After 16 years, man in 'Serial' murder case to get new trial

During a post-conviction hearing in early February, Syed's attorneys argued he deserved a retrial on the grounds that his original attorney, Cristina Gutierrez, did not contact Asia McClain Chapman, an alibi witness who said she saw Syed at the Woodlawn library about the same time prosecutors say Lee was murdered.

Additionally, Syed's current attorneys argued cell tower data linking Syed's phone to the burial site on the day of Lee's murder was misleading because it was presented to jurors without a cover sheet warning that incoming call data was unreliable.

[...] Welch did agree that Syed's attorney provided "ineffective assistance for the failure to cross-examine the state's cell tower expert about the reliability of cell tower location evidence" that placed him near the burial site.

"Requiring a layman who lacks a complete high school education to understand the intricacies of cellular network design and the legal ramifications of trial counsel's failures to challenge the evidence would be inconsistent with the spirit of the Sixth Amendment," the judge wrote.

[...] he said he and the rest of the defense team have "dug our heels in" and remain determined to fight on Syed's behalf, including requesting that Syed be released from jail while he awaits retrial.

Brown also called witnesses to testify that cell tower data — an important piece of the state's case against Syed — should have never been presented to jurors without an instruction sheet warning that any incoming call data is inconclusive.

"[...] of the public interest surrounding this case, the court used its best efforts to address the merits of the petitioner's petition for post-conviction relief like it would in any other case that comes before the court; unfettered by sympathy, prejudice or public opinion," he wrote.