Starting my actual Adnan Syed Twitter thread here. The courtroom is open and filling up.
Syed is expected to be at the hearing in person. If a judge orders him released, it’s not likely he’ll get to leave straight from court. But it’s not impossible. Of note: Hae Min Lee’s family has an attorney who will speak today — presumably against Syed’s release.
.@baltimoresun readers can get caught up on the essentials here. Telling you all now: the hearing starts at 2 and it’s not being broadcast. Phone use is not allowed in the courtroom baltimoresun.com/news/crime/bs-…
No matter how it shakes out, Marilyn Mosby, Baltimore’s elected top prosecutor, and Erica Suter, Syed’s attorney, are expected to speak after the hearing ends. Court papers filed by both sides advocate for his release.
State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby is walking into court now. Most of her office’s top officials will likely attend
Syed’s family, @rabiasquared, just arrived
Getting kicked off in 15 minutes. I’ve been told the Lee family attorney did make an official filing in the case. We’ll hear more about the substance of that shortly. Prosecutor Becky Feldman, who filed the motion to vacate Syed’s conviction, just walked into court
I won't get to see Syed enter the courtroom by virtue of being in a media room with an audio only feed. However, he will likely enter from an internal hallway.
Either the audio feed isn't working or we haven't started yet. Stay tuned
Alright, I just heard Judge Melissa Phinn introduce herself. Audio cutting in and out but it seems the hearing is underway.
Judge Phinn asks Feldman (SAO) whether victim's family (the Lees) was notified. Feldman said yes, and that Young Lee, Hae Min Lee's brother, is watching over zoom.
Phinn is asking Feldman when exactly she gave notice to the Lee family about the State's Attorney's Office's plans to file to vacate Syed's conviction. Feldman says she noticed the Lee family Sept. 12, two days before filing. Young Lee lives on the west coast
Steve Kelly, Lee family attorney, spoke up and said he plans to speak up on their behalf.
Phinn asked if Young Lee was on the zoom. No response. Kelly, the Lee family attorney, is speaking now.
Kelly is taking the State's Attorney's Office to task for failing to notify the Lee family of the hearing with enough time for them to meaningfully participate. "To suggest the state's attorney's office has provided adequate notice under these circumstances is outrageous."
Kelly notes the office has publicly maintained Syed's guilt and that last week's surprise filing feels like a sudden about face. Kelly urges Phinn to consider postpone the hearing for seven days so Young Lee can attend in person.
Phinn said courts have been doing virtual hearings throughout the pandemic and doesn't seem to have patience for the argument for a postponement.
Phinn: "Are you saying to this court that Mr. Lee is going to travel here to Baltimore in seven days for this hearing?" Phinn also says had the court known Young Lee wanted to attend in person they would have waited to schedule the hearing.
Kelly makes the point Young Lee never told the state he would attend a hearing, even virtually, until Sunday evening. He wasn't notified of the hearing until Friday afternoon. It doesn't appear Young Lee is on via zoom.
Phinn is also saying the law doesn't require any time frame for notice, just that notice of a hearing is given. That's actually incorrect as Maryland caselaw requires "reasonableness" when no timeframe is explicitly provided.
Phinn is dancing around it to put things on the record. Feldman said she would "never" tell a victim they could not attend a proceeding like this. FYI: Phinn had a case earlier this year come back because she sentenced someone without giving the victim a chance to appear
Here's the context on the case earlier this year. 
Feldman says when they decided to they were going to pursue the motion to vacate she contacted Young Lee last Monday, did not actually speak to him until Tuesday when she gave him an advance copy of the motion to vacate Syed's conviction.
Kelly said Young Lee did not understand until yesterday afternoon that he actually had a right to participate in this hearing. Phinn denies Kelly's motion for postponement and said he had enough time to find and retain an attorney to advise him of his rights.
Phinn now told Kelly to leave and call Young Lee (who is at work in California) and see if he would like to say something today or not.
Kelly back in court, said Young Lee will be off work in 30 minutes and could join. Court is in recess until then
With Phinn denying Kelly's motion, it makes it more likely she will rule on Syed today. However, to be absolutely clear, she does NOT have to rule from the bench. She can take time if she wants.
Recess should be over soon-ish. The courts always say 30 minutes but then everyone has to get back in place. Made slower when you're dealing with Zoom and the deputies have to take Syed in and out of the courtroom during recesses.
going on minute 45 of the 30 minute recess...
Court is back in session
Young Lee is speaking now: "My heart is kind of pounding right now... I personally wanted to be there in person. I've been living with this for like 20 plus years. Everyday when I think it's over... or it's ended, it always comes back. It's killing me. It's really tough."
Young Lee cont. says he trusts the courts and the justice system and that this motion blindsided him because he thought the prosecution was on his side. "I feel betrayed." But adds that he's "not against investigation." "It's tough for me to swallow, especially for my mom."
Young Lee cont. "I ask you to make the right decision." Also says knowing there could be someone out there free for killing his sister is difficult. He is very emotional, working through tears. Obviously at odds because he spent 23 years thinking prosecution had the right person
Phinn said she's mindful how difficult today is for Young Lee and his family. She thanks him for his input and that appears to be all there will be from the victims and their attorney. Now we proceed to the actual hearing itself
Feldman asking again for Phinn to vacate the conviction and then release Syed from custody. That does NOT mean his charges are dropped, just that authorities feel more needs to be investigated. That being said, if state still thinks he is still guilty, unlikely to ask for release
Feldman going through the issues with the original trial/prosecution. Generally the failure to turn over the information received about a possible other suspect is grounds for a conviction to be reversed, Feldman says
Now Feldman is detailing her own investigation into the Syed case, and says she first got hands on the case file June 22.
Got to the part about the alternative suspects, specifically the one who had threatened Hae Min Lee. Here's some background on that:
Feldman says she doesn't know why this information was never turned over to the defense in the past. "Based on this information alone, we believe the defendant is entitled to a new trial," she said.
One of the alternative suspects wasn't properly cleared by police because of a failed lie detector test. Those test results aren't admissible in court, but Feldman arguing they can be used to narrow down suspect identities. FYI the state is not naming the suspects
Feldman discussing cellphone location evidence now saying it shouldn't have been admissible in court. That's because they allowed incoming calls to be used to determine location data, which AT&T said in its own legal disclaimer at the time it may not be entirely accurate.
Also, cellphone location data is what put Syed at Hae Min Lee's burial site.
Feldman now says the detective who investigated killing is unreliable, citing a separate case. Also is discussing Jay Wilds, the star witness in 1999 trial, who the state now deems unreliable. "He gave two different accounts to police about where he saw the victim's body" Feldman
Feldman now going through Wilds' corroborating witnesses and impeaching their credibility by pointing to their inability to independently (without police prodding) provide information in support of Wilds' version of events.
"I understand how difficult this is but we need to make sure we hold the correct person accountable," Feldman says, then repeats Mosby's "justice over convictions" line from her Nightline interview last week. Promises to bring Lee's killer to justice.
Syed's attorney, Erica Suter, speaking now. "Mr. Syed's conviction was built on a flawed investigation." Suter also attacks Wilds' credibility. Was a brief statement and now Suter is done speaking
NEWS: Judge Phinn overturns Syed conviction "in the interest of justice"
Judge also orders Syed released under home detention. Removing his shackles now. Orders new trial.
Adnan Syed is going to walk free today. I'm headed outside for press conferences.
Story here
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