Maryland Supreme Court weighs victims’ rights in case of Adnan Syed from ‘Serial’ podcast

By BRIAN WITTE and LEA SKENE
Associated Press

ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) — The Maryland Supreme Court is scrutinizing the outcome of a hearing that vacated Adnan Syed’s murder conviction after he spent 23 years behind bars. The victim’s family says they weren’t given adequate opportunity to take part in the proceedings. The case became known to millions through the true-crime podcast “Serial.” Syed’s murder conviction was reinstated, and he is appealing to the state’s highest court on Thursday. A lower court ordered a redo of the hearing that let the 42-year-old walk free. The court found that the victim’s family didn’t get adequate notice to attend the hearing in person, violating their right to be “treated with dignity and respect.”