Adnan Syed Case: Maryland Supreme Court and Crime Victims’ Rights

Young Lee received notice three days in advance of a hearing to determine whether the man found guilty of murdering his sister would be released.

For more than twenty years, prosecutors insisted that the man responsible for the murder of his sister Hae Min Lee was Adnan Syed, the subject of the hit podcast “Serial.”

But Baltimore Circuit Court Judge Melissa M. Phinn denied Young Lee's request for a one-week postponement so he could fly nearly 3,000 miles from California to Maryland to attend the hearing. Instead, she gave him 30 minutes to get home from work to make a statement via Zoom. And she did not allow his then-attorney, Steve Kelly, to speak afterward.

In a 4-3 decision, the Maryland Supreme Court ruled that Young Lee's rights to adequate notice, personal attendance at the hearing and meaningful comment during the proceedings had been violated and reinstated Syed's conviction. The justices ordered a rehearing – with a new judge.

The verdict, some crime victim rights advocates say, sent a clear message.

“I think this was a wake-up call for many: Maryland has a victims' rights charter, and if you don't follow it, there are consequences,” Renée said. Williams is executive director of the National Center for Victims of Crime, a Landover-based nonprofit that advocates for victims' rights, provides training and serves as an information resource.

In a dissenting opinion, Justice Brynja M. Booth wrote that in her view the appeal was moot, but that the majority had created a new constitutional right to be heard and acted as a super-legislator.

“The majority may have good policy reasons for victims to be heard in these proceedings, but with all due respect, it is not in our hands to make those policy decisions,” Booth wrote.

Syed, 43, of Baltimore County, is allowed to remain free pending a new hearing.

In a statement, James Bentley, a spokesman for the Baltimore District Attorney's Office, said prosecutors would “continue to thoroughly review the case.”

Syed's attorney, Assistant Public Defender Erica Suter, director of the Innocence Project Clinic at the University of Baltimore School of Law, said in a statement that they “appreciate the tremendous support we have received over the past few days.”

“We will push this process forward to ensure that Adnan is exonerated and his continued freedom is secured,” Suter said.

Meanwhile, David Sanford, chairman of Sanford Heisler Sharp LLP, which represents Hae Min Lee's family, expressed hope that the new hearing could take place before the end of the year.

Sanford said the case could potentially serve as a model for other states to strengthen victims' rights.

Kurt Wolfgang, executive director of the Maryland Crime Victims' Resource Center Inc. in Upper Marlboro, called the decision “probably the most important case for crime victims in recent history.” The center filed an amicus curiae brief in the case.

Since voters passed a constitutional amendment in 1994 requiring victims in Maryland to be treated with dignity, respect and sensitivity, there has been debate about whether that language is simply a pipe dream, Wolfgang says.

“It's no longer a promise on paper,” said Wolfgang. “They have breathed life into the promise. And in this case they have done it brilliantly.”

He gave several reasons why the decision was significant.

First, Wolfgang said, victims are allowed to speak at hearings on motions to vacate a conviction after hearing from the assistant prosecutor and defense attorney. They are also allowed to address whether the motion is legally correct and point out any deficiencies in the evidence.

In addition, a victim’s lawyer must be given the opportunity to speak, said Wolfgang.

The judges are of the opinion that the victims' previously established rights cannot be curtailed unless voters pass a new constitutional amendment.

The ruling recognizes the importance and fundamental nature of victims' rights in Maryland's criminal justice system, said Russell Butler, an associate professor at the University of Baltimore School of Law who teaches a course called “Crime Victims' Rights.”

The court also showed that it was not a “zero-sum game,” he said.

Butler previously served as executive director of the Maryland Crime Victims' Resource Center Inc. and authored an amicus curiae brief in the case for the National Crime Victim Law Institute, a nonprofit legal education and advocacy organization based at Lewis & Clark Law School in Portland, Oregon.

Judges, prosecutors and defense attorneys cannot simply ignore that victims have enforceable legal rights, he said. And when they do, courts can – with some limitations – fix those violations, Butler said.

“If you do things right the first time, you don't have to go back and fix them,” Butler said. “No rush to justice. Justice for all.”