Justice for Don Siegelman! Alabama Attorney Demands Removal of Federal Judge Mark E Fuller...
Birmingham attorney Donald Watkins tells U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice that federal judge Mark Fuller should be removed from benchBy Kent Faulk
AL.com on August 26, 2014 at 2:00 PM
BIRMINGHAM, Alabama -- Birmingham attorney Donald Watkins has been on a campaign in the past few weeks to see federal judge Mark Fuller removed from the bench in the wake of the judge's arrest on a domestic violence charge in Georgia earlier this month.
On Monday, Watkins stepped up his efforts in a letter to U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. In that letter, Watkins complains about a "flagrant display of hypocrisy in the federal judiciary in Alabama" that Watkins says is due to the judges' political stripes.
"I will not allow Mark Fuller's sleazy conduct to stain the impeccable record of all of the distinguished men and women who serve this great nation's federal judiciary," Watkins stated in an email to AL.com regarding his letter to Roberts. "As a long-time member of the federal bar, I will do everything within my power to make sure that a violent wife-beater and known philanderer is removed from the federal bench."
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"We need one standard of personal and professional integrity for federal judges, and it must apply across-the-board," Watkins tells Roberts in the letter.
"The federal judges who are pushing a double standard for the benefit of criminal defendant Mark Fuller ought to be ashamed of themselves," Watkins wrote. "Wife-beaters, drug and alcohol abusers, philanderers, and liars have no place as judges on the federal bench. Truthful and clean living judges who have respect for women represent the standard we should expect and demand on the bench. No exceptions should be tolerated."
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http://www.al.com/news/birmingham/index.ssf/2014/08/birmingham_attorney_donald_wat.html
Right on!
= new reply since forum marked as read
Details from an excellent summation:
Republican US district court judge Mark Fuller was arrested in Atlanta this month for beating his wife in an Atlanta hotel. The judge, in whose honor courts must rise, was charged with battery and taken to the Fulton County jail at 2:30AM Sunday morning August 10. If you look at the mug shot of Mark Fuller, he doesn’t inspire confidence. http://www.bradblog.com/?p=10748 and http:/www.informationclearinghouse.info/article39493.htm Fuller was a bitter enemy of Siegelman and should have recused himself from Siegelman’s trial, but ethical behavior required more integrity than Fuller has.
Among many, Scott Horton, a professor of law at Columbia University has provided much information in Harper’s magazine involving the corruption of Fuller and the Republican prosecuting attorneys, Alice Martin and Leura Canary. See: http://harpers.org/blog/2008/02/another-abusive-prosecution-by-alice-martin/ and http://harpers.org/blog/2008/02/cbs-more-prosecutorial-misconduct-in-siegelman-case-alleged/ and http://harpers.org/blog/2007/08/judge-fuller-and-the-trial-of-don-siegelman/ and http://harpers.org/blog/2007/06/siegelman-sentenced-riley-rushes-to-washington/ and http://harpers.org/blog/2007/10/karl-rove-linked-to-siegelman-prosecution/ and http://harpers.org/blog/2007/12/karl-rove-william-canary-and-the-siegelman-case/ and http://harpers.org/blog/2008/02/rove-and-siegelman/ and http://harpers.org/blog/2007/08/the-pork-barrel-world-of-judge-mark-fuller/ and see OpEdNews February 6, 2012, “Why did Karl Rove and his GOP Thugs target Don Siegelman in Alabama?” and http://www.huffingtonpost.com/bennett-l-gershman/why-is-don-siegelman_b_3094147.html
Google the case and you will see everything but justice.
The Republican frame-up of Siegelman is so obvious that various courts have overturned some of the bogus convictions. But the way “justice” works in America makes courts fearful of discrediting the criminal justice (sic) system by coming down hard on an obvious frame-up. To make the fact obvious that federal courts are used for political reasons is detrimental to the myth of justice in which gullible Americans believe.
Siegelman’s innocence is so obvious that 113 former state attorneys general have come out in his support. These attorneys general together with federal judges and members of Congress have written to Obama and to US attorney general Eric Holder urging Siegelman’s release from prison. Instead of releasing the innocent Siegelman, Obama and Holder have protected the Republican frameup of a Democratic governor.
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http://www.counterpunch.org/2014/08/28/americas-corrupt-institutions/
Makes that meeting where Don Corleone was asked to share his look like small potatoes.
Here's how he looked after the Siegelman came back with the desired results:
Alabama Judicial Scandal Could Taint Many Cases, Not Just Siegelman’s
Posted on May 19, 2012 by Andrew Kreig
Washington's Blog
EXCERPT...
The Siegelman jury provided a mixed verdict on June 15, 2006. Minutes later, the rarely photographed Fuller invited freelance photo-journalist Phil Fleming into judicial chambers to commemorate the occasion.
Fleming has released to me his copy of the private portrait (shown above). The blunt-speaking Fleming also told me that he advised the judge during the photo-shoot to stifle what Fleming told him was a “Cheshire cat” smile in order to look sufficiently dignified.
That implication of bias is congruent with testimony by Alabama attorney Dana Jill Simpson, who helped make this case nationally famous in 2007 and then later in the 60 Minutes broadcast. Simpson, at right, was a longtime Republican operative (and now a political independent) who says she worked with Karl Rove and others as a confidential opposition researcher while also earning large sums in the government contracts field.
In sworn statements in 2007, she described Republican plots beginning in 2002 whereby the Justice Department would indict Siegelman with the assistance of “Karl” in order to remove the state’s most popular Democrat from politics.
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http://www.washingtonsblog.com/2012/05/alabama-judicial-scandal-could-taint-many-cases-not-just-siegelmans.html
The Case for Impeaching Federal Judge Mark Fuller
WantedAlabamaDemocrats, July 26, 2012
EXCERPT...
If you picture yourself being outraged, then you have a pretty good idea how former Governor Don Siegelman felt about his 2006 kangaroo-court conviction before George W. Bush-appointed U.S. District Court Judge Mark Fuller.
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Fuller was for years, including during the Siegelman trial, a principal of Doss Aviation, Inc.; some reports made him a 43% owner.¹ He was listed on corporate reports as the company’s CEO, even after becoming a federal judge. Doss Aviation’s 2002 Annual Report on file with the Alabama Secretary of State² shows Fuller as the corporate president, with his office listed as 1 Church Street in Montgomery. That just happens to be the United States Courthouse, where Fuller’s court sits.³ In his 2010 financial disclosure form as a federal judge, Fuller valued his interest in Doss at between $5,000,000.00 and $25,000,000.00; with an additional $500,000.00 t0 $1,000,000.00 in the affiliated Doss of Alabama, Inc. That’s enough coin to get even Mitt Romney’s attention.
So what does Doss Aviation do? I will let the homepage of its website speak to that:
Founded in 1970, Doss Aviation, Inc. enjoys over 40 years [sic] experience in supporting the U.S. Government in flight training, aircraft maintenance, maintenance training, into-plane aircraft fuels and bulk fuels management, transient aircraft support services, air traffic control, and other airfield management/logistics services. The company built an enviable reputation in over 50 contracts performing a variety of services for the U.S. Army, U.S. Navy, U.S. Air Force, Defense Logistics Agency - Energy (DLA-E), NASA, FBI, and Department of Homeland Security.
In other words, Doss Aviation is extremely, if not exclusively, dependent on government contracts, many of them no-bid, that can disappear if the Air Force - or the administration in power - decides it isn’t happy with, say, the rulings of a leading shareholder. (Remember, at the time of the Siegelman trial, the administration was Republican.) The conflict of interest is obvious to even a layman. Despite this, Fuller has, throughout his career as a federal judge, regularly decided cases involving the Air Force. A summary of the reported cases follows:
•Webster v. Wynne, 2010 WL 5394752 (M.D. Ala. 2010). Civil employee of the Air Force alleged employment discrimination against the Air Force. Summary judgment granted to Air Force.
•United States v. 22.58 Acres of Land, 2010 WL 431254 (M.D. Ala. 2010). Action seeking condemnation of certain real property located in Montgomery County at the request of the Air Force. Landowner’s motion to dismiss denied.
•OSI, Inc. v. United States, 510 F.Supp.2d 531 (M.D. Ala. 2007). Owner of property adjoining Air Force base sued United States government and officials, stemming from alleged dumping of Air Force hazardous wastes into landfill on property. Summary judgment granted to Air Force.
•Waid v. United States, 2006 WL 1766808 (M.D. Ala. 2006). Driver of automobile injured in accident with Air Force vehicle sued for injuries. Claim against Air Force dismissed.
•Keel v. U.S. Dept. of Air Force, 256 F.Supp.2d 1269 (M.D. Ala. 2003). Plaintiff, a white male, claimed that defendants terminated him on the basis of his race and sex in violation of Title VII, and retaliated against him by barring his access to Air Force base. Summary judgment entered for Air Force.
In another questionable case where the Air Force was not a party, Houston v. Army Fleet Services, L.L.C., 509 F.Supp.2d 1033 (M.D. Ala. 2007), Fuller denied summary judgment to an employment discrimination defendant - which is a competitor of Fuller’s company. I did not find one reported opinion in which Fuller was the judge, in which the Air Force lost the case.
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http://wantedalabamademocrats.blogspot.com/2012/07/the-case-for-impeaching-federal-judge.html
Money trumps peace, indeed.
In addition to Domestic Violence, Fuller made a killing off war.
The Pork Barrel World of Judge Mark Fuller
By Scott Horton
Harper's August 6, 2007, 5:14 pm
For the last week, we’ve been examining the role played by Judge Mark Everett Fuller in the trial, conviction, and sentencing of former Alabama Governor Don E. Siegelman. Today, we examine a post-trial motion, filed in April 2007, asking Fuller to recuse himself based on his extensive private business interests, which turn very heavily on contracts with the United States Government, including the Department of Justice.
The recusal motion rested upon details about Fuller’s personal business interests. On February 22, 2007, defense attorneys obtained information that Judge Fuller held a controlling 43.75% interest in government contractor Doss Aviation, Inc. After investigating these claims for over a month, the attorneys filed a motion for Fuller’s recusal on April 18, 2007. The motion stated that Fuller’s total stake in Doss Aviation was worth between $1-5 million, and that Fuller’s income from his stock for 2004 was between $100,001 and $1 million dollars.
In other words, Judge Fuller likely made more from his business income, derived from U.S. Government contracts, than as a judge. Fuller is shown on one filing as President of the principal business, Doss Aviation, and his address is shown as One Church Street, Montgomery, Alabama, the address of the Frank M. Johnson Federal Courthouse, in which his chambers are located.
SNIP...
Doss Aviation and its subsidiaries also held contracts with the FBI. This is problematic when one considers that FBI agents were present at Siegelman’s trial, and that Fuller took the extraordinary step of inviting them to sit at counsel’s table throughout trial. Moreover, while the case was pending, Doss Aviation received a $178 million contract from the federal government.
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http://wantedalabamademocrats.blogspot.com/2012/07/the-case-for-impeaching-federal-judge.html
And I hope he gets dragged off in chains, straight from the dock, like he did to an innocent man.
Thanks for bringing this to our attention! I wish there was a way we could figure out how to swap Siegelman out of prison with KKKarl Rove. Siegelman out, Rove in. 
Judge Mark E "Doss Aviation" Fuller is where Alabama industry welcomes the money trumps peace crowd.
The Case for Impeaching Federal Judge Mark Fuller
WANTED Alabama Democrats, Thursday, July 26, 2012
EXCERPT...
At every turn of Siegelman’s trial, Fuller improperly ruled against Siegelman and co-defendant Richard Scrushy, and for the prosecution. He failed to take action when the Government failed to disclose evidence favorable to Siegelman, as he should have done under the rule of Brady v. Maryland, 373 U.S. 83 (1963). He silenced Siegelman’s attorneys from making relevant and legal arguments to the jury. He let charges go to the jury which were later ruled improper by the U.S. Supreme Court. Not only that, Fuller failed to notify defense attorneys that a female juror, by the name of Katie Langer, had been passing notes through Judge Fuller’s bailiff, asking if the FBI agent sitting at the prosecution table was single. I can’t imagine how her not wanting Mr. Potential FBI Dream Date to be angry about an acquittal could have influenced her vote on the jury. (“In a criminal case, any private communication, contact, or tampering directly or indirectly, with a juror during a trial is ... deemed presumptively prejudicial,” United States v. Khanani, 502 F.3d 1281, 1291 (11th Cir. 2007)).
Fuller’s conduct in the trial (I have only named a handful of his pro-Government rulings) gave Siegelman’s attorneys lots of ammunition in his partially-successful appeal, and is doubtless going to provide them more fodder in the “§ 2255 proceeding” that is likely going to be filed, now that the direct appeals are playing out.
But what do those violations of Siegelman’s rights have to do with the hypothetical case I described in the first paragraphs? To understand that, you have to know a little something about Judge Fuller. Even while serving as a district attorney for several years before being appointed a federal judge, Fuller found time to be a full-time businessman. His extensive business activity did not miss a beat when he took the presumably full-time job of federal judge.
Fuller was for years, including during the Siegelman trial, a principal of Doss Aviation, Inc.; some reports made him a 43% owner.¹ He was listed on corporate reports as the company’s CEO, even after becoming a federal judge. Doss Aviation’s 2002 Annual Report on file with the Alabama Secretary of State² shows Fuller as the corporate president, with his office listed as 1 Church Street in Montgomery. That just happens to be the United States Courthouse, where Fuller’s court sits.³ In his 2010 financial disclosure form as a federal judge, Fuller valued his interest in Doss at between $5,000,000.00 and $25,000,000.00; with an additional $500,000.00 t0 $1,000,000.00 in the affiliated Doss of Alabama, Inc. That’s enough coin to get even Mitt Romney’s attention.
So what does Doss Aviation do? I will let the homepage of its website speak to that:
Founded in 1970, Doss Aviation, Inc. enjoys over 40 years (sic) experience in supporting the U.S. Government in flight training, aircraft maintenance, maintenance training, into-plane aircraft fuels and bulk fuels management, transient aircraft support services, air traffic control, and other airfield management/logistics services. The company built an enviable reputation in over 50 contracts performing a variety of services for the U.S. Army, U.S. Navy, U.S. Air Force, Defense Logistics Agency - Energy (DLA-E), NASA, FBI, and Department of Homeland Security.
In other words, Doss Aviation is extremely, if not exclusively, dependent on government contracts, many of them no-bid, that can disappear if the Air Force - or the administration in power - decides it isn’t happy with, say, the rulings of a leading shareholder. (Remember, at the time of the Siegelman trial, the administration was Republican.) The conflict of interest is obvious to even a layman. Despite this, Fuller has, throughout his career as a federal judge, regularly decided cases involving the Air Force. A summary of the reported cases follows:
* Webster v. Wynne, 2010 WL 5394752 (M.D. Ala. 2010). Civil employee of the Air Force alleged employment discrimination against the Air Force. Summary judgment granted to Air Force.
* United States v. 22.58 Acres of Land, 2010 WL 431254 (M.D. Ala. 2010). Action seeking condemnation of certain real property located in Montgomery County at the request of the Air Force. Landowner’s motion to dismiss denied.
* OSI, Inc. v. United States, 510 F.Supp.2d 531 (M.D. Ala. 2007). Owner of property adjoining Air Force base sued United States government and officials, stemming from alleged dumping of Air Force hazardous wastes into landfill on property. Summary judgment granted to Air Force.
* Waid v. United States, 2006 WL 1766808 (M.D. Ala. 2006). Driver of automobile injured in accident with Air Force vehicle sued for injuries. Claim against Air Force dismissed.
* Keel v. U.S. Dept. of Air Force, 256 F.Supp.2d 1269 (M.D. Ala. 2003). Plaintiff, a white male, claimed that defendants terminated him on the basis of his race and sex in violation of Title VII, and retaliated against him by barring his access to Air Force base. Summary judgment entered for Air Force.
In another questionable case where the Air Force was not a party, Houston v. Army Fleet Services, L.L.C., 509 F.Supp.2d 1033 (M.D. Ala. 2007), Fuller denied summary judgment to an employment discrimination defendant - which is a competitor of Fuller’s company. I did not find one reported opinion in which Fuller was the judge, in which the Air Force lost the case.
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http://wantedalabamademocrats.blogspot.com/2012/07/the-case-for-impeaching-federal-judge.html
One big fish the greedheads feeding from the Pentagon trough were most interested in landing.
Inside Story on DoD’s Boeing Air Force Tanker Deal: Opinion Analysis
February 25, 2011
By Andrew Kreig
Washington, DC– The Department of Defense Feb. 24 announced its choice of Boeing for a $35 billion contract to build the Air Force’s next generation of mid-air refueling tankers. Boeing’s selection, subject to any challenge by the losing bidder EADS, could end a decade-long, scandal-ridden process that became one of the controversial and important in modern U.S. procurement history.
Boeing’s victory over the consortium lead by EADS (European Aeronautic Defense and Space Co.) surprised many industry experts who believed EADS held the edge over Boeing. Alabama’s powerful Republican Senate delegation fought so hard for EADS that Sen. Dick Shelby put a hold last February on every Obama nomination in the federal government unless the White House promised to give EADS what he called fair consideration. Later in the spring, President Obama promised to provide such fairness also in response to requests by European leaders, whose subsidies of EADS have sparked criticism at the World Trade Organization and elsewhere.
But DoD officials under Defense Secretary Robert Gates cited Boeing’s smaller planes among other factors in making this week’s award. “What that means is that, in the end, Boeing won on price,” Loren B. Thompson, a defense policy analyst for the Arlington-based Lexington Institute, told the Washington Post. “Price consists of the cost of producing the plane, plus the cost of operating it over 30 years,” he continued. “The Airbus plane is so much bigger and burned over a ton more fuel per flight hour.”
Boeing Bribery
My Justice Integrity Project has tracked the competition closely for a year and a half after learning from reliable sources details about industrial espionage and skulduggery. This went far beyond even the scandals showcased in Senate oversight hearings led by Sen. John McCain (R-AZ). Those scandals sent a Boeing executive and former Air Force procurement officer to prison on bribery charges and led in 2005 to DoD revocation of its initial award to Boeing.
Last spring, Connecticut Watchdog published my column, “I’m Shocked, Shocked! To Find Politics In Defense Contracting.” It linked EADS and its United States allies to the frame-up of former Alabama Gov. Don Siegelman on corruption charges. The plot, according to our sources, was for EADS-proponents working behind the scenes with selected federal authorities to remove the Democrat Siegelman from public life with trumped-up charges.
This was, according to our information, part of an overall plan to help well-connected military contractors and their political allies. In part, the EADS plan empowered Siegelman’s Republican successor, Gov. Bob Riley, to use his superb connections stemming from his previous House Armed Services Committee leadership to work with Europeans and fellow Republicans to win the contract. The contract is sometimes estimated, as here, at $35 billion. But is often reported also as $40 billion in United States spending. The value could be much more if other nations followed the U.S. lead to achieve economies of scale by selecting the same supplier. For this and other military deals, EADS created a North American subsidiary based in Virginia, partnered with politically well-connected Northrop Grumman — and planned $600 million parts reassembly plant in Mobile, AL.
Bidding With an American Face
All of this put an American face on the bid. This was vitally necessary for political reasons in an era of job-decline in the United States, especially given the political clout of Chicago-based Boeing and its workforce around the nation. As revealed by the McCain hearings, Boeing has its own dark-side in lobbying. Even publicly disclosed operations show that consultant David Plouffe, a longtime Obama adviser, has been on their payroll.
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http://ctwatchdog.com/business/inside-story-on-dods-boeing-air-force-tanker-deal-opinion-analysis
Interest in the USAF tanker deal was Buy-Partisan, especially for those having to, um, deal with the Alabama congreffional delegation.
PS: Thank you for the kind words, Go Vols! They mean the world to me.
