15 Dec. 1998
EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. (AP) - Judge Dan Stack presided over the marriage of a man - and then sentenced him minutes later for bringing marijuana into the courthouse. "I wanted to sentence him for criminal stupidity," said Stack, a Madison County judge. The groom, Ewel Simon Greene, was arrested at the courtroom door Friday afternoon after a deputy using a metal detector discovered a metal pipe in his pocket, which led to a search that turned up a bag containing less than 2.5 grams of marijuana. Authorities were going to release Greene with a court-appearance notice, but Stack offered to conduct the wedding ceremony and decide the criminal case back-to-back. Stack married the couple first, then sentenced Greene to one year's probation and a $100 fine on misdemeanor charges of marijuana and drug paraphernalia possession. ###