Friday, August 15, 2014

Could Federal Judge Face A Felony Charge Because Of Statements To Police About Assault On His Wife?

Mark Fuller

U.S. District Judge Mark Fuller (Middle District of Alabama) saw his cases removed yesterday. But that might soon be the least of Fuller's worries in the wake of charges that he assaulted his wife in an Atlanta hotel room.

Evidence made public so far strongly suggests that Fuller lied to law-enforcement officers who responded to a call about a disturbance at the Ritz Carlton on Peachtree Street in downtown Atlanta. Our research shows that making false statements to a police officer can be a felony in Georgia.

On top of that, a prominent Alabama attorney and whistleblower is calling on the Obama administration to use the Fuller case as an example in its campaign for zero tolerance in domestic-violence cases. Dana Jill Simpson, who has a law practice in Rainsville, Alabama, testified before Congress about the apparent political prosecution of former Governor Don Siegelman--a case over which Fuller presided. In an article at OpEd News earlier this week, Simpson calls on the White House to make an example of Fuller. From the Simpson article:

Every October President Obama and Vice President Biden speak out against domestic violence and proclaim that they stand for "zero tolerance" regarding this crime. Their speeches often feature the statistic that one in three women in America are impacted by domestic violence. VP Biden, in his first year in office, announced long-time advocate Lynn Rosenthal would be the White House advisor on violence against women, a newly created position because, Biden claimed, his office and the President genuinely believe in zero tolerance for domestic violence. President Obama called on executive heads of federal agencies in 2012 to create policies against domestic violence in their workplaces. In the following years President Obama has signed further laws to protect women who are victims of domestic violence.

This October President Obama and Vice President Biden will be faced with a challenge to the seriousness of their commitment to zero tolerance for domestic violence. They are now confronted by a sitting federal judge in Alabama named Mark Fuller who has been arrested for battery against his wife in the "ritzy" Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Atlanta Georgia. Fuller has been quoted in the press on the day of his release stating that he "just pushed" his wife (Kelli Gregg Fuller) to the ground and was defending himself from an attack by her, triggered by her concerns over his possible infidelity.

On a recording of Kelli Fuller's 911 call, she can be heard telling emergency dispatchers that she was being beaten and needed an ambulance. That indicates Mark Fuller did more than just defend himself. The tape suggests he was beating his wife, and it sounds like that's what is going on in the background of the 911 call.

How do we know that Fuller could face a felony for making a false statement to police? Consider the case of a Cherokee, Georgia, school-board member named Kelly Marlow. From an Atlanta Journal-Constitution article about the Marlow case:

The Cherokee Tribune reports Cherokee school board member Kelly Marlow was found guilty tonight of the felony charge of making false statements to police about school chief Frank Petruzielo to police. Under Georgia law, that felony conviction means Marlow will immediately be suspended from her elected post as a school board member.

A jury also found her political adviser Robert Trim and Cherokee GOP Secretary Barbara Knowles guilty of lying to police.

The trio was indicted in October after they had charged that Petruzielo tried to run them down with his car after a school board meeting last June. They were charged with lying to the Canton Police Department.

Three public officials faced felony charges for lying to police? Should Mark Fuller face the same fate?

7 comments:

James Greek said...

Yes!

Anonymous said...

Could cases be overturned or given a new day in court if questions of drug impairment of the judge hearing the case were made public. Seems we may have a lose cannon on deck. Who wants their cases heard by a judge who may be impair from drinking and eating pain pills?

Robby Scott Hill said...

In law school, there was an elective called Conflict of Laws. See Obama's policy of looking forward & not looking back. The way Barack sees it, he didn't nominate Fuller. So, he need not exercise ownership over Fuller's behavior. That's the problem of the next Republican President who will be too busy asking for the resignation of all Democratic US Attorneys appointed over the last 8 years while he plans the Third Invasion of Iraq. He won't have time to give a shit about Mark's ethical lapses which he will say Obama should have owned. Meanwhile, Mark Fuller will be knee deep in so much cash from supplying & training pilots for the next Mideast misadventure that he and his lawyer friends will continue their hobby of buying and selling our debt before they auction our homes. Tony Montana was right! Capitalism is getting fucked. At some point you have to do like Che Guevara & put down the keyboard & pick up an AK-47. Revolution will someday be the only way if the White House and the Bar Association fail to act.

Robby Scott Hill said...

As a commentator said on the previous post, it's dangerous for you to keep doing this. They had no justification under the law to jail you last time & yet you continue to go the extra mile to say what the mainstream media will not. Imagine spending this Christmas like Frosty the Dopeman - "Down at the jail cell, they shoved broomsticks up his ass..." but this isn't New Jersey. So, you won't be getting a big dime bag for your troubles. You'll be lucky to get an evangelical minister preach to you about the sinfulness of homosexuality as he attempts to save your soul from hell fire eternal whilst you bleed profusely from the rectum. The jailers whose health insurance is either non-existent or worse than that of the inmates will drag their feet calling for an ambulance. Their coroner will be all too happy to pronounce you dead due to "natural causes" exacerbated by your poor physical condition before entering their jail where they tried their best to feed you right and give you eight hours of sleep. It's not their fault that you couldn't eat their slop or fall asleep to the sounds of male flesh pounding together; sometimes with consent, but all too often without. As you finally succumb to exhaustion, you suppress all fears of exactly how attractive you may look to the rape gang tonight. Their biggest dude just got drunk from toilet bowl grog made with the fruit his best bitch stole from the kitchen. He gives the bitch weekends off to heal up when she makes good liquor. Unfortunately for you, it's Friday night. Jail is not about reforming conduct.

Schnitzel_Republic said...

I would suggest this...just make the judge do a urine-drug test (as all federal officials ought to be required to do as a minimum of once a year). I suspect that he wouldn't pass, and at that point...he ought to be suspended from his post.

The odd feature of this episode? The first wife found him messing around with his legal clerk, who just happened to marry him, and repeat the whole episode almost in a precise repeat. Most guys learn from their mistakes....you can't this for the judge.

legalschnauzer said...

Rob: If something might be dangerous, is the correct response to ignore wrongdoing--to be timid and let the bad guys get away with it? Most human progress has come at a cost, and it's been pushed by people who were willing to face some danger. Are we supposed to stay silent and let the Mark Fullers of the world take over?

As for me, I don't know that I plan to write many more posts on this blog. But it's not because of danger; I simply need to get on to other things in life. I probably will let Alabamians figure out a way to deal with their own messes--that is if they are smart enough to even recognize that the state is a horrible mess.

My recent posts have come only because of extraordinary new developments on stories that I have covered extensively, for years. I'm not sure how many more posts there will be. I've done this for seven years, which is way longer than I planned to do it--and my wife and I have paid a ridiculously high price. I would say it's time for someone else to pick up the torch--or maybe Alabamians just want to rot in the sewer that they live in.

Robby Scott Hill said...

Roger - I'm thrilled that you have survived your first jailing & have survived the events of the last year with your keen intellect intact. I'm also thrilled that collectively, we Alabama Liberals have survived this. I agree that it's time to do less blogging & influence change by other means. To answer your question, we must be like Latimer & Ridley as my ancestor John Baker prepared to burn them at the stake on behalf of Queen Mary. We must refuse to give in to these public officials who abuse their authority. We must be prepared to go to our graves in defiance of their abuses. Perhaps our place in history is not to enjoy the fruits of victory, but like Latimer & Ridley, to flesh out the issues & set the stage for the battles to come. The Creators will use our struggles to Their purposes. The Advancement of Mankind over the cabal will continue. I leave you with the famous words of Hugh Latimer spoken to Nicholas Ridley in front of my ancestor John Baker as he rebuked Baker & Bloody Mary for their crimes against Humanity. As the flames quickly rose, Latimer encouraged Ridley, "Be of good comfort, Mr. Ridley, and play the man! We shall this day light such a candle by God's grace, in England, as I trust never shall be put out." I think these establishment "Christians" in Alabama exercise their power much more like Bloody Baker & Bloody Mary than the reformers Latimer & Ridley represented. Down with the status quo & those who use the name of God to terrorize those who love Freedom & Liberty.