Report: Former judge's conduct was reprehensible

Judicial Conference finds substantial evidence judge physically abused wife

By Kim Chandler
Associated Press

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) - Judicial investigators told Congress last week that a former federal judge - arrested last year on a domestic violence charge- had demonstrated "reprehensible conduct" and there was evidence that he abused his wife several times and made false statements to the committee reviewing his behavior.

The Judicial Conference of the United States, in a report to Congress, said former U.S. District Judge Mark Fuller of Alabama brought disrepute to the federal judiciary and that his conduct might have warranted impeachment if he had not resigned this summer.

In a letter to the House Judiciary Committee, the Judicial Conference noted Fuller's resignation, but said the severity of Fuller's misconduct and its finding of perjury led it to turn the information over to Congress for whatever action lawmakers deem necessary.

"This certification may also serve as a public censure of Judge Fuller's reprehensible conduct, which has no doubt brought disrepute to the Judiciary and cannot constitute the 'good behavior' required of a federal judge," Judicial Conference Secretary James C. Duff wrote in a Sept. 11 letter to House Speaker John Boehner.

Barry Ragsdale, an attorney who represented Fuller during the investigation, declined to comment on the letter.

Police arrested Fuller on a misdemeanor battery charge in August 2014 after his then-wife, Kelli Fuller, called police to the couple's room at the Ritz-Carlton in Atlanta.

Kelli Fuller told police that her husband became violent when she accused him of cheating, pulling her hair, throwing her to the ground, and kicking her. Mark Fuller told officers that he threw her to the ground to defend himself after she hurled a drink glass at him while he watched television.

Under an agreement with prosecutors, the charge was dismissed and Fuller's record was expunged following about six months of once-a-week group counseling sessions.

A judicial committee reviewed the incident, hearing from dozens of witnesses behind closed doors.

The Judicial Conference wrote that there was substantial evidence that the judge "physically abused Kelli Fuller at least eight times, both before and after they married, which included and culminated in the assault that took place on Aug. 9, 2014, in the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in downtown Atlanta, Georgia."

The conference wrote that Fuller denied under oath to the investigating committee that he ever hit, punched or kicked his wife, and that the investigating committee considered those to be false statements. The Judicial Conference also cited a separate incident, on which it did not elaborate, saying Fuller in 2010 made a false statement to the chief judge that caused a disruption in operations and a loss of public confidence in the court.

The House committee is not releasing the full report, which contains some sensitive victim information.

Fuller was placed on leave after his arrest. In May, he announced that he was resigning effective Aug. 1. The Judicial Council of the U.S. 11th Circuit at the time said Fuller's actions might have warranted impeachment, but the reasons for the determination were not released until this week.

Fuller was appointed to the bench in 2002 by then-President George W. Bush. He is perhaps best known for presiding over the 2006 public corruption trial of former Alabama Gov. Don Siegelman and former HealthSouth CEO Richard Scrushy.

Published: Mon, Sep 21, 2015