08-09-2015, 08:44 AM
Fri Aug 7, 2015 4:04pm EDT
By Lisa Bose McDermott
TEXARKANA, Texas (Reuters) -
A 20-year-old East Texas man jumped into a quickly arranged marriage after a judge told him last month he had a choice of getting hitched or spending 15 days in jail on an assault charge.
According to court documents obtained on
Friday, Smith County Judge Randall Rogers
gave the option to Josten Bundy, of Tyler,
Texas, who was arrested in March on a charge of assault causing bodily injury, a misdemeanor.
Bundy had gotten into a fight with the ex- boyfriend of his then girlfriend and now wife.
The judge said he would grant probation if
Bundy married his 19-year-old girlfriend,
Elizabeth Jaynes, within 30 days, write Bible
verses and attend counseling.
If he declined, he would go to jail, according to a transcript of the proceedings obtained by Tyler TV broadcaster KLTV.
"Is she worth it?" Rogers asked Bundy,
according to the transcripts.
The bride's father was angry at the judge for
pressuring the pair into marriage and was
looking into whether this was judicial
misconduct, he told KLTV. "He (the judge) can't do this by court ordering somebody to be married," the bride's father, Kenneth Jaynes, said.
The judge was not available for a comment.
The couple, who had talked about eventually
getting married but did not have immediate
wedding plans, is happy that they have tied the knot. But did not appreciate being forced into it, they told the broadcaster.
They were not immediately available for comment.
"It just felt like we weren't going to be able to
have the wedding we wanted," the new bride
told the TV station. "I didn't even have a white dress."
The newlyweds have posted a photo of their
wedding on Facebook taken from the county
court.
(The story has been filed to correct name in
third paragraph to "Bundy" from "Rogers")
(Writing by Jon Herskovitz; Editing by Sandra
Maler)
By Lisa Bose McDermott
TEXARKANA, Texas (Reuters) -
A 20-year-old East Texas man jumped into a quickly arranged marriage after a judge told him last month he had a choice of getting hitched or spending 15 days in jail on an assault charge.
According to court documents obtained on
Friday, Smith County Judge Randall Rogers
gave the option to Josten Bundy, of Tyler,
Texas, who was arrested in March on a charge of assault causing bodily injury, a misdemeanor.
Bundy had gotten into a fight with the ex- boyfriend of his then girlfriend and now wife.
The judge said he would grant probation if
Bundy married his 19-year-old girlfriend,
Elizabeth Jaynes, within 30 days, write Bible
verses and attend counseling.
If he declined, he would go to jail, according to a transcript of the proceedings obtained by Tyler TV broadcaster KLTV.
"Is she worth it?" Rogers asked Bundy,
according to the transcripts.
The bride's father was angry at the judge for
pressuring the pair into marriage and was
looking into whether this was judicial
misconduct, he told KLTV. "He (the judge) can't do this by court ordering somebody to be married," the bride's father, Kenneth Jaynes, said.
The judge was not available for a comment.
The couple, who had talked about eventually
getting married but did not have immediate
wedding plans, is happy that they have tied the knot. But did not appreciate being forced into it, they told the broadcaster.
They were not immediately available for comment.
"It just felt like we weren't going to be able to
have the wedding we wanted," the new bride
told the TV station. "I didn't even have a white dress."
The newlyweds have posted a photo of their
wedding on Facebook taken from the county
court.
(The story has been filed to correct name in
third paragraph to "Bundy" from "Rogers")
(Writing by Jon Herskovitz; Editing by Sandra
Maler)
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