Court Deals a Blow to Adnan Syed of Serial Fame

The top court in Maryland on Friday delivered another setback to Adnan Syed, whose murder case gained national attention thanks to the Serial podcast. The Maryland Supreme Court upheld a lower court's decision to reinstate Syed's murder conviction in the 1999 death of high school classmate Hae Min Lee, reports the Baltimore Banner. But as the Washington Post notes, this is not the end of the legal fight for Syed, 43, who has been free the last two years.

The case has been a legal roller coaster: Syed was convicted and sentenced to life in 2000. But he was freed in 2022, when a judge ruled that prosecutors didn't properly hand over evidence to defense lawyers. The following year, an appellate court reversed that decision and reinstated his conviction, per the AP, ruling that the victim's family, particularly her brother, was not given adequate notice to attend the hearing that freed him. Friday's ruling upheld that decision.

"In an effort to remedy what they perceived to be an injustice to Mr. Syed, the prosecutor and the Circuit Court worked an injustice against Mr. Lee by failing to treat him with dignity, respect and sensitivity," the court found. (The Post has a link to the full decision.) The state Supreme Court ordered a redo of the 2022 hearing that set Syed free, and there was no immediate word on when that might take place. (More Adnan Syed stories.)