Posted on 03/28/23
| News Source: WBAL TV
The Appellate Court of Maryland's opinion states the Baltimore court did not provide the victim's family with the rights to be afforded a victim or victim's representative under constitutional provisions and Maryland laws.
| PDF: Read the court's opinion
The opinion calls for a new, "legally complaint and transparent" hearing on the motion to vacate where the Lee family is given notice of the hearing that is sufficient to allow him to attend in person.
According to the opinion, state law provides victims with the right to prior notice on a motion to vacate and the right to attend the hearing.
The opinion states that a prosecutor called Hae Min Lee's brother, Young Lee, on Sept. 12, 2022, to notify him that the state was going to file the motion to vacate and asked whether Young Lee would like to be notified.
On Sept. 13, 2022, one business day before the hearing, a prosecutor again called Young Lee to inform him of "what was happening" and "what information (they) had developed," in addition to going "through the motion a bit."
The opinion states that Young Lee responded to an email by expressing disagreement with the state's decision to move to vacate the convictions. The motion to vacate was filed the next day, Sept. 14, 2022.
The opinion states Young Lee wasn't given enough time to get from California, where he lives, to attend the hearing in person in Baltimore. Instead, the court required him to attend the hearing remotely.
The opinion states that the court requiring the victim to attend the hearing remotely violates the victim's right to attend the proceeding in person, particularly when the victim requests to attend in person.
As a result, the opinion states that the court has exceptional circumstances to "temper the state's authority" due to a violation of fundamental fairness where it circumvents the right to appeal.
The opinion states a victim doesn't have a statutory right to be heard at a vacatur hearing, but the court has discretion to permit a victim to address the court at a vacatur hearing regarding the impact of the court's decision on the victim and/or the victim's family.
In a dissenting opinion, Justice Stuart Berger wrote the notice in relation to the hearing should be considered in context of whether the notice was adequate to enable the victim or victim's representative to attend.
He wrote that the notice given to Young Lee was sufficient to satisfy the requirements of the law.
"I would not find a violation of the victims' rights statute in this unique case when Mr. Lee was notified -- albeit one business day before the vacatur hearing -- and ultimately attended the vacatur proceeding electronically," Berger wrote. "I would hold that the notice sufficiently complied with the requirements of the statute because, critically, it enabled Mr. Lee to attend the proceeding via electronic means."
Rabia Chaudry, a close family friend and public advocate for Syed, sent a statement to 11 News, saying: "We stand by the integrity of the evidence that exonerated Adnan, and urge the Baltimore police and state's attorney's office to find the source of the DNA on the victim's shoes and find Hae Min Lee's actual killer."
Syed was accused of killing Hae Min Lee in 1999 and was subject of the popular podcast, "Serial." His first trial ended in a mistrial. A jury convicted him in a second trial. Syed had been in jail since his arrest in February 1999.
A Baltimore City judge in September 2022 ruled to vacate Syed's conviction, and the Lee family filed an appeal over how it was treated. The Lee family filed the appeal, saying it was not given enough notice to have a strong enough voice in the process to vacate the conviction against Syed.
But before that appeal could be heard, the Baltimore City State's Attorney's Office dropped the charges against Syed entirely, saying DNA evidence cleared him. That led to the appeals court denying the Lee family's appeal before a hearing on it was held.
The Baltimore City State's Attorney's Office told 11 News it will not be commenting or releasing a statement Tuesday.