A federal judge who beats his wife?!!

Hi Katalusis friends,

This hit my inbox this morning, and I feel compelled to share it with you. Your action is needed!

Impeach the right-wing federal judge who beats his wife Tell Congress: "U.S. District Judge Mark Fuller pleaded guilty to assaulting his wife. He is unfit to serve as a federal judge, and Congress should impeach him." Add your name: Dear Virginia, “Please help me, he’s beating on me.” That’s what Judge Mark Fuller’s wife begged a 911 dispatcher as her husband could be heard striking her in the background.1 Fuller, an Alabama federal judge nationally renowned for his role in Karl Rove’s politically motivated prosecution of former Alabama Governor Don Siegelman, was arrested this summer for beating his wife. But unlike Siegelman, who is in jail right now serving a six-and-a-half year sentence, Judge Fuller managed to completely escape criminal prosecution, and could even keep his lifetime appointment to the federal bench. A man who beats his wife shouldn’t be allowed to continue serving as a federal judge. Click here to urge Congress to begin impeachment proceedings now. Despite his arrest in Atlanta for the assault so disturbingly caught on tape by the 911 dispatcher, Fuller got a plea deal from Georgia prosecutors that will erase his arrest from the record if he completes a once-a-week counseling program for 24 weeks. Fuller has been relieved of his caseload by the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals, but he’s still got a lifetime appointment to the court, for which he continues to draw a $200,000 a year salary. Both of Alabama’s Republican Senators have called for Judge Fuller to step down, but he still refuses to do so. 2 The only way to get him off the federal bench is for Congress to impeach him, a move endorsed recently by the generally conservative editorial page of *The Washington Post*.3 Judge Fuller’s time on the bench has been embroiled in controversy. He’s the judge who sentenced Alabama’s former Democratic Governor Don Siegelman to six-and-a-half years in federal prison in a politically-motivated, Karl Rove-orchestrated prosecution. Despite having a clear conflict of interest and a negative history with Siegelman, Fuller refused to recuse himself from Siegelman’s case. And when he sentenced Siegelman, he had the former governor taken from the courtroom in handcuffs and leg manacles and sent immediately to prison, rather than letting him go free until appeal, which is standard procedure. Over 50 former state attorneys general from across the country, both Republicans and Democrats, have urged the U.S. Congress to investigate the Bush administration’s use of the U.S. Department of Justice to railroad Siegelman. And now, after putting former Governor Don Siegelman in chains for bribery and corruption charges, at the bidding of Karl Rove no less, the idea that Judge Fuller will suffer no legal consequences for violently beating his wife is especially appalling. This is not the first time allegations of domestic violence have been lodged against Fuller. In 2012, the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press reported that Fuller’s divorce records were “wrought with accusations of domestic violence, drug abuse and the judge’s alleged affair with his court bailiff.” Those records were sealed by a fellow judge serving on the Montgomery circuit court.4   According to the judicial code of conduct to which Fuller is bound, “a judge should maintain and enforce high standards of conduct and should personally observe those standards, so that the integrity and independence of the judiciary may be preserved.” The integrity of the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals is clearly at risk if a judge who assaults his wife is allowed to continue to serve. It’s outrageous that Mark Fuller got a free pass for domestic violence. It would be even worse if he also returns to the bench. It’s now up to Congress to hold him accountable for his actions. Help us hold Republican Mark Fuller accountable. Click the link below to get him off the federal bench. http://act.credoaction.com/sign/Fuller_Impeach?t=5&akid=11805.4080287.IJuoN0 Thanks for everything you do, Becky Bond, Political Director CREDO Action from Working Assets Add your name:

Janay Rice's chilling Instagram message

I could not have said it better than Taylor Marsh regarding Janay Palmer Rice's Instagram defending her husband Ray Rice who knocked her out and dragged her from an elevator. Initially, the NFL gave this domestic abuser a two-game suspension for his horrific treatment of Janay. As Marsh points out, it was only after a video of the knockout blow was made public that Rice was kicked out of the NFL.

Marsh begins her coverage with a screen shot of Janay's Instagram and continues from there:

 Janay Palmer, Ray Rice’s wife, writes chilling Instagram message that sends horrific signals to abused women, while revealing why Ben Carson’s apologist statement on behalf of her husband is representative of the NFL culture that let the football “hero” off the hook in the first place.

IT’S IMPORTANT to remember that the NFL‘s initial reaction to Ray Rice coldcocking Janay Palmer, now Janay Rice, was a mild two-game suspension. The Ravens even sent out a tweet where Palmer took part of the blame for her own unconsciousness! If you want to know why this was allowed to stand for so long see Republican Ben Carson‘s apologist statement for Ray Rice, which perfectly represents the NFL’s dereliction in this tale of domestic violence.

It wasn’t until the public saw the raw video footage that NFL commissioner Roger Goodell and the Ravens acted.

The reaction of Janay Palmer (Rice) the day after sends a chilling signal to women who make excuses for their abusers instead of fleeing the scene, walking away from the relationship that’s built on extremes of emotion that has no relationship to love she is claiming exists.

The outcome leaves Janay Palmer (Rice) in an even worse situation, because now her husband has lost his livelihood in the NFL and at some point the furor will die down leaving her vulnerable again.
The sports writer for the New York Times, Juliet Macur, wrote a terrific piece emphasizing that it took a video to make the public react, because the facts of the case, known long ago, weren’t enough.

But it never should have taken this long. Not long after the assault, the police investigated and determined that Rice had knocked out Palmer. An earlier video showed Rice dragging Palmer out of the elevator as if he were hauling a trash bag to the curb.

That alone should have been enough for the N.F.L. to suspend Rice for a good, long time, or for the Ravens to get rid of him. It should have prompted the league to send a message to other players — as well as to its fans — that domestic violence will not be tolerated. But Rice was a star, and excuses are made for stars.

If you don’t understand how Ray Rice was allowed to initially escape prosecution, accepting a much lesser punishment of therapy from the court, nothing illustrates the culture of protecting the abusers of women better than Republican Ben Carson’s statement on behalf of Ray Rice.

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