Related: U.S. Judge Arrested on Domestic Abuse Charges Says He’ll Resign
The Judicial Conference acknowledged that the U.S. House of Representatives might not take action since Fuller resigned. The conference said at the very least its findings “may also serve as a public censure of Judge Fuller’s reprehensible conduct, which has no doubt brought disrepute to the Judiciary and cannot constitute the ‘good behavior’ required of a federal judge.”
A House Judiciary Committee spokeswoman did not immediately return a request for comment, and a federal judiciary spokesman declined to comment.
Fuller was arrested in August 2014 after his wife accused him of assaulting her at a hotel in downtown Atlanta. Fuller agreed to a pre-trial diversion program that included a domestic violence intervention program and alcohol and substance abuse assessment. After completing the program, his arrest was expunged in April, according to NLJ affiliate publication The Daily Report.
The federal judiciary began its own ethics investigation soon after Fuller’s arrest. Fuller notified President Barack Obama in late May that he would resign in August. The Judicial Council of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit issued an order in June that said Fuller’s conduct “might constitute one or more grounds for impeachment.” The council referred the matter to the Judicial Conference. Fuller’s resignation took effect on Aug. 1.
The Judicial Conference said in its letter to Congress that “in a case with less egregious and protracted conduct,” a judge’s resignation might make any further action unnecessary. But the conference judges decided to refer the matter to Congress “given the severity of the misconduct outlined below, together with a finding of perjury.”
The Judicial Conference letter to Congress is posted below.
