In December 2013, Lynn's conviction was reversed by the Superior Court, which agreed with Lynn that the child endangerment law in effect at the time of Avery's crime "imposed criminal liability only upon those directly supervising children" (page 23 of Superior Court ruling). In April 2015, however, Lynn's conviction was reinstated by the state Supreme Court. It ruled that the pre-amended law applied not just to direct supervisors of children but to those supervising children's welfare and that the law therefore applied to Lynn, "because, as a high-ranking official in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, he was specifically responsible for protecting children from sexually abusive priests” (page 2 of Supreme Court ruling).