An Alabama federal judge is still waiting to hear whether his plea in a domestic violence case will unseat him from the bench.
Atlanta police arrested U.S. District Judge Mark Fuller, of Montgomery, Ala., in August when his wife reported that he beat her during an argument in their hotel room after she accused him of having an extramarital affair. In a plea deal in Fulton State Court, Fuller agreed to undergo counseling.
But the domestic violence charge prompted bipartisan calls from Alabama politicians that he step down from his lifetime post or face impeachment before Congress. The Los Angeles Times reported earlier this month that the five-judge review panel investigating his case is expected to soon release its findings.
Retired Alabama federal Judge U.W. Clemon, who as chief judge of the U.S. District Court in Birmingham dealt with similar ethical issues, told The Los Angeles Times that Fuller’s constitutional appointment may not be enough to save his job.
When a judge’s behavior results in him “being thrown in jail like a common criminal, that’s not within the conduct that is condoned by the Constitution,” Clemon told the California paper.
Still, it is unclear whether Fuller will face any serious ramifications regarding his job as a result of his plea in the misdemeanor case.
Fuller was booked into the Fulton County jail following his arrest on Aug. 9 at the Ritz-Carlton hotel in Atlanta.
Fuller has consistently disputed his wife’s charges in a police report that he hit her, saying he only defended himself by throwing his wife to the ground. He said he agreed to enter counseling programs in exchange for the charges being dismissed.
“It was in everyone’s best interests to put this incident behind us,” Fuller said in a statement last fall.
Fuller’s lawyer gave a description to the Los Angeles newspaper about what Fuller claimed transpired between him and his wife, Kelli Fuller.
Barry Ragsdale said Kelli Fuller believed her husband of two years was having an affair with a law clerk and threw a wine glass at the judge and charged him when he refused to fire the clerk.
“He reaches up, defending himself, and grabs her by the hair and the shoulder,” Ragsdale told the newspaper. “Standing up, he throws her on the bed. She rolls off onto the floor and got a bloody lip. He never intended to hurt her.”
That differed significantly from Mark Fuller's wife's version of the fight, as told by police officers.
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