Decision expected today in Syed v. Lee case

A decision is expected Friday in the Syed v. Lee case that was argued before the state Supreme Court last October. A spokesperson for the Maryland Courts says that 'the court issues their opinions before the beginning of the next September term.' That leaves Friday, August 30th, as the last business day before the beginning of the September term. WMAR-2 News has been covering this case since the very beginning, when victim Hae Min Lee went missing in January 1999.

The case brought before the state's Supreme Court in October wasn't intended to determine Adnan Syed's innocence or guilt in the murder of Hae Min Lee, but about whether or not Lee's brother, Young Lee, was provided proper notice to a vacatur hearing the year before.

Lee's murder and Syed's trials and conviction attracted the attention of millions when Sarah Koenig started the podcast Serial in 2014. The now quarter-decade-long saga between Hae Min Lee's initial disappearance and the deeply legal questions the Court has had to consider has had many twists and turns. WMAR-2 News went In Focus on how we got to the Md. Supreme Court last fall with a half-hour special, The Hae Min Lee Files.

How this impacts the future of victims' rights in Maryland isn't yet clear. DC Attorney Susan Simpson told us last September that this case 'is like bizarro land criminal procedure.' Here are the scenarios we could see play out with the decision:

• The Supreme Court could overturn the Appellate Court's ruling, ruling that Lee's rights were not violated at all, leaving Syed free and the charges dropped.
• The Supreme Court could overturn the Appellate Court's ruling and say that Lee's rights were violated but that it's a harmless error, potentially highlighting the issue for the Legislature to look into, or instruct the Court's rules committee to address the issue with new rules to avoid future violations.
• The Supreme Court could overturn the Appellate Court's ruling and say that Lee's appeal was moot when he brought the appeal after the charges were dropped, in which case the Court could also refer the issue to the rules committee.
• The Supreme Court could affirm the Appellate Court's ruling entirely, which would require a new vacatur hearing to be held with enough notice for Lee to attend in person but not have the right to speak.
• The Supreme Court could affirm the Appellate Court's ruling and agree with Lee further that victims and victim representatives have a right to more meaningfully participate in vacatur hearings and/or other criminal proceedings.

This story will be updated when the decision comes down or if the court gives itself more time.