Maryland Lays Out Reasons Against New Trial In ‘Serial’ Case

ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) — A Baltimore judge was wrong to consider “a novel standalone claim” about the reliability of cellphone tracking evidence in granting a new trial for a man whose murder conviction was re-examined in a popular “Serial” podcast, the Maryland attorney general’s office says.

Appealing the decision to retry Adnan Syed, attorneys for the state contend that retired Baltimore Circuit Court Judge Martin Welch should not have ruled that his initial attorneys were constitutionally deficient because they failed to bring into evidence a warning from AT&T.

The cover sheet says: “Outgoing calls only are reliable for location status. Any incoming calls will NOT be considered reliable information for location.” The first three words — “Outgoing calls only” — are underlined in the fax AT&T sent to Baltimore police.

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