Pa. man gets drug case hearing, then wedding

[August 09, 2010]  EASTON, Pa. (AP) -- The bride wore a gray suit. The groom wore a prison jumpsuit -- and handcuffs.

And a Pennsylvania judge was doing double duty after having just handled proceedings in the groom's drug case.

Northampton County prison inmate Franklin Barndt and Takesha Piazza were married Friday after he tried to have evidence against him dismissed in a cocaine case.

Defense attorney Gary Asteak said he hatched the idea after seeing Piazza in the courtroom.

Judge Leonard Zito said he had never gotten such a request before, but "we're a full-service court."

And when Zito asked whether anyone knew any reason why the marriage shouldn't proceed, the three-year mandatory minimum sentence that Barndt faces if convicted didn't come up.

The pair even managed to exchange a kiss over the objections of prosecutor Michele Kluk.

[Associated Press]

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