In the News
Should the FBI be Downsized or Deconstructed?
In this episode, Serge and Clarke discuss the popular idea among conservatives for downsizing the FBI and deconstructing it into as many as five independent investigative agencies, each with a focused interest in the type of cases being investigated. Clarke says, as it stands today, just writing the word FBI into the title likely invites…
Read MoreWTH is the Balkanization of Law Enforcement?
In three recent incidents, the police got it right and prevented serious mass casualty events. In this episode, Serge and Clarke discuss how the number of police agencies impacts the ability of sharing information and investigating criminal incidents. Clarke — but not Serge — thinks it is a miracle that the police got it right…
Read MoreA Maryland Circuit Court Judge is Murdered in His Driveway
The Honorable Andrew Wilkerson, Judge of the Circuit Court for Washington County, Maryland, was murdered in his driveway on the evening of October 19, 2021. Serge and Clarke discuss this shocking crime, assess how social media was tracking the law enforcement investigation, and offer thoughts on the root causes — and a possible incremental solution…
Read MoreTu Culpa Part 2 — Can an Attorney General Issue an Executive Bill of Attainder?
Tu Culpa is a Latin phrase meaning “your fault.” In part 2 of the podcast on the (Maryland) Attorney General’s Report on Child Sexual Abuse in the Archdiocese of Baltimore, Serge and Clarke and special guest FJ Collins, discuss whether the AG’s report is fair, the impact of expanded statutes of limitation, and whether the…
Read MoreTu Culpa — The Attorney General Points the Finger of Fault at the Archdiocese of Baltimore
Most Catholics, and many lawyers, know the meaning of the Latin phrase, “mea culpa.” The phrase is literally translated as “through my fault.” It is the foundation of a traditional prayer sometimes recited during the Penitential Act of the Roman Catholic Mass: mea culpa, mea culpa, mea maxima culpa. Recently, Maryland’s Attorney General issued a…
Read MoreHow Does Inaction Merit a 173-Page “After Action” Report?
On July 8, 2023, Serge and Clarke discussed the South Baltimore Brooklyn Day Party that ended when 30 people were shot. Two died. On August 30th, the BPD and other city agencies issued an “After Action Report.” Join Serge and Clarke and our distinguished guest, Colonel Osborne “Moe” Robinson, Baltimore Police Department (ret.) and former…
Read MoreWould you like to pose for a picture with Danilo Cavalcante? Get in line.
The “picture of the week” was a group shot of heavily armed law enforcement officers surrounding the bleeding, captured and pathetic Danilo (or “Danelo”) Cavalcante in Chester County, Pennsylvania. Taking and posting the “trophy” photograph violated the rules of many of the law enforcement agencies that participated in the escapee’s capture. But lawmen breaking the…
Read MoreWhy has everyone heard of George Floyd and no one has heard of Ta’Kiya Young?
On August 24, 2023, a police officer of the 14-member Blendon Township (Ohio) Police Department shot and killed Ta’Kiya Young, a 21-year-old woman being detained for suspicion of shoplifting alcohol from a grocery store. The body worn camera evidence shows Young operating a vehicle in the parking lot of the grocery store during daylight hours.…
Read MoreHow to Make a Living While Under Federal Indictment and Ordered Not to Possess a Gun
In this episode, Serge and Clarke acknowledge that Frederick County, Maryland is openly competing with Baltimore City, Maryland for the most upside down criminal justice non-system in America. Frederick County Sheriff “Chuck” Jenkins is under federal indictment accused of lying about machine gun purchases, Jenkins was required to turn over all of his guns to…
Read MoreYou’re in trouble or, if you prefer, urine trouble.
In this—the 75th episode of Black and White and Thin Blue Lines—Serge and Clarke discuss the public nuisance offense of urinating in public in the context of two cases: one in Mississippi and one in Texas, You decide if race was a motivating factor for what happened. Also, “you’re in” and “urine” aren’t the only…
Read MoreJudges Gone Wild
The recent controversy and criticism of Justice Clarence Thomas was the subject of enough off-air debate by Serge and Clarke that they turned it into an episode. What are some of the public mistakes (or worse) by Judges, and what should we as citizens do about it.
Read MoreIs it possible to be arrested in the United States by a non-citizen of the United States?
The title of this episode asks a question that few have ever thought about. Is it possible to be arrested in the United States by a non-citizen of the United States? It is! But listen anyway because Serge and Clarke discuss listener mail, and the topic of non-citizen police officers in this episode of Black…
Read MoreLA County Deputy Sheriffs Apparently Never Got the Memo
On June 24, 2023, two LA County Deputy Sheriffs arrested two persons in Lancaster, CA under confusing circumstances. The first arrest was of a man that the deputies told was being detained for investigation. He was arrested — but the deputies conducted no investigation from detention to arrest. The second arrest was of a woman…
Read MoreSouth Baltimore Brooklyn Day Block Party Nets Thirty Casualties
On July 2, 2023, two to 12 gunslingers shot 30 people, including 14 children, at a single holiday block party in Baltimore. No police officers were assigned to the event where 700 to 1000 people had gathered. But at the same time, many extra police officers were assigned to traditionally white areas of Baltimore festivity.…
Read MoreScot Peterson Acquitted of All Charges for Inaction at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High
Join Serge and Clarke in a discussion with our special guest Kemp Freund as we discuss the charges brought against School Resource Officer Scot Peterson for his inaction during the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School massacre on February 14, 2018. On June 28, 2023 Peterson was found not guilty on all 11 counts brought against…
Read MoreA Fatal Stabbing on the J Train
A fatal stabbing on the J train is the subject of this week’s podcast. Five weeks after Daniel Perry fatally choked Jordan Neely on the New York subway system, 20-year-old Jordan Williams is charged with manslaughter and criminal possession of a weapon for the fatal stabbing of Devictor Ouedraogo. Serge and Clarke discuss the differences,…
Read MoreDavid Fischer on the defense of Thomas Caldwell charged with seditious conspiracy
The January 6th breach of the U.S. Capitol resulted in one of the most extensive criminal investigations spearheaded by the FBI in the history of the United States. In today’s episode, Serge and Clarke speak with attorney David Fischer, who represented the alleged mastermind of the breach: Thomas Caldwell. Caldwell’s acquittal of the most serious…
Read MoreDescending Into Lawlessness and the Defense of Necessity
In Queens, New York, a man shoots and kills a robber. The shooter’s conduct is determined to be self-defense, but he is charged with firearms violations. In Charlotte, North Carolina, a bus driver shoots back at a passenger shooting at him! The bus driver is not charged with a crime, but is fired by the…
Read MoreThe Unintended Consequence of Maryland’s New Gun Laws
In 2022, the United States Supreme Court ruled that the “proper cause” gun permit requirements of New York prevent law-abiding citizens from free exercise of their second amendment rights to keep and bear arms in public for ordinary self-defense. This decision effectively negated Maryland law. In its very next session, the Maryland General Assembly passed…
Read More“Characteristics of an Armed Person”
On May 11th, 2023, Baltimore Police Detective Cedric Elleby shot a fleeing suspect holding a semiautomatic handgun with an extended magazine in his right hand. The young man had not fired the weapon at the time he was shot. He was not pointing the pistol at Detective Elleby or anyone else. He was running away…
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