In the News
Massachusetts Inmates May be Permitted to Lower Sentences by Organ Donations
Serge and Clarke discuss a controversial January 2023 proposal in the Massachusetts legislature to let Massachusetts inmates reduce their prison sentences by donating bone marrow or organs, such as a kidney. Their are pros and cons of course and these ideas are the subject of today’s podcast.
Read MoreThe Death of Tyre Nichols in Memphis
On January 7, 2023, the Memphis Police Department’s Scorpion Unit stopped and caused serious physical injury to 29-year-old Tyre Nichols. Mr. Nichols died in a hospital three days later. Five officers were fired on January 20, 2023. The same five officers — Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley, Emmitt Martin III, Desmond Mills, Jr., and Justin Smith…
Read MoreFatal Police Encounters – 2022
In the first episode of 2023, Serge and Clarke discuss an alarming statistic: 2022 had more people killed by law enforcement than at any time since police deadly force has been tracked. Also, there was an increase in the number of police officers who were shot in the line of duty.
Read MoreJudge 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 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 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 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 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 MoreSerge, Clarke and ASA “Tasha B” Pick Their Five Favorite Courtroom Movies
Assistant State’s Attorney Natasha Blount (“Tasha”) joins Serge and Clarke to debate the best five courtroom movies of all time and one agreed upon honorable mention. Hear Tasha’s persuasive reason for not including “A Few Good Men” in her list. But it is Tasha’s number one movie that leaves Clarke speechless — something more than…
Read MoreMaryland State Police Seek to Fire Trooper of the Year—Part II
Part II of the podcast: Maryland State Police v Trooper of the Year. In this episode Clarke, Serge and TFC Kashef Khan talk about a bizarre trial board where the prosecutor’s first witness against TFC Khan was TFC Khan. When Clarke Ahlers called an IAD investigator to the stand in the defense case, an Assistant…
Read MoreMaryland State Police Seek to Fire Trooper of the Year
Serge and I discuss the backward world of the Maryland State Police with one of its own. You will hear from a “brown skin Muslim” who was awarded the 2019 statewide “Trooper of the Year” by Governor Hogan. But the next year—when he again outperformed every other trooper—this Trooper First Class was told that a…
Read MoreKim Potter is Sentenced; Teens in NJ Receive Disparate Treatment at Hands of Police
In this episode, Serge and Clarke discuss two unrelated events: (1) the sentencing of former police officer Kim Potter after her conviction for manslaughter in the shooting death of Daunte Wright, and (2) an unfolding story of disparate treatment of two teenagers — one Caucasian and one African American — by police officers in a…
Read MoreBlack History Month: A Living History Interview with the Hon. F. L. Antonin, Ret. (Part 1)
In honor of Black History Month, Serge and Clarke interview the third African American woman appointed to the Superior Court of New Jersey. Serge was able to secure this interview because Frances Lawrence Antonin, who helped break barriers for African American female attorneys especially in New Jersey, is his mother. Clarke recommends this interview for…
Read MoreA Look at U.S. v. Mosby
On January 13, 2022, the United States Attorney for the District of Maryland announced a four-count federal indictment against the Hon. Marilyn Mosby, the State’s Attorney for Baltimore City. There are two counts of perjury related to making a withdrawal of funds from her retirement account after alleging a Covid hardship and two counts of…
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