Federal judge is accused of assaulting wife at Ritz-Carlton; he is freed on bond
Updated: An Alabama federal judge has been released on bond after he was arrested this weekend at the Ritz-Carlton in Atlanta on a charge of misdemeanor battery.
U.S. District Judge Mark Fuller of Montgomery was released Monday on $5,000 bond, the Montgomery Advertiser, the Associated Press and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution report. He was arrested early Sunday after his wife told police he assaulted her, report the Atlanta Journal-Constitution and the Associated Press. How Appealing noted the coverage and linked to his biography.
In a statement Tuesday, the 11th Circuit announced that Fuller will have his pending cases reassigned.
Fuller’s wife was treated by paramedics but refused treatment at a hospital, the stories say. Police did not give the name of Fuller’s wife, but the Associated Press identifies her as Kelli Fuller. A police report first obtained by Decaturish says the woman had cuts on her mouth and forehead. The woman said an argument began when she confronted the judge about marital issues, including a belief that he was having an affair with a law clerk. The Montgomery Advertiser and the Associated Press also have details from the police report.
The wife “stated when she confronted him about their issues, he pulled her to the ground and kicked her,” the police report said. The wife “also stated she was dragged around the room and Fuller hit her in the mouth several times with his hands.”
Fuller told police that his wife threw a drink glass and a Sprite at him, and he grabbed her hair to defend himself, according to the police report cited by the Montgomery Advertiser. “When asked about the lacerations to her mouth,” the report said, “Mr. Fuller stated that he just threw her to the ground and that was it.”
A May 2012 article by the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press says his divorce file was sealed in Alabama state court over the objections of his then-wife, Lisa Boyd Fuller.
Fuller was in the news when he presided in the 2006 bribery trial of former Alabama Gov. Don Siegelman and HealthSouth CEO Richard Scrushy. Prosecutors had claimed Scrushy arranged a $500,000 donation to a foundation controlled by Siegelman in exchange for a seat on a state board that regulates hospitals.
Last updated Aug. 14 to note that Fuller’s cases have been reassigned.
