The appeal relates to arguments his trial attorney failed to properly represent him.
Adnan Syed in 1998.
Courtesy of Serial
Adnan Syed, the Baltimore man whose 2000 murder conviction was explored in last year's wildly popular Serial podcast, won leave to appeal against his conviction on Friday in Maryland's Court of Special Appeals.
Having exhausted his chances for standard court appeals, Syed petitioned the Court of Special Appeals in January 2014 to overturn the Baltimore City Circuit Court's denial of "post conviction relief." His application for leave to appeal was based on arguments that his trial attorney Cristina Gutierrez failed to seek a plea deal and to pursue a key witness in the case, Asia McClain, who claims to have been with Syed in Woodlawn Public Library on Jan. 13, 1999, when the state ruled he killed his ex-girlfriend, Hae Min Lee.
"The Application for Leave to Appeal be and hereby is granted," Chief Judge Peter B. Krauser ruled on Friday.
The appeal will be held before a panel of judges in the Court of Special Appeals in June, with Syed's brief due to be filed by March 16.
The victory means Syed's new attorney, C. Justin Brown, can argue that Gutierrez provided ineffective legal counsel, as well as that McClain's version of events is crucial to the case, before the panel of judges, who will then determine what action to take.
McClain, who wrote an affidavit establishing an alibi for Syed in 2000, filed a new affidavit on Jan. 13 of this year, claiming trial prosecutor Kevin Urick convinced her not to participate in Syed's trial.
McClain wrote that after being interviewed by Serial host Sarah Koenig and subsequently listening to the podcast, she "came to understand [her] importance to the case."
"I realized I needed to step forward and make my story known to the court system," she wrote.
BuzzFeed News has sought comment from Syed's attorney, as well as the producers of Serial.
