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YEARS AFTER HIS MURDER CONVICTION WHEN HE BECAME THE SUBJECT OF THE SERIAL PODCAST. DEBRA WEINER IS AT THE NEWS DESK WITH MORE. DEBORAH: THIS WAS A SPLIT DECISION BY THE MARYLAND COURT OF APPEALS. FOUR JUDGES MADE UP THE MAJORITY. THREE DISSENTING. AT ISSUE, WHETHER OR N ADNAN SY’S DEFENSE COUNSEL ADEQUATELY REPRESENTED HIM AT TRIAL AND IF POOR REPRESENTATION LED TO HIS CONVICTION. IT HAS BEEN 20 YEARS SINCE THE MURD OF HIS GIRLFRIEND, THE WOODLAND HIGH SCHOOL STUDENT WHOSE BODY WAS FOUND IN THE PARK. SHE HAD BEEN STRANGLED. POLICE ARRESTED HER EX-BOYFRIEND, ADNAN SYED, AND CHARGED HIM WITH MURDER. HIS FIRST TRIA ENDED IN A MISTRIAL. A SECOND JURY CONVICTED SY AND SENTENCED HIM TO LIFE PLUS 30 YEARS. FEW PEOPLE OUTSIDE OF THE BALTIMORE AREA WOULD EVEN KNOW ABOUT HIS CASE IF NOT FOR THE WILDLY POPULAR PODCAST CEREAL, WHICH RAISED SERIOUS -- SERIA, WHICH RAISED SERIOUS QUESTIONS ABOUT THE CASE. THAT DEBUTED IN 2014 AND ALMOST IMMEDIATELY WENT VIRAL. THE STATE APPEALED TO MARYLAND’S HIGHEST COURT, WHICH HEARD ORAL ARGUMENTS LAST NOVEMBER. THAT BRINGS US TO TODAY’ RULING. JUDGE CLAYTON GREEN JUNIOR WROTE ON BEHALF OF T MAJORITY, "WE AGREE WITH THE CONCLUSION OF THE COURT OF SPECIAL APPEALS THAT MR. SYED’S COUNSEL’S PERFORMANCE WAS DEFICIENT IN FAILING TO INVESTIGATE THE ALIBI WITNESS. WE DISAGRE HOWEVER, WITH THAT COURT’S CONCLUSION THAT MR. SYE WAS PREJUDICED BY HIS TRIAL COUNSEL’S DEFICIENCY. TH STATE APPEALED TO -- A NEW DOCUMENTARY ON THE CASE I SET TO DEBUT ON HBO THIS WEEKEND. LIVE IN THE NEWSROOM, DEBRA WEINER, WBAL 11 NEWS. >> THANK YOU. WE SENT YOU A PUSH A

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Maryland's highest court has ruled that Adnan Syed does not deserve a new trial.Read the Court of Appeals decision hereIn a 4-3 split decision by the Maryland Court of Appeals, the court agreed that Syed's defense was deficient but it "did not prejudice" the case.At issue was whether Syed's defense counsel adequately represented him at trial and if poor representation led to his conviction.In its conclusion, four judges on the court wrote: "We agree with the conclusion of the Court of Special Appeals that Mr. Syed's trial counsel's performance was deficient under the Strickland v. Washington standard in failing to investigate the alibi witness. We disagree, however, with that court's conclusion that Mr. Syed was prejudiced by his trial counsel's deficiency."Finally, we agree with the holding of the intermediate appellate court that Mr. Syed waived his claim of ineffective assistance of counsel related to his trial counsel's failure to challenge cell-tower location data. Accordingly, we hold that Mr. Syed waived this claim under the waiver provision of the UPPA. Because we conclude that trial counsel's deficient performance in one aspect of her representation did not prejudice Mr. Syed within the meaning of Strickland, we reverse the judgment of the intermediate appellate court."In the dissenting opinion, three of the judges wrote, "I agree with the majority's conclusion that Mr. Syed's trial counsel's failure to investigate Ms. (Asia) McClain as a potential alibi witness constituted deficient performance under Strickland v. Washington. However, unlike the majority, I am persuaded that this deficiency was prejudicial against Mr. Syed and his defense."Maryland Attorney General Brian Frosh released a statement, saying: "We are pleased with the court's decision. Justice was done for Hae Min Lee and her family."Syed's attorney, Justin Brown, tweeted, "We will not give up."Brown released a statement, saying, "We are devastated by the Court of Appeals' decision but we will not give up on Adnan Syed."Unfortunately, we live in a binary criminal justice system in which you either win or you lose. Today, we lost by a 4-3 vote."Our criminal justice system is desperately in need of reform. The obstacles to getting a new trial are simply too great."There was a credible alibi witness who was with Adnan at the precise time of the murder and now the Court of Appeals has said that witness would not have affected the outcome of the proceeding. We think just the opposite is true. From the perspective of the defendant, there is no stronger evidence than an alibi witness."Syed was convicted in 2000 of killing Hae Min Lee and burying her body in a shallow grave in Leakin Park. He was 17 at the time.Syed's first trial ended in a mistrial. A second jury convicted Syed and sentenced him to life plus 30 years.Syed has been in jail since his arrest in February 1999.Few people outside of the Baltimore area would even know about this case if not for the wildly-popular podcast, "Serial," which raised serious questions about the evidence against Syed. "Serial" debuted in 2014 and almost immediately went viral.The appeals process was already underway at that point. A lower court judge vacated Syed's conviction in 2016 and ordered a new trial, saying Syed's lawyer did not adequately question cellphone tower evidence used in the original trial.Prosecutors appealed to the Maryland Court of Special Appeals, which ruled in March 2018 to uphold a new trial for Syed.