said they plan to appeal to the Supreme Court of Maryland.
Lee's attorneys plan to fight to make sure their client is given a chance to speak.
"It's not about whether Mr. Syed goes back to jail at this point," Rubin said. "It's about any criminal case, what right does any victim have to be heard, participate and be a part of the justice process."
