in such hearings — by allowing them to challenge evidence and cross-examine witnesses. The court has yet to rule on either issue.
Maryland law grants victims the “right to speak” in certain proceedings, but allowing more active participation in conviction vacatur hearings would “create a sea change in Maryland courts” by effectively letting them play the role of third-party prosecutor, Syed’s attorneys wrote. That is a question the state legislature should decide, not the courts, the attorneys argued.
“There is nothing inherently suspicious or nefarious about an agreed upon resolution to a case, nor does the fact that the parties agree suggest a need for third party intervention,” his attorneys wrote. During brief remarks, Lee said he felt blindsided by the sudden request to vacate Syed’s conviction. He said the family spent decades thinking his sister’s killer was behind bars, only to find out prosecutors no longer had confidence in the evidence used to convict.In addition to receiving insufficient notice to attend the hearing in person, Lee’s attorneys later argued, he should have been afforded a more active role in the proceeding itself.
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