LAW - From the Gossip Column

"Sex, Drugs, And Violence Are At The Heart Of Divorce Case Against Siegelman Judge Mark Fuller" by Roger Shuler, The Public Record 5/22/2012

Excerpt

A request for admissions can be one of the most entertaining documents in a lawsuit. The requesting party, in so many words, is saying, “We all know the following statements are true, so why don’t you admit to them so we can haggle about something else?”

It can be a rare moment of clarity in a legal action, where one party is trying to cut through the many layers of BS and establish facts. That doesn’t mean the receiving party is going to admit to everything–or anything–in the request. But the effort to get at what one party considers to be the clear truth can be most enlightening.

From that standpoint, a request for admissions in a divorce case involving U.S. District Judge Mark Fuller certainly does not disappoint. Fuller is a George W. Bush appointee who is best known for presiding over the political prosecution of former Alabama Governor Don Siegelman and codefendant Richard Scrushy, the former CEO of HealthSouth Corporation.

Lisa Boyd Fuller is suing the judge for divorce. If even half of the items in her request for admissions are true, it’s a wonder Judge Fuller could even pay attention during the Siegelman case–much less rule correctly on key matters of law, with the freedom of two men at stake. (You can read the Fuller request for admissions at the end of this post.)

Lisa Fuller’s request is filled with sex, drugs, and violence–but no rock and roll (so far). The 18 items hint at a judge with a clouded mind, a nasty temperament, a lust for women other than his wife, and a monumental sense of entitlement.

The process for a request for admissions here in my state is governed by Rule 36 of the Alabama Rules of Civil Procedure. It’s one of my favorite rules because it essentially says, “Let’s dispense with all the posing and posturing and get on the record what we all know to be the case–that these statements are true.” A savvy defense lawyer, of course, can take steps to ensure that the truth is clouded–and Mark Fuller’s lawyer is likely to do just that. But you at least have to admire the thought behind Rule 36.

Here is how the committee comments to the Alabama rule sum things up:

The purpose of this rule is to expedite the trial and to relieve the parties of the cost of proving facts which will not be disputed at the trial and the truth of which can be ascertained by reasonable inquiry. The rule is self-sufficient, and clearly defines its purpose and limits its effect, and it should be liberally construed.