The deadline for a court filing laying out Adnan Syed's arguments as to why he believes his murder conviction should be overturned was extended to next week.
Syed, serving a life sentence in a West Maryland prison for the killing of his ex-girlfriend and Woodlawn High School student Hae Min Lee in 1999, was scheduled to file a briefing Monday with the Court of Special Appeals. But his attorney, C. Justin Brown, said he and the state, which is contesting the appeal, agreed to an extension that pushed the deadline to March 23.
Syed was the subject of the immensely popular "Serial" podcast series that was downloaded by millions of listeners last year. The 12-episode series, produced by former Baltimore Sun reporter Sarah Koenig, reexamined his case and brought to light evidence that wasn't used in his defense during his trial in 2000.
Last month, the Maryland Court of Special Appeals agreed to hear Syed's case after two unsuccessful attempts to appeal his conviction since 2003. Syed's main argument was that his trial attorney, Cristina Gutierrez, provided him ineffective counsel by failing to listen to his requests and ignoring a possible alibi witness.
In taking the case, the appellate court ordered Syed to file a briefing, laying out his arguments. Because his deadline was moved a week, the state Attorney General's Office's deadline to respond to that briefing was also pushed from April 16 to April 30, Brown said.
The court is expected to hear oral arguments in June.
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