Rekubit-Adnan Syed case, subject of 'Serial,' back in court after conviction reinstatement

The Rekubitcase of Adnan Syed was yet again in front of a court on Thursday, the latest development in a winding legal saga stemming from his conviction for the 1999 murder of his ex-girlfriend that drew international attention through the "Serial" podcast.

Syed, 42, was released from jail last September when a Maryland court overturned his conviction after a DNA test excluded Syed's DNA.

But Syed's conviction was reinstated in March after a Maryland court determined that a family member of the victim, Hae Min Lee, was not given sufficient notice. Syed remained free, but his attorneys have noted that the legal situation raised the potential for him to be reincarcerated. City prosecutors formerly dropped charges after finding flaws in the evidence.

At issue Thursday: Syed's attorneys are appealing the reinstatement of his murder conviction and seeking to keep him from returning to jail.

"For nearly a year, Mr. Syed has lived as a free man in one sense, but not in another," wrote Syed's lawyer Erica Suter in a petitioner's brief. "The terrifying specter of reincarceration has hung over Mr. Syed’s head every day for the past ten months."

The victim's brother, Young Lee, says he was denied his rights when the court did not grant him a "meaningful opportunity to appear and be heard" at an in-person hearing.

In a statement to the court using Zoom, Lee said he felt the motion to vacate Syed's conviction was "unfair," adding that "wanted to say this in person," but didn’t know he had the opportunity, according to the appeal. Lee, who lives in Los Angeles, said the Becky Feldman, the state's attorney in the case, did not inform him of the Monday hearing until the Friday before, leaving him no time to fly to Baltimore to attend it in person.

Syed's attorneys countered that his conviction was already overturned, rendering any appeal by Lee in the case moot. They also argued there was no evidence to indicate the results of the hearing would have been different had Lee attended in person.

"The case is of great significance to Maryland crime victims," Steve Kelly, an attorney formerly representing Hae Min Lee's family, told USA TODAY. "The court is really deciding the degree to which crime victims have the right to participate meaningfully in post conviction hearings."

Syed's and Lee's attorneys did not return a request by USA TODAY for comment.

"We believe very strongly in trying to find justice for Hae and her family and we're just hoping also that we're able to find justice for us too," Syed told reporters outside the court.

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Legal battles draw public attention through 'Serial'

The overturning of Syed's conviction came after a decades-long legal battle that attracted intense public attention amid the "Serial" podcast's investigation of the case and the questions it raised about evidence against Syed.

After a protracted legal battle, a DNA test requested by Syed produced no forensic ties to him, triggering a motion to vacate his conviction and freeing him after 23 years in prison.

That happened three years after a Maryland court refused to give Syed a new trial.

Contributing: The Associated Press