STORY: "Court reopens appeal of Adnan Syed, subject of "Serial" podcast, by reporter Justin George, published by the Baltimore Sun on February 7, 2015.
SUB-HEADINGS: The appeal of Adnan Syed, the subject of the “Serial” podcast, gets new life. A long-shot attempt to reopen the appeal of Adnan Syed succeeded this week. Adnan Syed took a step toward overturning his conviction after court allows appeal."
GIST: "Adnan Syed, the incarcerated subject of the popular podcast "Serial," will get another shot at overturning his murder conviction and life sentence after a court granted his request to reopen his appeal. The Maryland Court of Special Appeals on Friday agreed to hear his case after two unsuccessful attempts to appeal his conviction over the past 12 years. Syed's main argument is that his trial attorney, Cristina Gutierrez, provided him ineffective counsel, and Friday's court ruling gives him a chance to show the judges why he believes he should be granted a new trial........."It's the first step in a pretty long process, but we're extremely happy," Syed's attorney, C. Justin Brown, said Saturday. The Court of Special Appeals is scheduled to hear arguments in Syed's case in June.........."Serial," a multiepisode podcast from the creators of the radio show "This American Life," brought international attention to the case after its producers spent a year and a half reinvestigating Lee's homicide. Millions downloaded the 12episode podcast produced by former Baltimore Sun reporter and "This American Life" contributor Sarah Koenig. On Saturday, Koenig wrote about the appellate ruling on the "Serial" website. "In Episode 10 of the podcast, I reported that this appeal was alive by a thread," Koenig wrote. "Now, I'd say it's more of a … well-made string, maybe. Like the nylon kind. Because it means that the Court of Special Appeals judges think the issues Adnan raised in his brief are worth considering. That's a pretty big hurdle for any appellant to clear.".........A legal fund she has set up online for Syed had raised more than $82,000 as of Saturday, most of the donations coming from podcast fans.
Syed now has until March 16 to file formal briefings with the Court of Special Appeals. The state attorney general's office has until April 16 to respond. Then the three judges on the court could hear oral arguments and order a new trial or deny Syed's request. The judges could also send the appeals case back to Circuit Court for evidentiary hearings.
SUB-HEADINGS: The appeal of Adnan Syed, the subject of the “Serial” podcast, gets new life. A long-shot attempt to reopen the appeal of Adnan Syed succeeded this week. Adnan Syed took a step toward overturning his conviction after court allows appeal."
GIST: "Adnan Syed, the incarcerated subject of the popular podcast "Serial," will get another shot at overturning his murder conviction and life sentence after a court granted his request to reopen his appeal. The Maryland Court of Special Appeals on Friday agreed to hear his case after two unsuccessful attempts to appeal his conviction over the past 12 years. Syed's main argument is that his trial attorney, Cristina Gutierrez, provided him ineffective counsel, and Friday's court ruling gives him a chance to show the judges why he believes he should be granted a new trial........."It's the first step in a pretty long process, but we're extremely happy," Syed's attorney, C. Justin Brown, said Saturday. The Court of Special Appeals is scheduled to hear arguments in Syed's case in June.........."Serial," a multiepisode podcast from the creators of the radio show "This American Life," brought international attention to the case after its producers spent a year and a half reinvestigating Lee's homicide. Millions downloaded the 12episode podcast produced by former Baltimore Sun reporter and "This American Life" contributor Sarah Koenig. On Saturday, Koenig wrote about the appellate ruling on the "Serial" website. "In Episode 10 of the podcast, I reported that this appeal was alive by a thread," Koenig wrote. "Now, I'd say it's more of a … well-made string, maybe. Like the nylon kind. Because it means that the Court of Special Appeals judges think the issues Adnan raised in his brief are worth considering. That's a pretty big hurdle for any appellant to clear.".........A legal fund she has set up online for Syed had raised more than $82,000 as of Saturday, most of the donations coming from podcast fans.
Syed now has until March 16 to file formal briefings with the Court of Special Appeals. The state attorney general's office has until April 16 to respond. Then the three judges on the court could hear oral arguments and order a new trial or deny Syed's request. The judges could also send the appeals case back to Circuit Court for evidentiary hearings.
The entire story can be found at:
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/bs-md-adnan-syed-appeal-granted-20150207-story.html
See Alan Dershowitz analysis: "It was enough to secure a conviction, especially since Syed’s trial lawyer did a poor job of investigating the evidence and defending him at trial. For instance, she failed to interview a potential alibi witness and she didn’t press for forensic testing of hair and skin found on the victim’s body – either of which could’ve proved potentially exculpatory."
http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/jan/01/serial-adnan-syed-exonerated-new-trial?CMP=share_btn_tw
PUBLISHER'S NOTE:
Dear Reader. Keep your eye on the Charles Smith Blog. We are following this case.
I have added a search box for content in this blog which now encompasses several thousand posts. The search box is located near the bottom of the screen just above the list of links. I am confident that this powerful search tool provided by "Blogger" will help our readers and myself get more out of the site.
The Toronto Star, my previous employer for more than twenty incredible years, has put considerable effort into exposing the harm caused by Dr. Charles Smith and his protectors - and into pushing for reform of Ontario's forensic pediatric pathology system. The Star has a "topic" section which focuses on recent stories related to Dr. Charles Smith. It can be found at:
http://www.thestar.com/topic/
Information on "The Charles Smith Blog Award"- and its nomination process - can be found at:
http://smithforensic.blogspot.ca/2013/12/the-charles-smith-award-presented-to_28.html
I look forward to hearing from readers at:
hlevy15@gmail.com.
Harold Levy; Publisher; The Charles Smith Blog;
