Former Baltimore State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby says her successor, Ivan Bates, has filed a professional complaint over her actions in the case of Adnan Syed, the subject of the podcast “Serial” who received worldwide attention.
Mosby made those remarks during a recent appearance on "Native Land Pod" with Angela Rye, Tiffany Cross and Andrew Gillum, and described the move to file a complaint with the Attorney Grievance Commission of Maryland as unprecedented.
When she was in office, Mosby moved to throw out Syed’s conviction and then dropped the charges against him. But Bates reversed course.
“We did our due diligence, we investigated the case and ultimately made a recommendation to vacate the conviction of Adnan Syed, and rightfully so, we would argue,” Mosby said.
The Baltimore Banner thanks its sponsors. Become one.
Mosby said Bates also filed a complaint with the Attorney Grievance Commission of Maryland against former Assistant State’s Attorney Becky Feldman, who was chief of the Sentencing Review Unit in the Baltimore State’s Attorney’s Office.
Bates, she said, is “playing politics.” She likened his behavior to President Donald Trump.
A spokesperson for the Baltimore State’s Attorney’s Office, James Bentley, said Bates is unable to comment.
In an email, Maryland Bar Counsel Thomas DeGonia II said these records are confidential.
“Accordingly, we are unable to provide any information to your office about any complaints we may receive, to the extent that such complaints may exist,” DeGonia said.
The Baltimore Banner thanks its sponsors. Become one.
Mosby, 45, served as the city’s top prosecutor from 2015-2023 and was later found guilty in U.S. District Court in Greenbelt of two counts of perjury and one count of making a false statement on a loan application related to her purchase of two luxury vacation homes in Florida.
U.S. District Judge Lydia Kay Griggsby sentenced Mosby to three years’ supervised release, with one year of home detention, which she recently finished.
The Maryland Supreme Court ruled that she is allowed to continue practicing law while she challenges her convictions. Her appeal in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit is pending.
Mosby could not be reached for comment.
In a statement, Feldman said Bates reversed his position on the case after being elected state’s attorney and “intentionally ignored facts that did not support his new narrative that the conviction must stand.”
The Baltimore Banner thanks its sponsors. Become one.
“My investigation was done carefully and with the highest degree of integrity to ensure a just result,” Feldman said. “I have dedicated my life to justice and compassion, but I have become collateral damage in Bates’ Trumpian attacks against those who stand in the way of his political agenda.”
Syed, now 44, was found guilty in 2000 in Baltimore Circuit Court of first-degree murder, robbery, kidnapping and false imprisonment in the killing of Hae Min Lee, his ex-girlfriend and classmate at Woodlawn High School. He was sentenced to life in prison plus 30 years.
Her body was found on Feb. 9, 1999, in Leakin Park in Baltimore. She was 18.
At the time, Syed was 17. He has always maintained his innocence.
In 2022, the Baltimore State’s Attorney’s Office moved to throw out Syed’s conviction, citing the results of an investigation that found that prosecutors failed to turn over exculpatory evidence and unearthed information about two possible alternative suspects.
The Baltimore Banner thanks its sponsors. Become one.
Baltimore Circuit Judge Melissa M. Phinn then granted the motion and ordered Syed to immediately be released from prison. Mosby later dropped the charges.
The Maryland Supreme Court in 2024 reinstated Syed’s conviction after ruling that the rights of Young Lee, Hae Min Lee’s brother, were violated.
Bates abandoned the motion to throw out Syed’s conviction but supported his request to be resentenced under the Juvenile Restoration Act to time served. The law allows people who’ve served at least 20 years in prison for crimes they committed as children to get back into court and demonstrate they’ve changed.
In a statement at the time, Bates said the motion contained “false and misleading statements that undermine the integrity of the judicial process.”
Later, Baltimore Circuit Judge Jennifer B. Schiffer granted Syed’s motion to reduce his sentence to time served plus five years’ supervised probation.
Her decision ensured that he did not have to return to prison.
Comments
Welcome to The Banner's subscriber-only commenting community. Please review our community guidelines.