BALTIMORE (AP) 鈥 When Baltimore prosecutors asked to vacate Adnan Syed's murder conviction and have him freed after 23 years behind bars, their request exemplified a growing movement within the American criminal justice system to acknowledge and correct past mistakes, including police misconduct and prosecutorial missteps.
But a raises new questions about the rights of crime victims, whose role in such proceedings often comes in opposition to ongoing justice reform efforts. In interviews Wednesday, legal experts said the ruling could have serious implications in Maryland and beyond.
The Appellate Court of Maryland鈥檚 2-1 decision reinstated Syed鈥檚 conviction, creating yet another unexpected wrinkle in the protracted legal odyssey chronicled in the hit podcast 鈥淪erial.鈥 The court ordered a redo of the , finding that the victim鈥檚 family didn鈥檛 receive adequate notice to attend in person, which violated their right to be 鈥渢reated with dignity and respect.鈥
Syed will appeal the decision to the state鈥檚 highest court, his attorney said Tuesday. In the meantime, he will continue working at Georgetown University鈥檚 Prisons and Justice Initiative, a program that offers classes to incarcerated and formerly incarcerated people.
鈥淲ill Adnan go back to prison? I don鈥檛 think so,鈥 his friend and advocate Rabia Chaudry told supporters on Instagram live Wednesday morning. 鈥淗e鈥檚 living his life.鈥
While crime victim advocates celebrated their victory, others warned the ruling could have a chilling effect on existing efforts to fight wrongful convictions and excessive sentences.
鈥淭he victims鈥 rights movement is a very powerful lobby that wants a reserve seat at the head of the criminal justice table,鈥 said Doug Colbert, a University of Maryland law professor who represented Syed at his initial bail hearing decades ago. 鈥淭his ruling certainly seems to satisfy their agenda.鈥
David Jaros, faculty director of the Center for Criminal Justice Reform at the University of Baltimore School of Law, said defendants rarely succeed in getting prosecutors to .
鈥淎dding additional hurdles is absolutely a legitimate concern,鈥 he said. 鈥淲e need to create a balance between respect and sympathy for victims, on the one hand, and the very critical need for courts and prosecutors to revisit these cases.鈥
Syed was 17 when his high school ex-girlfriend and classmate, Hae Min Lee, was found strangled to death and buried in a makeshift grave in 1999. He was arrested weeks later and ultimately convicted of murder. He received life in prison, plus 30 years.
At the direction of then-State鈥檚 Attorney Marilyn Mosby, Baltimore prosecutors started reviewing Syed鈥檚 case under a Maryland law targeting so-called juvenile lifers. Many states have passed similar laws in recent years since the U.S. Supreme Court prohibited mandatory life sentences for children convicted of serious crimes.
That review uncovered numerous problems, including alternative suspects and unreliable evidence presented at trial. Prosecutors filed a motion to vacate Syed鈥檚 conviction, giving him a chance at freedom after years of failed appeals and international media attention.
A Baltimore judge quickly scheduled a hearing on the motion.
The victim鈥檚 brother, Young Lee, was notified on a Friday afternoon that the hearing would take place the following Monday. When the hearing started, an attorney representing the Lee family requested a one-week postponement so Young Lee could travel to Baltimore from his home in California. A judge denied the request but allowed him to address the court via Zoom.
The judge later declared Syed鈥檚 conviction vacated and ordered him unshackled inside the Baltimore courtroom. He descended the courthouse steps surrounded by beaming relatives and cheering fans. Prosecutors were given 30 days to decide whether to retry the case.
In the meantime, Young Lee鈥檚 attorney filed an appeal, saying the family received insufficient notice about the hearing.
While the appeal was pending 鈥 and eight days before the deadline 鈥 Mosby announced her decision to , saying new DNA testing from Lee鈥檚 shoes excluded him as a suspect. She said the Lee family鈥檚 appeal was now moot because there were no underlying charges.
In its ruling Tuesday, the appellate court disagreed. The majority judges determined Mosby dropped the charges in an effort to thwart the appeal. They ordered Syed鈥檚 conviction reinstated but stayed their ruling for 60 days, delaying a determination on whether Syed returns to prison while the case proceeds.
Mosby, who left office in January after losing re-election, said the ruling 鈥渟ets a dangerous precedent over a prosecutor鈥檚 ability to reverse an injustice.鈥
In his dissenting opinion, Judge Stuart Berger said he considered the appeal moot after the charges were dropped. He also found Young Lee鈥檚 rights were not violated.
Berger said Maryland legislators should develop more specific victims鈥 rights requirements 鈥 including how much notice they should receive for conviction vacatur hearings 鈥 instead of leaving it to the courts to interpret a patchwork of existing statutes that don鈥檛 directly address the issue.
Attorneys for Young Lee applauded the ruling, which largely affirmed their arguments.
Paul Cassell, a victims鈥 rights lawyer and University of Utah law professor, similarly expressed approval.
鈥淭his decision is an important milestone, signaling that crime victims鈥 rights are becoming an enforceable part of our nation鈥檚 criminal justice architecture,鈥 he said. 鈥淚t would add insult to criminal injury to extend victims only paper promises.鈥
But Ashley Nellis, senior research analyst for The Sentencing Project, said the ruling could jeopardize other wrongful conviction cases and hinder a growing reform movement, in part because of the media spotlight focused on Syed.
鈥淭his is a very unique situation on multiple fronts,鈥 she said. 鈥淔or one celebrity case, many more are affected.鈥
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Associated Press writer Brian Witte in Annapolis contributed to this report.
