Devil And The Deep Blue Sea

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It seems that Dare County Resident Superior Court Judge Jerry Tillett may have gotten himself wedged between the "devil and the deep blue sea" over certain judicial (?) actions he took in connection with the Kill Devil Hills police officers/police chief/town administrators' fiasco that has appeared in the news during much of  2012.

The "devil" in this case could be described as the North Carolina Court of Appeals, with the North Carolina Judicial Standards Commission possibly taking up the role as the "deep blue sea". And, if one reads the facts, or purported facts, of this matter closely, it would not be hard to imagine that Tillett might be very worried about keeping his head above the water.

According to a blogpost currently appearing on SunshineOBX, Tillett, through his attorney Norm Shearin of the local firm Vandeveter Black, has appealed the state appeals court's ruling that he (Tillett) lacked jurisdiction in most aspects of his involvement and handling of the aforementioned matter (you can read the details here).

What makes the entire matter so unsavory, in the opinion of this writer, is the fact that an earlier incident, involving the Kill Devil Hills police and Tillett's son (routine matter/no charges filed) is presumed by many, including some town officials, to have caused the whole problem in the first place. Whether this is true or not, depends on whether one believes the long list of affidavits filed by the various parties involved.

Added to the above is the fact that the town's attorney (now former town attorney), during the thick of this matter, was none other than Dan Merrell, a close friend and former law partner of Tillett. Now, try salting that with the purported statements that Tillett and Merrell took a cruise together during the fiasco, followed or preceded by one town official's opinion that Merrell seemed to be representing Tillett more than his own employer, the Town of Kill Devil Hills. Finally, throw in the statement included in one affidavit where Merrell purportedly said..."This is about his son. Dan Merrell then stated that Judge Tillett was not going to let it go.”...and it becomes very easy to see why this matter has become so distasteful.

Finally, if Judge Tillett is, in fact, guilty of judicial misconduct and rightfully concerned about any investigation of his actions by the Judicial Standards Commission, then, arguably it is little wonder that he has filed his appeal with the higher state court.  For it's in his best interest to prove that he has been the one who was "aggrieved" rather that him (Tillett) being the "aggrieve(or)".  Time will tell. Maybe.