[7] In 2006, Siegelman was charged again and Judge Fuller presided over the criminal trial for bribery and obstruction of justice.
After a highly publicized trial that spanned several months, a jury convicted former Governor Siegelman and co-Defendant Richard Scrushy, founder and former CEO of HealthSouth, of federal funds bribery relating to Governor Siegelman's failed Alabama education lottery campaign.
Prosecutors alleged that Scrushy, who supported Siegelman's 1998 gubernatorial opponent, Governor Fob James, reconciled their differences.
Siegelman defenders argue that the sentence is unprecedented and the punishment excessive because, for example, former Alabama Governor H. Guy Hunt, a Republican, was found guilty of personally pocketing $200,000 and did not receive jail time.
[17][18][19][20] He refused to allow the defense to present well-documented evidence of selective prosecution,[21] and critics suggest he facilitated the prosecutorial misconduct that occurred in the case.
"[26] On October 23, 2007, in a statement to the House Judiciary Committee, the Alliance for Justice called for an investigation into Fuller's handling of the case.
[28][29][30] One such conflict was that Siegelman, when Governor, prompted an investigation into Fuller's "questionable [financial] practices" as District Attorney.
[37] 60 Minutes aired a report about the controversy during which Grant Woods, former Republican Attorney General of Arizona, commented, "That tells you that this was personal.
"[8] On August 9, 2014, Fuller was arrested and charged with misdemeanor battery, punishable by up to a year in jail and a fine of up to $1,000, for an incident of domestic violence involving his second wife, Kelli, following her allegation that he was having an affair with a law-clerk employee.
[46] In addition, the report concluded Fuller made "false statements to the chief judge of the 11th Circuit in late December 2010 in a way that caused a massive disruption in the District Courts' operation and loss of public confidence in the court as an instrument of Justice.
"[39][48] That same year he married his second wife, Kelli, a former court bailiff, whom Lisa Fuller alleged had had an affair with her husband.