On July 12, 2018, the Court of Appeals agreed to hear both the State's appeal and Syed's cross-appeal.[35] An appeals panel of seven judges heard oral arguments on November 29, 2018,[36] and on March 8, 2019 the Maryland Court of Appeals, on a 4-3 vote, reversed the lower appellate court's ruling, effectively denying the new trial.[37] The Court agreed that Syed's legal counsel was deficient but ruled that it would have not been enough to have swayed the jury to change their decision because, in the Court's opinion, the prosecution could have chosen a different time for the murder. They also ruled that the opportunity to reexamine the cell tower evidence had been waived because the issue had not been raised as part of Syed's Ineffective Assistance of Counsel claims in his original petition.[38]