The NFL has been appropriately shamed this week for not taking substantive action immediately in the case of Baltimore Ravens’ superstar Ray Rice after he knocked his wife out cold in an Atlantic City hotel elevator earlier this year.
But what about the failure of the Judicial and Congressional branches, so far, to take any action at all in the case of federal U.S. District Court Judge Mark Fuller after he beat his wife bloody in an Atlanta hotel room last month?
Both Rice and Fuller, as supposedly first-time offenders, were allowed to participate in pre-trial diversion programs to avoid prosecution entirely. Rice agreed to attend domestic abuse counseling for a year. Fuller will have his arrest record expunged after completion of once-weekly domestic abuse counseling for just 24 weeks.
Rice was eventually suspended indefinitely by the NFL.
Fuller enjoys a lifetime appointment as a federal judge — and can only be removed from his $200,000/year job-for-life if he is impeached and found guilty by Congress.
Fuller, a Republican George W. Bush appointee to the federal bench, sits in judgment of others. For example, rather than recuse himself for blatant conflicts of interest, he sent former Alabama Gov. Don Siegelman to federal prison for 6.5 years for something that 113 bipartisan former state Attorneys General argue was never a crime before the popular Democratic Governor was charged with it.
America was outraged by the video tape showing Rice knocking out his then-fiancée (now wife) in mid-February.
America hardly even knows about Judge Fuller dragging his wife around the hotel room by her hair and striking her repeatedly in the mouth, leaving blood behind on the bathroom tub in early August, despite a police report and a 911 call during which his wife begs for police and an ambulance and repeatedly says “Help me, please. Please help me. He’s beating on me.” The 911 dispatcher reportedly says during the call that she can hear the Judge hitting the woman.
But, of course, we have no video of Judge Fuller’s violent assault on his wife. We also have no access to the records of Fuller’s first wife charging that he beat her as well, because a fellow judge, in an unusual and still-unexplained move in 2012, ordered the divorce records sealed, against the wishes of that first wife.
So where is the outcry over what is going with Fuller?…
America is justifiably furious over the NFL’s initial, callous treatment of Rice’s assault, a paltry two-game suspension. In July, prior to the release of the video, according to Politico, Democratic Senators Richard Blumenthal (CT), Chris Murphy (CT) and Tammy Baldwin (WI) wrote to NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell “decrying the league’s ‘disturbingly lenient, even cavalier attitude towards violence against women.'”
After the release of the Rice video earlier this week, the story has been wall-to-wall on cable news outlets. ESPN’s Keith Olbermann raged that the “Atlantic County, NJ district attorney’s office, the Baltimore Ravens, the National Football League, and commissioner Roger Goodell,” by failing to take appropriate action previously, have “made a mockery of the process by which those who batter those they claim to love are to be brought to justice.”
Vice-President Joe Biden said that the NFL “did the right thing,” finally, in response to the “brutal” attack by Rice. The White House issued a statement declaring Rice’s actions “contemptible and unacceptable in a civilized society.” The statement by WH Press Secretary Josh Earnest, after speaking to the President, went on to say: “Hitting a woman is not something a real man does, and that’s true whether or not an act of violence happens in the public eye, or, far too often, behind closed doors. Stopping domestic violence is something that’s bigger than football — and all of us have a responsibility to put a stop to it.”
All of that is true. But where is the outrage over Fuller beating his wife bloody just weeks ago and receiving no actual punishment at all? Where are the outraged desk-thumping talking heads? Where are the Senators and Presidential statements decrying the domestic abuse by a sitting federal judge currently enjoying a lifetime appointment, who can only be “fired” by a dysfunctional U.S. Congress? Where are the calls from anyone in that branch of Government to impeach Judge Mark Fuller?
What are they waiting for? Did the assault not happen unless TMZ releases a video?
So far, the editorial board of the Alabama Media Group, a consortium of Fuller’s home state newspapers, has called for Fuller’s resignation (twice) and one of its columnists has called for his impeachment, comparing the Fuller case to Rice’s and damning the Atlanta prosecutor for allowing Fuller to cop a deal, “Like the whole wife-beating thing never happened at all.”
Esquire’s Charlie Pierce has also noticed the irony, in his “Tale of Two Thugs.” CNN legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin penned a column Tuesday night, charging that “the prosecutors failed in Atlantic City and Atlanta,” by letting both Rice and Fuller off the hook with pre-trial diversions, rather than prosecution for domestic abuse.
But, in general, the outrage and demand for accountability over a federal judge beating his wife — apparently the second wife of his to become a victim of his violent physical assaults — has been remarkably muted, virtually non-existent, particularly among those who can actually now take action to bring accountability in the case.
So far, our attempts to get comment from some leading members of the U.S. House Judiciary Committee, where any official attempt to remove Fuller from the bench via impeachment would usually begin, has not turned up much.
A spokesperson for Democratic Rep. John Conyers, the ranking Democrat on the committee and its former chair, says that, “per past practice, the next step would be for the Judicial Conference to consider proceedings, then they send a recommendation to the Judiciary Committee based on their review.” The Judicial Conference is, essentially, the administrative and disciplinary body for the federal U.S. Court system. We are seeking comment from them on whether or not they plan to recommend impeachment of Fuller, or some other action.
Republican Rep. Sensenbrenner, a senior member and also a former chair of the Judiciary Committee, has presided over many judicial impeachment investigations, successful and otherwise, as begun in the committee, going back as far as the 1980s. His office has yet to respond to our request for comment as to whether they plan to bring up impeachment charges against Fuller.
For his part, after he was let off the hook by the Atlanta prosecutor late last week, Fuller released a statement saying, “I also look forward to addressing the concerns of the Court and hopefully returning to full, active status in the Middle District of Alabama.” Isn’t that grand? He’ll be back soon! It seems we really need a video, or it never happened.
In the meantime, we’ll continue to see if anyone in Congress comments in an official capacity on Judge Mark Fuller beating the hell out of his wife and getting off with less than a wrist slap before going back to his lifetime job as a federal jurist any minute. We can only hope the attention given to Rice eventually — and soon — spreads to the realization that Fuller, who should have been removed from the job for past improprieties long ago, finds no home or lasting comfort on the federal bench.
“Because if the NFL and the Baltimore Ravens can make a statement about domestic violence, so can the courts and the United States Government,” writes John Archibald for the Alabama Media Group. “Fuller shouldn’t get the opportunity to quit. He needs to be impeached. We should demand it. He is, after all, wearing our colors.”
UPDATES 9/15/2014: Outrage slowly growing over Fuller case as senior federal judge (also a Republican) says Fuller must be kept off the bench, and as domestic abuse experts call for accountability. Details now here…
ALSO, Fuller case — and questions about the lack of outrage (and impeachment) — finally mentioned on MSNBC, on Politics Nation with Al Sharpton today. Watch here…
UPDATE 9/17/2014: MSNBC’s Chris Hayes plays portion of 911 call from Fuller’s wife, in which she is heard being repeatedly struck. Full story now here…
Recently related stories at The BRAD BLOG:
• 8/11/2014: “Federal Judge in Don Siegelman Case Arrested, Charged with Abusing Wife in Atlanta Hotel”
• 8/25/2014: “Federal Judge Who Was Arrested for Beating His Wife (and Who Sentenced Don Siegelman) Is Now Hoping to Avoid Prosecution Altogether”
• 9/5/2014: “BREAKING: Federal Judge Who Presided Over Siegelman Case and Who Recently Beat His Own Wife Bloody Strikes Deal to Avoid Prosecution”
Great to see folks making the connections between these two cases. Now Fuller’s impeachment might get some traction.
I’m wondering whether Rice would still be playing football if he’d first announced that he was a ‘Tea Party’ Republican?
Our two tier justice system at work. Both make a lot of money so there is only one other difference. One is black and one is white. Judges are just like the police covering up their own crooked hides. Shame on them.
Sounds like Fuller is a candidate for the Star Chamber.
Touché.
I have no desire to defend this judge but the headline of this article is irresponsibly misleading. The process of firing a Federal judge is completely different from firing the employee of a private company.
Dieter Heymann @ 6,
You need to focus on the crime, assault, not on the process.
A murder trial is different from a DUI trial but bot are crimes.
One criminal who assaulted a woman walks the other does not.
Under our now seemingly historical concept of equal justice under law, there is a new class: the too big to jail class.
Elites are too big to jail any more.
Dieter Haymann @ 6,
I’m totally not seeing how the headline is misleading – the contrast being drawn is between the fact a football player beats his wife, he gets canned and (figuratively) put in the stocks in the public square; a federal judge beats his wife (apparently not for the first time), he suffers no meaningful consequences – it’s a free pass. The headline is about contrasting the consequences (or lack thereof) each faces, not the process by which they are metted out.
On August 11, 16 of the 20 female U.S. Senators sent a letter to NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell and the Baltimore Sun which stated that the NFL needs to adopt a zero tolerance policy for domestic abuse. They also stated that any player who violently attacks a woman should not be given a second chance to play in the NFL. I am disturbed that these legislators have taken this position regarding Ray Rice, but has said absolutely nothing about federal judge Mark Fuller who beat his wife down in an Atlanta hotel room! He got a “slap on the wrist” that will allow him to return to his judicial seat in about six months. These female senators silence regarding Fuller’s attack on his wife is a double standard! So, I took some time to write the following letter than I sent to these women:
Dear Senator XXXXXXXX:
I am writing in regard to a letter that you and 15 other female senators signed and dispatched to Roger Goodell, Commissioner of the National Football League (NFL), in the aftermath of the Ray Rice domestic violence incident.
Your letter calls for the league “to institute a real zero-tolerance policy for domestic violence that will ensure that this type of violence and abuse has no place in the NFL.†I commend you [female] legislators for candidly expressing the shock and disgust you felt at seeing the video of Rice knocking his wife Janay unconscious. You then stated that any player who “violently assault[s] a woman…shouldn’t get a second chance to play football in the NFL.†It is my hope that your communique will influence the NFL to adopt policies and procedures that will allow them to swiftly and potently address this kind of criminal behavior that severely impacts an innumerable amount of women in American society and the world at large.
Although I commend you ladies for your actions regarding domestic violence in the NFL, I now must express my disappointment that you ladies failed to simultaneously take the same stance against a federal judge who committed domestic violence against his spouse. On August 9, 2014, the “honorable†Mark Fuller, a jurist in the Middle Alabama federal district court, was arrested for beating up his wife Kelli in an Atlanta, Georgia hotel. In the aftermath of his arrest, Judge Fuller was given (and accepted) a plea deal for pre-trial diversion under which he must 1) undergo a drug and alcohol evaluation and 2) attend a family and domestic violence program once a week for 24 weeks. Once he completes these requirements the domestic violence charges will be expunged from his record, which (in affect) will result in the allusion that Fuller never assaulted his wife.
You ladies candidly stated that the NFL’s domestic violence policy was too lenient being that it allows “a player to commit a violent act against a woman and return after a short suspension.†What is more lenient than Fuller having to undergo a drug/alcohol evaluation and then attend a family and domestic program once a week for less than six months? Once he completes these requirements then he is free to go back to serve out his lifetime appointment as a federal trial judge. In reality, his time off from the bench is equivalent to a vacation!
You ladies stated that any NFL player who violently assaults a woman should not be allowed to ever play professional football again. If this is the case, then should not this same standard apply to Judge Fuller? In fact, this standard should apply to him more so being that he holds a position in which the decisions he makes permanently affects a multitude of lives for a long period of time.
Again, I am disappointed that you 16 female senators did not publically take a stand against Judge Fuller by calling for his resignation! I am especially troubled that Senators Dianne Feinstein , Mazie Hirono and Amy Klobuchar—who are members of the Committee for the Judiciary—did not “lead the charge†in calling for Judge Fuller’s ouster.
In closing, I hope to see you all publicly call for Judge Fuller to resign from the Middle Alabama federal district court. Your failure to do so will cause me to question just how sincere you are in your efforts to stop domestic violence.
Sincerely,
Philemon E. Rheins
I find it disturbing that a 27 year old football player can be held to a higher standard than a federal judge. The football player’s job requires him to be violent; while judge’s job is to sit in judgment of those that commit violent acts on others. It is even more disgusting that this person of authority has gotten a FREE PASS for this violent act. There are been NO national media coverage for this judge’s acts of violence. Also there is a case of the police that beat a defensiveness woman on the street. Where is the appropriate outrage? It appears that if an individual is a White male in a position of authority it does not matter who your victim is, Female, Black or otherwise.
The national media refuses to report on the disturbing case of the sitting Alabama Federal judge, Mark Fuller who brutally assaulted his wife in an Atlanta hotel room last month and plead guilty to domestic violence charges last week. Where is the police report and photographs of Fuller’s wife’s bloody and battered face ? Why haven’t we seen that evidence of the judge’s crimes plastered all over the news ?
Judge Fuller has not been formally suspended from the bench nor disciplined by the Federal Judiciary. His case is far more newsworthy and of greater importance to America than that of an NFL player. Judge Fuller’s case has received virtually no national media coverage. Could it be because he is a powerful White southern Federal judge and that a Black NFL player is a much easier target for the media ?
How can this judge be allowed to remain on the bench adjudicating cases involving women where his proven propensity for violence toward women gives rise to legitimate questions of his ability to be fair and impartial toward women who come before his court ? Where is the avoidance of the appearance of impropriety by a judge ?
The integrity of the judiciary should be impeccable and unquestionable. Can a female litigant or attorney have any confidence that she will be treated fairly and with respect when they appear before Judge Fuller ? Will lawyers with cases on Judge Fuller’s docket representing women file recusal of judge motions because of the bias and lack of respect that Judge Fuller has shown toward women ? This judge’s continued presence on the federal bench threatens to impede the orderly administration of justice should lawyers file such recusal motions in masse.
The judge allegedly went ballistic and beat the hell out of his wife when she accused him of having an affair with his law clerk. A judge having a sexual relationship with his law clerk is the essence of sexual harassment ! How can any women be feel safe from his violence and lust in the courtroom or in his chambers ?
Where is the public outrage about this wicked judge and the lack of media coverage of his criminal violence against his wife and alleged sexual harassment of his law clerk ? Where is the demand from Congress for zero tolerance of domestic violence and sexual harassment in the Federal judiciary ? Why have no Articles of impeachment been filed to remove Judge Fuller from the bench for unfitness ? These issues with respect to Judge Fuller’s crimes and womanizing are of far greater consequences to the general public, women in particular and society overall than a guy playing football !
We cannot let the face of domestic violence be painted with that of a Black man, which only adds to the collective of negative imagery of Black men propagated in the media, while a sitting federal judge who committed even worse domestic violence crimes is allowed be the media and the courts to go scott free. I actually saw a journalist of Al Sharpton’s Politics Nation say that Ray Rice is the face of domestic violence in America ! There was no mention of Judge Fuller ?
The disparate treatment of Ray Rice versus that of Judge Fuller in the media highlights the disparity of justice for Black people in the court of public opinion and in courts of law. Clearly the decision has been made to keep the public in the dark about the crimes and bad acts of Judge Fuller !
The despicable acts of both of these cowardly men should be condemned equally by the media and by the people, probably even more so of Judge Fuller, because he is in a position of public trust that has been breached and can never be restored. If Ray Rice has been drummed out of the NFL for an act of domestic violence then surely a United States District Court judge that committed the same crime should similarly be removed from the bench !
Before people start attacking me for “defending Ray Rice” or God forbid being ” racial,” they should ask themselves why haven’t they heard much, if anything at all, about this case and which case is of greater importance to women and America, that of the guy playing football or that of the Federal judge charged with dispensing justice who now poses a threat to justice ! In the words of the immortal MLK,Jr., ” Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere ”
I am advocating for ” Equal Justice Under Law. ” No more ” Black Robes, White Justice ! “
“the case of Baltimore Ravens’ superstar Ray Rice after he knocked his wife out cold in an Atlantic City hotel elevator earlier this year.” is just flat wrong!
Where is Janay’s broken jaw or massive black eye then?
I could very clearly see as she falls to one side the back of her head smack the railing in the elevator (it must stick out 6 inches) and THEN it was ‘lights out’. Her head whips forward, it is obvious,
True the very inebriated Ray took all the blame, even telling the police exactly what this headline states, leading to erroneous reports before the video was released.
Nitpick note – they were married 6 weeks AFTER the incident, one day after he was indicted on third-degree aggravated assault charges