LAWTON – How many ministers have performed 500 weddings? Over a life time, perhaps a lot. How many do you suppose have performed 450 to 500 weddings in a single year? Probably not a lot.
But Comanche County Special District Judges Susan Zwaan and Grant Sheperd have.
Records in the County Court Clerk’s Office indicate 902 weddings were performed in the Comanche County Courthouse last year, and the two special judges accounted for 840 of them.
Court Clerk Robert Morales said recently that to his knowledge, “The only other courthouse that does this is Cleveland County.”
“I didn’t realize that was going to be such a big part of this job,” said Sheperd, a southwest Oklahoma native who was appointed to the post in January 2019. He performed 38 weddings in February 2019, his first full month in a judicial robe. By the end of the year he had performed 496 marriages, according to the Oklahoma State Courts Network (OSCN).
Judge Zwaan has performed 2,315 weddings since she was appointed to the bench a little over five years ago by Comanche County’s four district judges. Those unions included 498 ceremonies performed in 2015, her first year as a special judge, and 344 weddings last year.
Collectively, the two special judges performed 200 courthouse weddings between Jan. 2 and March 18 this year before the courthouse was closed to the public because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Sheperd moved to Lawton from Sentinel in 2010 and entered private practice. Zwaan, a Lawton High School grad, previously was an assistant prosecutor in the office of former District Attorney Robert Schulte. Both are graduates of the University of Oklahoma law school.
A courthouse wedding costs $10 above the cost of the $50 marriage license, and the fee is deposited in the statewide court fund, Morales said.
CERTAIN DAYS ARE POPULAR FOR WEDDINGS
With Fort Sill on the north edge of town, it’s not unusual that couples married in Comanche County are from cities and towns throughout the state and across the country. Also, many courthouse weddings are performed on Fridays when graduation ceremonies are conducted at the Army post, Zwaan said.
That might explain why she performed 11 marriages on April 10, 2015, and Sheperd was called on to perform 11 weddings May 24 and 10 on June 21; all three dates were Fridays.
Before the U.S. Supreme Court legalized same-sex marriages in 2015, several gay couples from Houston, Fort Worth and Austin, Texas, drove north to Lawton to get married at the Comanche County Courthouse, Zwaan recalled.
Certain days are popular for courthouse marriages, both jurists said.
Independence Day, for example. Sheperd and Zwaan performed 14 weddings on July 5 last year. (The courthouse was closed July 4 for the holiday.)
Valentine’s Day is popular, as well. The two judges performed 17 courthouse weddings on Feb. 14-15 last year, and nine on Feb. 14 this year.
Halloween also is a popular day. Sheperd performed 13 weddings on Oct. 31 last year, “including a groom wearing a Spider Man mask.”
Esoteric observances also attract couples to the courthouse, Zwaan noted.
May 4 is one of those. Star Wars fans celebrate that date – “May the Fourth be with you.”–as a pun on the Star Wars catchphrase, “May the Force be with you.”
April 20 is the unofficial “Stoner Day” holiday in some circles. Also known as “Weed Day,” that date is dedicated to all things related to marijuana and dates from 1971. Judge Zwaan performed six weddings on April 20, 2018, and five on that date in 2017.
Some months are exceptionally busy. For instance, Judge Zwaan performed 55 marriages in June 2015, and Judge Sheperd performed 44 in August 2019.
MARRIAGES ARE EXTRACURRICULAR JUDICIAL EVENTS
Ironically, weddings are extracurricular events the two special judges perform in their spare time. Their primary duties are to preside over district court misdemeanor cases, consider applications for protective orders, and settle small claims disputes.
Consequently, some couples seeking a courthouse wedding “might get in right away” while others “might have to wait a couple of hours,” Sheperd said. And weddings are the only time cameras are permitted in the courtroom.
The courthouse, in downtown Lawton, is scheduled to reopen to the public on June 1. Nevertheless, “We won’t be performing weddings for at least a couple of months,” Sheperd said. Because the courthouse has been closed for two and a half months, “We’re backed up on our cases,” he explained.