In an unusual move that alarmed members of the state’s criminal defense bar, a Dare County judge charged and summarily convicted an assistant capital defender of contempt during a death penalty trial last week. After rejecting the attorney’s requests for legal representation and a hearing, the judge sentenced him to 30 days in jail—the maximum allowed by state law. 

Attorney Matthew Geoffrion had angered Judge Jerry Tillett weeks earlier by alleging bias during jury selection, according to sources familiar with the case. […]

Jeffrey Billman is a politics and law reporter for The Assembly. The former editor-in-chief of INDY in Durham, he holds a master's degree in public policy analysis from the University of Central Florida.

Michael Hewlett is a courts and law reporter for The Assembly. He was previously a legal affairs reporter at the Winston-Salem Journal and has won two Henry Lee Weathers Freedom of Information Awards.