Honk if You’re Addicted to ‘Serial’

Last week I shared a handful of favorite podcasts for holiday travel. “Serial” was conspicuously absent from the list, though delightfully present in the comments. I left it off because we’re still in the thick of the story, and also because I’m terrified that the series will end with no definitive answer as to what happened. That instead of Sarah Koenig cracking the case and listeners basking in the satisfaction and glory of justice, it will be a beautifully crafted tragedy that illuminates the frustratingly murky reality of a murder trial. Regardless, in the midst of rants about how impossible it is that no one knows if a phone booth existed at a Best Buy in 1999, my Disqus pals and I decided to continue the conversation via weekly “Serial” debriefs. Ready??

This week’s show had two main components: the effects of racism in Adnan’s trial, and the potential incompetence of his lawyer. The conversation around racism in our criminal-justice system and the US at-large is a crucial and particularly topical one. Between a former science teacher’s un-vetted intel about an alleged, murderous uncle offering Adnan safe-haven in Pakistan, and the assertion that within Adnan’s community it’s honorable to murder a woman if she leaves a relationship, the outlandish jumps are unbelievable. Except that they’re not. The question is: how much did racial and religious prejudice influence the outcome of the case? Adnan’s mother believes it’s why her son’s in jail. Koenig doesn’t discount the effects of racism — by any means — but isn’t convinced it’s the sole reason for Adnan’s incarceration.

I know my reaction doesn’t address the larger social problem, and may even be worse in putting that aside for a moment, but the issue of bias against Adnan based on stereotypes that are so far off feels like another reason to put Adnan on the stand. Given how relatable, engaging and quick he is in conversation with Koenig, wouldn’t taking the stand both humanize and engender him to the jury? Granted, he was a teen at the time, and it’s apparently not unusual for a defendant to opt out of testifying on his or her own behalf, but it still doesn’t add up to me.

Which brings us to the next issue: the lawyer, M. Cristina Gutierrez. It turns out there were bigger problems than a grating courtroom presence. Every week this story gets more odd. While Gutierrez’s reputation was excellent as a successful defense attorney, and Adnan adored her personally, she was disbarred (unrelated to this case) a year after Adnan’s conviction. Looking deeper, Koenig uncovers that Gutierrez was ill and erratic at the time, demanding Adnan’s family bring a $10,ooo cash payment to court at one point while missing filing deadlines and lying to co-workers on other cases.

To me, this at least helps explain why the tapes of Gutierrez in the courtroom sound so bizarre. Koenig goes out of her way to show that there are potential strategic explanations for how confusing and annoying Gutierrez is, particularly with Jay, but it seems like she never actually hits the points needed for the jurors to consider reasonable doubt, and worse, she just confuses things. So, I think I’m on the side of: Yeah, that lady blew it.

Also, Jay was GIVEN a lawyer? By the prosecutor? What? The more I learn about this guy, the more he seems unreasonably lucky.