WHAT WE THINK
Check out our blog posts to learn more about post-sentencing criminal practice.
What’s Next for Adnan Syed
The Post Conviction Court vacated Adnan Syed's sentence and conviction on June 30, 2016. You can read more about the Court's ruling here. So what happens next? Winning a post conviction is not the same as a not guilty verdict at the end of a trial. Jeopardy does...
Post Conviction Relief Granted for Adnan Syed
On June 30, 2016, the Circuit Court for Baltimore City granted relief in Adnan Syed v. State. You can read the Court's 59 page Memorandum Opinion and Order at the end of this post. I'm going to attempt to bottom line the key points in the Court's opinion. There were...
Improper Closing Argument [UPDATE]
UPDATE: On November 7, 2016, the Court of Special Appeals GRANTED the Application for Leave to Appeal the Denial of Post Conviction Relief in my client's case! I am so thrilled to have the opportunity to continue to fight for my client. The Court's Order is below. ...
Ineffective Assistance of Counsel Part 3:
Most everyone has heard of the standard of proof in a criminal prosecution, "beyond a reasonable doubt." It is the highest standard of proof in our legal system. It was the standard of proof that applied during Adnan Syed's trial. The State was tasked with...
Ineffective Assistance of Counsel Part 2:
So let's talk about prejudice and post conviction. Yesterday's post discussed deficient performance, a serious mistake, the first prong of Strickland. The second part of the test involves "prejudice," and we're not talking about the kind meant by #Oscarssowhite. ...
Ineffective Assistance of Counsel:
I recently offered to try and answer questions on twitter regarding the post conviction proceedings in Adnan Syed's case. I thought it might be helpful to answer some of the questions on my blog and provide some legal background. I'm going to try and do this in...