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Admissions requests in federal judge's divorce case are like rhetorical questions, his lawyer says

An Alabama federal judge accused in a domestic battery case was asked to confirm or deny extramarital affairs, domestic violence and prescription drug abuse in now-unsealed files in his 2012 divorce.

The Montgomery Advertiser examined the divorce file of U.S. District Judge Mark Fuller, which was unsealed last week. Fuller was in the news after his current wife told police in August that he assaulted her at the Ritz-Carlton in Atlanta after she confronted him about suspicions of an extramarital affair with a law clerk. Under a September plea deal, a misdemeanor battery charge will be dropped if he successfully completes domestic violence and substance abuse programs.

In addition to the requests for admissions, the divorce file showed subpoenas were sent to six pharmacies seeking information about Fuller’s prescription drug use. But the file has no evidence supporting the requests for admissions or the subpoenas, the Montgomery Advertiser says. The case settled two months after its filing; the settlement remains under seal.

Fuller’s lawyer, Barry Ragsdale, told the Montgomery Advertiser that the requests for admissions did not rise to the level of allegations. “They’re the same as rhetorical questions,” he said.

“I think it’s consistent with what we have said,” Ragsdale said. “The complaint contains no allegations of prior domestic violence, and we have said that all that time.”

Ragsdale told the newspaper Fuller has completed an evaluation that “found for the second time he has no drug or alcohol problem.” Fuller also attended a domestic-violence counseling program, Ragsdale said.

Fuller’s cases have been reassigned while the Atlanta-based 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals investigates. U.S. Rep. Terri Sewell, D-Birmingham, has threatened to begin the impeachment process against Fuller if he does not resign by Nov. 12.

Updated at 12:56 p.m. to fix a typo.