Syracuse, NY - Syracuse City Court Judge Steve Dougherty had an unusual situation crop up in court Tuesday as Nicole Osbourne stood before him facing a felony assault charge.

Osbourne was familiar to the judge because she also has a domestic violence case pending in his court for which Dougherty had to issue a bench warrant when she missed an earlier court appearance.

Osbourne’s boyfriend, Theodore Murphy, was sitting in the courtroom when defense lawyer Aurora Flores informed Dougherty she had an unusual request.

That’s when Flores said Murphy had asked her to ask Osbourne if she would marry him. Osbourne started crying upon hearing that.

Dougherty said Flores could ask Osbourne. But with a big smile on his face, the judge noted that the court-issued order of protection directing Osbourne to have no direct or third-party contact with Murphy would prevent the lawyer from sharing her client’s answer with Murphy.

Dougherty said the prosecution moved at that point to amend the order of protection to allow non-criminal contact between Osbourne and Murphy. The judge then asked Osbourne if she wanted to answer the question and she tearfully accepted the marriage proposal.

No wedding date was set as Osbourne remains in custody on $2,500 bail for each of the two cases pending against her, the judge said. Dougherty also noted he advised the couple that as the judge presiding over Osbourne’s cases, he would not be available to perform the wedding.

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