 In 1996, he was elected District Attorney of the 12th Circuit where he served until his appointment as a federal judge.As the District Attorney, Fuller was criticized for giving "extraordinary wages" to staff, including increasing office investigator Bruce DeVane's "salary to almost $6,000 every two weeks" until it nearly doubled by the end of 2000, and Fuller later testified during the proceedings about the retirements he approved in 2005.On August 1, 2002, he was nominated by George W. Bush and confirmed by the United States Senate on November 14, 2002.