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Tag: Hae Min Lee

  • Attorney representing victim’s family in Adnan Syed case reacts to reinstatement of murder conviction – WTOP News

    Attorney representing victim’s family in Adnan Syed case reacts to reinstatement of murder conviction – WTOP News

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    Maryland’s highest court has reinstated Adan Syed’s murder conviction and ordered a new hearing in a lower court in Baltimore that vacated his conviction two years ago.

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    Attorney representing victim’s family in Adnan Syed case reacts to reinstatement of murder conviction

    Maryland’s highest court has reinstated Adan Syed’s murder conviction and ordered a new hearing in a lower court in Baltimore that vacated his conviction two years ago.

    The case gained national attention when it was the topic of the popular “Serial” podcast.

    Syed spent decades in prison, convicted of murder of his ex-girlfriend Hae Min Lee in 1999.

    His murder conviction was vacated and then all charges were dropped in 2022 after prosecutors in Baltimore said there were issues with the evidence in the case.

    Hae Min’s brother, Young Lee, has been fighting ever since, claiming the legal rights of his family were violated as a result of that first hearing.

    David Sanford is the attorney representing Young Lee. He joined WTOP’s Anne Kramer and John Domen to break down the latest development in this legal saga.

    The transcript below has been lightly edited for clarity.

    David Sanford, the attorney representing Young Lee, speaks with WTOP’s Anne Kramer and John Domen about the latest development in the case of Adnan Syed.

    John Domen: What is your reaction to the Maryland Supreme Court ruling? What did your clients have to say about the decision, too?

    David Sanford: Well, we are all delighted. The client is relieved. This case has been around for more than two decades now. We have a murder conviction of Adnan Syed, going back over 20 years. This case has been subjected to appeals up and down, all the way to the Supreme Court of the United States, now to the Maryland Supreme Court. And at the end of the day, this is a victory for victims’ rights. And ultimately, Adnan Syed will have an opportunity to present whatever evidence he has in order to show that the conviction should effectively be overturned.

    Anne Kramer: This ruling was 187 pages long. Can you explain, in the simplest terms for us, the argument that you all made on behalf of Young Lee when it comes to the legal rights for the victim’s family involved in that hearing for Adnan Syed? Because didn’t your client appear virtually for that hearing?

    David Sanford: He did. He appeared virtually. He was given one business day’s notice. He lives in California. The hearing was held, of course, in Maryland, and he was told on a Friday that the hearing would take place on a Monday, and he asked for a one-week extension so that he could make plans to attend, and that motion for an extension was denied by the court. So he did appear, but the court ordered him to appear.

    He was at work at the time, he had 30 minutes to hustle home and appear via Zoom. But most importantly, he wasn’t able to meaningfully participate in the process, because when the hearing started, the judge simply asked, “What do you have to say?” And he had nothing really to say, other than he was shocked to be there, because nothing had been presented in court. There was no evidence ever presented in open court. The public doesn’t know what, if any, evidence exists. We certainly don’t know what, if any, evidence exists that would suggest that Adnan Syed’s conviction should be overturned.

    John Domen: OK, so help us out here. We are obviously not lawyers. We are told, though, that there is a new hearing that’s been scheduled or been ordered by the high court. Is it possible, is it likely even, that hearing will just sort of see the same thing happen all over again and the conviction will be tossed? Or what could happen there?

    David Sanford: Well, we don’t know. So right now, the court has ordered the lower court to take this up. It’s going to be before a different judge, and that judge is going to hold a hearing. It’s going to schedule a hearing, ideally some time in the fall/winter of this year. At that hearing, the prosecutor and the defense will come together and be able to present any evidence that it has to suggest that Adnan Syed should remain a free man and that his conviction should effectively be overturned.

    We don’t believe that evidence exists. We haven’t seen any evidence. We haven’t heard of any evidence. So now, the prosecution and the defense, they will have the burden to produce that evidence, and once they do, we’ll be able to comment on it. And if it shows that Adnan Syed really was unfairly, unjustifiably convicted, we’ll be the first to say that and to argue that Adnan Syed should remain a free man.

    Anne Kramer: David, you made a point to say that this ruling is on the side and will help victims’ families in the future. How will that work? And why do you think that?

    David Sanford: Well, because victims have a right under the Maryland Constitution to be treated with dignity, to be treated with respect and sensitivity, and those things mean something. They’re not empty platitudes. They mean something under the law. And what the Supreme Court has laid out in its 90-page opinion, there’s also a healthy dissent. But in the 90-page majority decision, it lays out what it means to be treated with respect in Maryland, and it’s a great day for victims and victims’ rights.

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  • Court rules family’s appeal can advance in ‘Serial’ case

    Court rules family’s appeal can advance in ‘Serial’ case

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    ANNAPOLIS, Md. — An appeal of the court proceedings that freed Adnan Syed from prison filed by the family of the murder victim in the case chronicled in the true-crime podcast “Serial” can move forward, Maryland’s intermediate appellate court ruled Friday.

    The family of Hae Min Lee has contended their rights were violated, because they did not receive enough notice about a September court hearing that resulted in Syed’s murder conviction being overturned. Lee’s family has said it is not seeking to impact Syed’s release from prison in its appeal.

    The Maryland Court of Special Appeals on Friday ordered that the appeal from the family will be considered in February.

    “Hae Min Lee’s family is thrilled with today’s ruling,” said Steve Kelly, an attorney representing the family. “All they are seeking is what the law requires — a full evidentiary hearing in which they can meaningfully participate and one that makes public the relevant evidence.”

    At the September hearing, a Baltimore judge ordered Syed’s release after overturning his conviction for the 1999 murder of Lee, who was Syed’s ex-girlfriend and 18 years old at the time.

    Prosecutors had moved to vacate Syed’s conviction on Sept. 14. That followed a yearlong investigation and was two days after they notified the Lee family.

    Last month, Baltimore prosecutors dropped charges against Syed.

    Syed has always maintained his innocence. His case captured the attention of millions in 2014 when the debut season of “Serial” focused on Lee’s killing and raised doubts about some of the evidence prosecutors had used, inspiring heated debates across dinner tables and water coolers about Syed’s innocence or guilt.

    Prosecutors said a reinvestigation of the case revealed evidence regarding the possible involvement of two other possible suspects. The two suspects may be involved individually or may be involved together, the state’s attorney’s office said.

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  • Maryland AG joins family’s appeal in ‘Serial’ murder case

    Maryland AG joins family’s appeal in ‘Serial’ murder case

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    FILE – Adnan Syed, center right, leaves the courthouse after a hearing on Sept. 19, 2022, in Baltimore. Hae Min Lee’s brother, Young Lee, has asked the Maryland Court of Special Appeals to halt court proceedings for Syed, whose conviction in Lee’s 1999 killing was reversed by Baltimore Circuit Judge Melissa Phinn in September 2022. Now, the office of Maryland’s attorney general is supporting the brother’s appeal. (Jerry Jackson/The Baltimore Sun via AP, File)

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  • ‘Serial’ case: Victim’s family wants to redo Syed hearing

    ‘Serial’ case: Victim’s family wants to redo Syed hearing

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    BALTIMORE — The family of a young woman who was killed in 1999 will appeal a Baltimore judge’s recent order overturning the conviction of Adnan Syed, the man imprisoned for decades for Hae Min Lee’s death, according to an attorney for the family.

    Attorney Steve Kelly said Lee’s family is not challenging Syed’s release, but instead wants the judge to hold another hearing that the family can attend in-person and address the court — Lee’s brother Young Lee appeared via videoconference on short notice during the previous hearing.

    “We’re not challenging the ruling, but asking for the hearing to be redone in accordance with the law,” Kelly told The Associated Press.

    Syed, whose case was examined in the popular true-crime podcast “Serial,” was released earlier this month after prosecutors told a judge they had uncovered doubts about the fairness of the investigation. Syed has always maintained that he never killed Hae Min Lee, his ex-girlfriend.

    On Wednesday, Young Lee filed a notice of appeal, alleging violations of the family’s right to meaningfully participate in the Sept. 19 hearing in which Syed secured his release, according to Kelly. It’s the first step in seeking the Maryland Court of Special Appeals’ review of the potential violations of victim’s rights statutes, Kelly said.

    Syed was serving a life sentence after he was convicted of strangling Lee, whose body was found buried in a Baltimore park. He was 17 at the time of her death.

    Circuit Court Judge Melissa Phinn’s order to release Syed and vacate his murder conviction came after State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby asked the judge to vacate the conviction, saying a lengthy investigation conducted with the defense had uncovered new evidence that could undermine the conviction.

    During the hearing, Young Lee spoke via videoconference, saying he felt betrayed by prosecutors since he thought the case was settled.

    “This is not a podcast for me. This is real life,” he said.

    Prosecutor Becky Feldman told the judge in the hearing that she contacted Young Lee before the motion was filed, and went over the motion with him. A day before the hearing, Young Lee indicated by text message that he would attend virtually, Feldman said. But that evening the Lee family hired Kelly, who filed a motion to postpone the hearing for seven days so Young Lee could attend in person. Phinn denied that motion, but paused the hearing by more than 30 minutes so that Lee, who was at work, could join the call.

    Kelly said at the time that prosecutors shut the family out of the legal process, calling it “inexcusable” and a violation of Maryland law. The family is interested in the truth and might have supported Syed’s release if they had understood the basis, he said.

    “The family is disappointed with the way that they were treated. They’re disappointed with the process. They want more than anybody to have the person who killed Hae Min Lee brought to justice,” Kelly said. “If that is not Mr. Syed then they’re open to the possibility of anybody else who actually did it being prosecuted.”

    The Office of the Public Defender declined Thursday to comment on the notice of appeal. Syed’s case captured the attention of millions in 2014 when the debut season of “Serial” focused on Lee’s killing and raised doubts about some of the evidence prosecutors had used.

    Mosby, who entered office in 2015, has applauded the judge’s decision and has said investigators are awaiting the results of “DNA analysis” before determining whether to seek a new trial date or throw out the case against Syed and “certify his innocence.”

    State’s Attorney’s Office spokesperson Zy Richardson said in a statement that they empathize with Lee’s family, “who believed they had resolution and are now being re-traumatized by the misdeeds of the prior prosecutors,” but they must ensure that the right person is held accountable, news outlets reported.

    “We refuse to be distracted from this fundamental obligation and will never give up in our fight for the Lee family,” she said.

    Feldman, who led a unit reexamining cases in which juvenile defendants were given life sentences, found notes written by a predecessor describing two phone calls in which people gave them information before Syed’s trial about someone with a motive to harm Lee. That information wasn’t given to the defense at the time, according prosecutors, an omission that Phinn said violated Syed’s rights.

    In a new “Serial” episode released a day after Syed was freed, host Sarah Koenig noted that most or all of the evidence cited in prosecutors’ motion to overturn the conviction was available since 1999. The case against Syed involved “just about every chronic problem” in the system, Koenig said, including unreliable witness testimony and evidence that was never shared with Syed’s defense team.

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