Judge Fuller's attorney: Incident has been overblown

WASHINGTON – Two weeks after members of Congress asked U.S. District Judge Mark Fuller to resign, the embattled judge shows no signs that he is considering stepping down.

Fuller's attorney said this week that the alleged domestic-violence incident between Fuller and his wife, which resulted in misdemeanor battery charges being filed, has been overblown and that federal judges aren't susceptible to political pressure.

"All those fine people are entitled to their opinion, but that holds no more sway over him than anything else," said Birmingham attorney Barry Ragsdale.

"He knows what occurred and the conduct he engaged in and what he hasn't, and he recognizes those politicians have a need to respond to public pressure and public passions that a federal judge doesn't have to respond to."

Fuller, who is from Montgomery, was charged in August after his wife called 911 during a fight. He has since been suspended from the bench. His criminal case is pending and his fellow judges are investigating whether further disciplinary action is warranted.

Saying Fuller's actions have threatened the integrity of the federal judicial system, eight of the nine members of Alabama's congressional delegation have asked for his resignation. The ninth warned that impeachment is possible.

But Ragsdale said the incident has been mischaracterized.

"It got caught up in the Ray Rice and NFL scandals, and it's gotten lumped into a category of domestic violence that I don't think it belongs in," Ragsdale said. "There was not a beating, kicking or slapping in this instance."

Fuller was arrested in Atlanta after police responded to his hotel room. In a recording of the emergency call, Fuller's wife told a dispatcher she needed an ambulance.

"He's beating on me," the woman said. "Please help me."

The police report said Fuller's wife had sustained injuries and the judge had not.

Fuller was allowed to enter a pretrial diversion program, which includes domestic violence counseling and drug and alcohol evaluations. If he successfully completes the program, which includes 24 weekly visits with a counselor, his criminal record would be wiped clean.

Fuller reports back to the judge in Atlanta on Oct. 14 for an update. Ragsdale said the drug and alcohol evaluations were done and no problems were found.

Because it's a pretrial diversion program, exactly what happened in the Atlanta hotel room won't be disclosed in a public courtroom as it would be during a normal criminal trial. But Ragsdale said the investigation by the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals will get into those details.

A special committee of five federal judges is reviewing Fuller's case. Ragsdale said the panel has hired an investigator and can issue subpoenas. He expects Fuller will be interviewed.

The panel is led by 11th U.S. Circuit Judge Gerald Tjoflat. None of the five is an Alabama judge, Ragsdale said.

While the panel's investigation is not public, the 11th Circuit has released its findings, conclusions and recommendations publicly in past cases, along with an explanation of how a decision was reached to recommend that a judge be reprimanded or encouraged to retire or resign.

Those findings can be used by a national Judicial Conference of the United States to ask the U.S. House to impeach.

Ragsdale said the dispute between Fuller and his wife began when she falsely accused him of having an affair with his law clerk. Ragsdale said the divorce file from Fuller's first marriage, which is sealed, includes no evidence of physical abuse by Fuller.

"I do believe eventually when all of this gets investigated and looked at and thoroughly analyzed, it will look a lot different than the way it's been portrayed," Ragsdale said.

Fuller was nominated by former President George W. Bush in 2002 and confirmed by the U.S. Senate.