Posts by BWTBL_admin
Judge Hammerman Imposes a 70 Year Trial Penalty — The Gary Baynor Case
In the last episode, Serge and Clarke discussed the idea of a trial penalty. A trial penalty occurs when an accused citizen rejects a plea offer, goes to trial, and is convicted but receives a sentence grossly disproportionate to the plea offer. In this episode, Serge and Clarke interview Gary Baynor about an incredible story…
Read MoreThe Diminishing Trial by Jury
In this episode, Serge and Clarke explore the phenomenon of the diminishing trial by jury. After explaining the statistics — which are shocking — Serge and Clarke seek to answer the questions of why the trial by jury is disappearing and the consequences of this significant change to the criminal justice process in America.
Read MoreBrittney Griner’s Arrest and Sentence
Serge and Clarke discuss the tragic circumstances surrounding the arrest, guilty plea, and sentencing in the Brittney Griner case. Brittney, a WNBA all-star, was arrested at a Moscow airport in February of 2022 for .7 grams of cannabis oil in her luggage. She was convicted and sentenced to 9 years of hard labor in a…
Read MoreDamned If You Don’t
The Supreme Court tells us that we have no constitutional right to expect the police to protect us, unless we are in their custody. Yet a Baltimore City Police Officer is sentenced to 60 days incarceration for not preventing an assault and a Yonkers Police Sergeant is under investigation for not stopping an assault. Serge…
Read MorePolice Leader Osborne “Moe” Robinson on Police Leadership & Firearms Training
Two for the price of one in this episode. Serge and Clarke contacted Moe Robinson because he teaches firearms law and skills to applicants for Maryland’s carry permits. But he first shared his views on police leadership; they are so good we made the episode about both things: police leadership and firearms training for carrying…
Read MoreThoughts on Hiring a Lawyer
Several listeners have asked Clarke and Serge for their advice on hiring a lawyer. In this episode, Clarke and Serge discuss everything from solo to big firm, hourly to fixed rate, young lawyer to senior advocate, local attorney to outsider, as well as the personal bias of the co-hosts when it comes to hiring a…
Read MoreDr. Keith Hannan, Ph.D. on Maryland’s Juvenile Justice Flaws & His Solution
In Maryland, most of the rehabilitation of adjudicated delinquent offenders is the domain of correctional personnel. Dr. Keith Hannon, Ph.D., has had a 30-year career as a licensed psychologist with extensive experience in the Maryland juvenile justice system. Dr. Hannan challenges the efficacy of the Maryland system, compares it to the District of Columbia juvenile…
Read MoreAn analysis of NY State Pistol & Rifle Association, Inc. v. Bruen
On June 23, 2022, the United States Supreme Court in a case called NY State Pistol & Rifle Association v. Bruen decided that New York’s penal statute which required a particularized showing of “proper cause” in order to obtain a wear and carry pistol permit was unconstitutional. The second amendment guarantees to all citizens the…
Read MoreJust a Podcast about Another Cop Changing the World One Soul at a Time
This podcast is the story of “Randy” Morton. Randy grew up in West Baltimore where a mentor steered him into Boy Scouts. Randy committed and became an Eagle Scout. After high school, he joined the military. After the military, he worked as a “drill sergeant” with the North American Family Institute which held a contract…
Read MoreA Deep Dive Into the Texas House of Representative’s Report on Uvalde
On May 24, 2022, 73 minutes passed between the time the Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District Police arrived at Robb Elementary School and when Room 111 was breached by the Border Patrol Swat Team. By then 376 law enforcement officers had arrived on the scene. How is it possible for hundreds of police officers…
Read MoreAn old school police lieutenant talks Baltimore, O’Malley, police commissioners…
BPD Police Lieutenant Wayne Wilson takes us back to old school policing in Baltimore. Wilson shares his wisdom about the O’Malley years, the best Baltimore Police Commissioner in the last 50 years, the police response to the Uvalde school shooting, and how the failure of the Baltimore School System is related to the city’s homicide…
Read MorePolice Accountability and Discipline Act — Part II
Are you a police officer serving any department in the State of Maryland? Serge and Clarke implore you to listen to Parts 1 and 2 of the Maryland Police Accountability and Discipline Act podcasts. The new law went into effect on July 1, 2022. This is what YOU need to know.
Read MoreMaryland Police Accountability and Discipline Act — Effective July 1, 2022
If you are a police officer anywhere in the State of Maryland, or a lawyer with police officer clients, this is part one, of a two-part podcast about the new Police Accountability and Discipline Act. The Law Enforcement Officers’ Bill of Rights has been repealed. It is critical for police officers and the lawyers who…
Read MoreWe’re Talking SWAT with a City Swat Officer
Have you ever wondered why certain search warrants are served by SWAT teams and whether you are safer — or in great danger — when a SWAT team arrives? This episode is a very interesting discussion with a SWAT officer in a “major city on the East coast of the United States.” Serge and Clarke…
Read MoreThe Columbia Project — Our Ten Point Plan to Address Intentional Mass Casualty Events
Our last podcast described the racist criminal mayhem in Buffalo, NY. After the podcast was uploaded for broadcast, but before it was released, Salvadore Ramos killed 19 school children and two teachers in Ulvade, Texas. Serge and I promised our listeners that we would address this ongoing problem in our next podcast. We have. After…
Read MoreBuffalo NY Supermarket is the Scene of Another Racist Mass Murder
Serge Antonin and Clarke Ahlers discuss the May 14, 2022 mass shooting at the Tops Friendly Market in Buffalo, New York. Payton Gendron, an 18-year-old white male, has been indicted for killing ten and wounding three. 11 of the victims were black. Serge and Clarke discuss the known facts of the tragic incident, consider the…
Read MorePatrick Lyoya is Shot to Death in Grand Rapids, Michigan
In this episode, Serge and Clarke discuss the under-publicized but highly questionable police shooting of Patrick Lyoya on April 4, 2022 in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Keep your eyes on Grand Rapids in the next several months. Hear and learn about the case right here.
Read MoreSave Our Young—The life and work of a cop.
The lives of so many Baltimore children are beset by the trauma of violence. In this podcast, Serge and Clarke talk to a man whose father was shot in the head in Baltimore when the man was in the second grade. He remembers being driven to Shock Trauma in a police car, where his father…
Read MoreLenny Stamm and Michael Stamm v MSP Forensic Science Division
Black and White and Thin Blue Lines introduces our listeners to men and women who fight the eternal battle for justice, or those who have fought it, or those who aspire to fight it. In our first episode of Season 2, we invite you to get to know the father/son team of lawyers, Lenny Stamm…
Read MoreKemp Freund Weighs In on School Resource Officers
As communities struggle with increasing violence, school boards debate the utility of having police officers assigned to public schools. Two leading Democrat Presidents — Clinton and Obama — urged Congress to fund SROs (School Resource Officers) nationwide. Yet, the United States Department of Justice and the Department of Education have issued reports that SROs discipline…
Read More