Black and White and Thin Blue Lines

Send a text For three decades, the United States Congress has passed laws to fund forensic examinations in sexual assault cases. But it  doesn't seem to matter.  The country is awash in untested rape kits while repetitive sex offenders continue to violate. In fact, Maryland leads the nation in rape kit backlogs at the forensic lab. But at least the rape kits make it to the lab in Maryland. In...

Send a text After Derek Chauvin killed George Floyd, the federal government permitted anarchists to loot and burn communities across the country. The State of Minnesota successfully prosecuted Chauvin and he was sentenced to 22 years in prison. But the federal government was not satisfied. A federal grand jury was convened. Chauvin was federally indicted. Chauvin pled guilty to civil rights violat...

Send a text The United States Attorney for the District of Maryland successfully indicted and convicted former Baltimore City State's Attorney Marilyn Mosby of two counts of perjury. In this weeks episode, Jack Mitchell -- a former police officer who worked for Ms. Mosby as an Assistant State's Attorney -- joins Serge and Clarke to discuss Mosby's perjury conviction. Two of three co...

Send a text Who would have thought that in 2023, shoplifting could become a major crime in the United States. Wait -- stop. Not everyone believes that shoplifting is even on the rise. But we do! In this episode Serge and Clarke discuss the changing  social conventions surrounding the crime of shoplifting as further evidence of a breakdown of cultural norms and further proof that we are devolving i...

Send a text Kashef Khan was the Maryland State Trooper of the Year until he was fired for allegedly writing a false report. The "falsity" in the report was the location of a traffic stop which Khan accurately documented in many ways. Khan uploaded a slightly inaccurate longitude and latitude location from a reporting system that MSP admits was NOT designed for highway use and may generat...

Send a text You can always find three things in Baltimore: Natty Boh beer, Old Bay seasoning & ludicrous "justice." In this week's podcast, Serge and Clarke discuss the case of Baltimore Police Sergeant Marlon Koushall whose videotaped conduct during a late night arrest were simultaneously deemed completely consistent with the rules, policies, procedures and training of the Balt...

Send a text 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 the oversized, bloated, and sometimes unfocused...

Send a text 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 in one cross-state proactive police response.

Send a text The Honorable Andrew F. Wilkinson, 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 -- to this specific type of viole...

Send a text Reverend P. M. Smith, a "barber's son" and Pastor of Baltimore's Huber Memorial Church, shares the wisdom of his life with Serge and Clarke. Reverend Smith never fails to challenge all of us to be better people. Please listen to be inspired.

Send a text 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 Attorney General of Maryland, as part of the...

Send a text 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 report that cal...

Send a text 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 Chief of the York City Police Department for a c...

Send a text 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 lawme...

Send a text 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. She doesn't do what the two arri...

Send a text 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 federal law enfor...

Send a text 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 homonyms or bad puns in this episode....

Send a text 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. 

Send a text Join Serge and Clarke for a discussion with our special guest, Michael ("Mike") Johnson, who shares his smart, committed, and motivated view of training men and women to be law enforcement officers in this day and age. This is a must listen episode. Mike has unique ideas that ought to become the national standard for de-escalation and promoting confidence in law enforcement....

Send a text 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 and White and Thin Blue Lines.

Send a text 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 who recorded the police detaining (or arresting) the man....

Send a text This story begins with a 1989 rape in Central Park, involves a New York real estate tycoon who threw gas on a fire, and evolves into a remarkable and inspiring story of citizenship. Serge and Clarke discuss the life (at least so far) of Yusef Salaam. This episode is a short listen about a modern mentor.

Send a text Do you have a favorite Supreme Court decision? Join Serge and Clarke and attorney Shawn Vinson in a lively discussion about each person's top five favorite decisions of the United States Supreme Court. We might surprise you!

Send a text 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. Serge and Clarke discuss what happened, the anemic response by...

Send a text 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 him by a jury in Florida. Was the verdict just? Listen to o...