The two Republican senators from Alabama have now gone on record calling for the resignation of federal judge Mark Fuller.
Alabama judge urged to resign over domestic violence incident
A federal judge from Alabama who was arrested last month on charges of battering and kicking his wife in an Atlanta hotel room is facing growing calls to resign, including from lawmakers who say jurists should not be treated more leniently than pro football players.
Alabama's U.S. senators Richard Shelby and Jeff Sessions, both Republicans, urged U.S. District Judge Mark Fuller on Thursday to step down and said his personal conduct was unacceptable. They joined Rep. Terri Sewell (D-Ala.) who was the first to call for the judge's resignation.
"If an NFL player can lose his job because of domestic violence, then a federal judge should definitely not be allowed to keep his appointment to the federal bench," she said.
Fuller, 55, was arrested at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Atlanta on Aug. 10 after his wife, Kelli, called a 911 dispatcher and said her husband was drunk and was hitting her. She said the judge had "pulled her hair, threw her to the ground, dragged her, kicked her and struck her several times in the face," according to an Associated Press report on the incident.
If he were to continue to refuse to resign, it would be very interesting to see if an impeachment action could be launched. If we were to reach the point that white judges and not just black football players were held accountable, I might be convinced that something had really changed.