On March 29, 2018, Maryland's second-highest court ruled that Syed deserved a new trial. The Court of Special Appeals' opinion explained that Syed's counsel failed to contact a potential alibi witness who could "have raised a reasonable doubt in the mind of at least one juror."[45] 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.[46]