Adnan Syed of Serial Granted Appeal

By Genevieve Burgess | Serial | February 7, 2015 |

By Genevieve Burgess | Serial | February 7, 2015 |

It was announced today that Adnan Syed, the man at the center of the Serial podcast, has been granted an appeal by the Maryland Court of Special Appeals, on the basis that his attorney was ineffective. There’s more information at The Baltimore Sun, but the argument seems to hinge on his attorney’s failure to call a witness willing to testify to Adnan’s whereabouts at the time the state says Hae Min Lee was killed.

This does not mean that Syed will be granted a new trial, only that his legal team is able to submit their arguments, which will be reviewed by the State Attorney’s Office. They have until March 16th to file formal briefings of his appeal arguments, and the state will review these by April 16th. The case could also be sent back to circuit court. The point is that no matter what TV has taught you, none of this moves particularly quickly, and whatever happens there’s still a long road ahead for Syed and his legal team.