Brown Law last week won a high-stakes post-conviction proceeding in Anne Arundel County when a Circuit Court Judge found that prosecutors had withheld critical evidence from the defendant. As a result, our client’s life sentence was vacated and a new trial ordered. This marks the sixth time the Firm has reversed a life sentence. The…

February 18, 2020 The past year was a disappointing stretch for Adnan Syed. The Maryland Court of Appeals, the state’s highest court, reversed the granting of a new trial and reinstated Syed’s conviction. Our appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court was denied. But this does not mean we have given up. There are multiple legal…

Important changes are coming to Maryland’s expungement law. Starting October 1, 2017, more people than ever before will have the ability to have their criminal records expunged – in many cases, for free. In the criminal context, expungement refers to the removal of certain criminal records from public inspection – meaning that the general public…

Brown & Nieto this week filed a federal habeas petition on behalf of Christopher Jones, who was falsely convicted in 2015 by allegedly corrupt Baltimore City Police officer Daniel Hersl. Jones has maintained his innocence since he was first arrested in Baltimore City and charged with drugs and a gun. According to Jones, Officer Hersl…

Adnan Syed today filed his “Brief of Appellee/Cross-Appellant” with the Court of Special Appeals. To recap, on June 30, 2016, the Baltimore City Circuit Court vacated Syed’s conviction and granted him a new trial. The Baltimore City Circuit Court found that Syed’s trial counsel had been constitutionally ineffective, in violation of the Sixth Amendment, at Syed’s original…

The Circuit Court for Baltimore City has denied Adnan Syed’s Motion for Release Pending Appeal. Judge Welch denied the Motion, in large part, because of the open status of the case in the appeals court. (The State is attempting to appeal Judge Welch’s Order vacating Syed’s conviction and granting a new trial; multiple applications for leave…

Adnan Syed today filed a Reply in support of his Motion seeking pretrial release. Syed seeks pretrial release following the Circuit Court’s Order vacating his conviction and ordering a new trial. The State opposed Syed’s Motion in a filing last week, and this is Syed’s Reply to the arguments raised by the State. To read…

The Firm is happy to announce that today we defeated a life sentence in federal court. Eleven years ago, while represented by different counsel, D.E. was sentenced to life imprisonment for a non-violent drug offense. Because he had at least two prior drug convictions, he received a mandatory life sentence, without the possibility of parole….

Adnan Syed responded today to the State’s recent filings in which the State seeks (1) an appeal of Judge Welch’s order granting a new trial; and (2) a remand of the case back to the circuit court so the State can introduce the testimony of two impeachment witnesses. Syed’s filings urge the Court of Special Appeals to…

Syed today filed his conditional application for leave to cross appeal. Essentially, we are asking the Court of Special Appeals that, if it hears the State’s appeal of Judge Welch’s Order, we also want to appeal. The state wants to appeal the cell tower issue, upon which the new trial was granted, and we would want to…

Brown & Nieto is happy to announce that Hogan Lovells will join the Adnan Syed defense team as pro bono co-counsel. Hogan Lovells is a fantastic international firm with great lawyers and deep resources. They are one of the best large firms in the country, and they have deep ties to Baltimore. They are also experienced in innocence…

In the past two years we have heard that Congress is on the brink of passing legislation that would reform our criminal justice system — by shifting away from the practice of warehousing drug offenders in prison, and moving in the direction of rehabilitation. This was one thing, it was reported, upon which Republicans and…

Petitioner Adnan Syed filed a post-hearing Motion today to supplement the post-conviction record with two letters that were sent to the Court. One letter was sent by the State; the other was sent by University of Maryland Law School professor Michael Millemann. Here is the filing, with letters attached, by link: FILING and embedded: https://cjbrownlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/FILING.pdf…

Brown & Nieto won an important coram nobis proceeding this month that could take a decade off a client’s sentence in federal court. Leonard Shelley was facing a mandatory 15-year federal sentence as an “Armed Career Criminal.” This was in large part based on his prior convictions in state court – essentially a three-strikes sentencing…

I recently spent the better part of five days sitting next to Adnan Syed. I had known him for about seven years, but this was the most time we had ever spent together. He was shackled in a four-point restraint so he could barely move. It must have been very uncomfortable. If it had been…

Here is the Court’s latest Scheduling Order with the new dates of Feb. 3, 4 & 5 for the Adnan Syed post-conviction hearing: Syed cheduling Order 01-15-16….

We have received many inquiries about whether Adnan Syed’s re-opened post-conviction hearing — currently scheduled for Feb. 4 and Feb. 5 — will be televised or broadcast in any form. Initially we were dismissive of the possibility. Now we’re not so sure. Maryland has a law that prohibits the broadcast of criminal proceedings. The statute,…

The Baltimore City Circuit Court has issued a scheduling order setting the dates for Adnan Syed’s re-opened post-conviction proceedings. Here is the Order: Welch scheduling Order…

More than two years have passed since federal prosecutors handed down a massive indictment charging gang members and correctional officers with operating a drug conspiracy inside the Baltimore City Detention Center (BCDC). The story gained national media attention and the U.S. Attorney’s Office trumpeted its success in getting convictions of all but a few of…

Lost in the excitement over the Supreme Court’s blockbuster decisions last week was a significant, albeit technical, case dealing with federal sentencing under the Armed Career Criminal Act (ACCA). The ruling should help a significant number of federal defendants who are serving harsh mandatory sentences. These people may be entitled to substantial sentence reductions. In…