C. Justin Brown

C. Justin Brown is a criminal defense attorney based in Baltimore, Maryland.[1] He runs a law firm called Brown Law. He currently represents Adnan Syed, who was convicted of the 1999 murder of Hae Min Lee and was the subject of the first season of the podcast Serial in 2014.[2][3][4]

C. Justin Brown
Born
Baltimore, Maryland
EducationCornell University (A.B.)
University of Maryland (J.D.)
OccupationCriminal Defense Attorney
Websitehttp://cjbrownlaw.com/

Early life and education

Brown grew up in Baltimore and attended the Gilman School.[5] He graduated from Cornell University in 1992, and went to the University of Maryland School of Law, where he graduated with honors. He was an editor on the Maryland Law Review.[6] After law school, Brown clerked for Judge Andre M. Davis (retired) in the United States District Court for the District of Maryland.[5]

Journalism career

Prior to becoming a lawyer, Brown was a journalist whose work was published in numerous outlets, including The Baltimore Sun, The New York Times, Newsweek, the Associated Press, The Christian Science Monitor, Details and Maxim.[5] He covered the war in Kosovo from 1997 to 1999.[5]

Representation of Adnan Syed
Further information: Murder of Hae Min Lee

Syed was convicted in 2000 of murdering his ex-girlfriend, Hae Min Lee.[7] At the time, both Syed and Lee were high school seniors at Woodlawn High School in Baltimore County, Maryland.[7] Syed received a sentence of life imprisonment, plus 30 years.[7] He currently resides in North Branch Correctional Institution in Cumberland, Maryland.

Brown started representing Syed in 2009 and has been his lead attorney ever since. Brown represented Syed in his second post-conviction hearing, which commenced on February 3, 2016, and lasted for five days.[8] On June 30, 2016, Judge Martin Welch, of the Circuit Court for Baltimore City, granted Syed a new trial based on ineffective assistance of counsel when trial counsel, Cristina Gutierrez, failed to cross examine a State’s witness with a fax cover sheet pertaining to cell phone records.[9][10] The State of Maryland appealed the granting of the new trial and the case proceeded to the Maryland Court of Special Appeals. On March 29, 2018, by a 2 to 1 decision, the Court of Special Appeals reversed the lower court’s ruling on the cell phone records issue, but upheld the grant of a new trial based on Gutierrez’ failure to contact alibi witness Asia McClain.[11][12] The State appealed a second time, to the Court of Appeals of Maryland, and on 9 March 2019 Syed's conviction was reinstated.[13][14]

Representation of Guled Omar

Brown also represents Guled Omar, the Minnesota man who, in 2016, was convicted for attempting to join ISIS. Brown is currently appealing Omar's case on the grounds that trial counsel failed to negotiate a plea agreement on behalf of Omar.[15]

Professional recognition and publications

Brown has been recognized as a Super Lawyer each year since 2015.[16][17] In 2016, The Daily Record named him an “Influential Marylander.”[18]

Other

Brown's father, C. Christopher Brown, is a retired civil rights attorney who founded the law firm Brown, Goldstein & Levy, and formerly was the lead counsel for the American Civil Liberties Union of Maryland.[19]

References
  1. "Maryland Attorney Listing". Maryland Courts. Retrieved January 23, 2019.
  2. "Adnan Syed, of 'Serial' Podcast, Gets a Retrial in Murder Case". New York Times. June 30, 2016.
  3. Pfund, Ross. "Under the Microscope: How Serial helped C. Justin Brown's case for Adnan Syed—and how it opened his every legal move to scrutiny". Super Lawyers.
  4. Larson, Sarah (October 9, 2014). "Serial: The Podcast We've Been Waiting For". The New Yorker.
  5. Kearney, Brendan (October 1, 2007). "From Kosovo to criminal law". Daily Record. Maryland. Retrieved January 23, 2019.(Subscription required.)
  6. "2004-05 Maryland Law Review Editorial Board". Maryland Law Review.
  7. Francke, Caitlin (February 26, 2000). "Jury finds teen guilty of killing ex-girlfriend". The Baltimore Sun.
  8. Justin Fenton and Justin George (June 30, 2016). "Conviction vacated, new trial granted for Adnan Syed of "Serial"". Baltimore Sun.CS1 maint: uses authors parameter (link)
  9. Jonah Engel Bromwich and Liam Stack (June 30, 2016). "Adnan Syed, of 'Serial' Podcast, Gets a Retrial in Murder Case". New York Times.CS1 maint: uses authors parameter (link)
  10. Judge Martin P. Welch (June 30, 2016). "Adnan Syed, Petitioner vs. State of Maryland, Respondent" (PDF). Circuit Court for Baltimore City.
  11. "'Serial' Subject Adnan Syed Deserves A New Trial, Appeals Court Rules". NPR.org. Retrieved 2019-01-23.
  12. Liam Stack (March 29, 2018). "New Trial Upheld for Adnan Syed of 'Serial'". New York Times.
  13. Colin Campbell (November 29, 2018). "Attorneys argue case of 'Serial' subject Adnan Syed in Maryland's highest court". Baltimore Sun.
  14. Wein, Michael (October 11, 2013). "Maryland Court of Appeals to Follow SCOTUS Policy of Deciding Argued Cases by Term's End". Maryland Appellate Blog. Retrieved August 12, 2018.
  15. "Minnesotan sentenced to 35 years in ISIS case says he didn't get the chance to plead guilty". Sahan Journal. Retrieved 2020-01-23.
  16. "Attorney Profile: C. Justin Brown". Super Lawyers. Retrieved January 23, 2019.
  17. "Top 100: 2019 Maryland Super Lawyers List". Super Lawyers.
  18. "Influential Marylanders, 2016". Daily Record.
  19. "Attorney Profile: Chris Brown – Founding Partner (Retired)". Retrieved January 23, 2019.
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