JUDGE PERFORMS WEDDING, BUSTS GROOM

EDWARDSVILLE, Ill., Dec. 12 (UPI) - A man arrested for drug
possession on the way to his wedding in Edwardsville, Ill., was
married and sentenced in one afternoon by the same judge.

The Alton Telegraph reports 25-year-old Ewel Simon Greene Jr. was
stopped near the entrance to the Madison County Courthouse on Friday
when a sheriff's deputy using a metal-detecting wand found a metal
pipe in his pocket. A further search turned up a small bag of marijuana.

Greene, who recently moved to Illinois from Florida, was with his
fiancee and their infant son. The couple were to be married by
Associate Judge Daniel Stack.

The deputy planned to release Greene with a notice to appear in court,
but then Stack offered to handle both the marriage and the criminal
case. The groom was informed of his right to a trial, but Stack told
the newspaper that Greene ``wanted to get it over with.''

So the judge conducted the marriage ceremony and then sentenced Greene
to a year's probation and a $100 fine.

The turn of events prompted Stack to quip, ``We are a full-service
courthouse.''

Checked-by: Rich O'Grady