AG’s office joins family’s effort to pause Syed case
The Maryland Attorney General’s Office on Friday joined the family of Hae Min Lee in seeking to pause Adnan Syed’s circuit court case pending the Lee family’s appeal of a Baltimore judge’s decision to vacate Syed’s murder conviction in Lee’s death.
Lee’s brother, Young Lee, asked the Court of Special Appeals to halt further proceedings in Baltimore Circuit Court until the Lee family’s appeal can be heard in the appellate court.
Lee’s family has appealed Baltimore Circuit Court Judge Melissa Phinn’s decision last month to vacate Syed’s 2000 conviction because the family said it was not given enough notice to appear in court, in person.
“Mr. Lee has the right to appeal the State’s Attorney’s Office’s conduct relating to his rights as the victim’s representative,” the attorney general’s office said in a motion.
It says that Lee’s appeal should be addressed first, before any actions are taken in the circuit court “that would arguably moot the appeal.”
It also argues that because the appeal was by Lee’s brother and filed against the state, Syed is not a party to the appeal and therefore any response by him should be stricken.
“Mr. Syed is not an adverse party to this appeal,” the motion said. He “has no right to respond to Mr. Lee’s motion to stay circuit court proceedings pending the resolution of the appeal.”
“The question in this case is whether the State’s notice to Mr. Lee complied with the law. Regardless of the outcome of the appeal, Mr. Syed will neither ‘gain [nor] lose by the direct legal operation and effect of the decree,’ ” the motion said.
Syed, who spent more than 20 years in prison, was freed from prison the same day the judge overturned his conviction. His case garnered international attention after it was featured on the hit podcast “Serial,” hosted by Sarah Koenig, a former Baltimore Sun reporter.
Last month, the Baltimore State’s Attorney’s Office said it found evidence suggesting Syed’s innocence that had not previously been disclosed to defense attorneys in the case and filed a motion to vacate his conviction.
Prosecutors, along with Syed’s attorney, Erica Suter, conducted a yearlong investigation that revealed two alternative suspects in the homicide, at least one of whom was not disclosed to the defense before Syed’s trial, they wrote in court documents.
The Lee family has said they were not given enough prior notice about the hearing to overturn Syed’s conviction.
City prosecutors notified Young Lee on Sept. 12, and two days later they filed a motion to vacate Syed’s conviction. Then, two days after the motion was filed, on Friday, Sept. 16, prosecutors emailed Young Lee to notify him that the “in-person hearing ” on the motion to vacate would be held on the following business day, Monday, Sept. 19. The family says they were not told they had the right to speak or participate in the hearing.
Maryland law does not specifically say how much notice a victim’s family needs before a hearing, but that they should be given a “reasonable” amount of time.
Both Syed and Lee were students at Woodlawn High School in Baltimore County. Lee was found strangled and buried in a shallow grave in Leakin Park in Northwest Baltimore.
Syed, still charged with murder pending current prosecutors’ decision on whether to retry him or dismiss the charges, has always maintained his innocence.