Domestic violence arrest unlikely to remove judge from bench | www.myajc.com

Federal Judge Mark Fuller is unlikely to face any professional repercussions because of his misdemeanor battery charge brought over the weekend after he was accused of a physical altercation with his wife at a downtown Atlanta hotel.

With a lifetime appointment to the federal court, the only way to remove a judge from the bench is via the long and complicated impeachment process and then a trial in the U.S. Senate, according to experts. Federal judges accused of felonies have not been immediately removed though some have resigned. Fuller is charged with a misdemeanor.

“He has life tenure,” said Stephen Bright, senior counsel at the Southern Center for Human Rights who also teaches at Yale Law School.

U.S. District Judge Mark Fuller, who was visiting Atlanta from Montgomery, Ala., is charged with misdemeanor battery for allegedly striking his wife and pulling out her hair during an argument over her allegations that he had been unfaithful.

via Domestic violence arrest unlikely to remove judge from bench | www.myajc.com.