US man accused of domestic violence ordered to take wife on date

Washington -  A man, who was arrested on domestic violence charges, has been told by a South Florida Judge to buy his wife a birthday card, flowers and to take her out for dinner and a night of bowling.

The judge came out with the verdict to smooth over any hard feelings stemming from the marital row.

Joseph Bray, 47, was detained after a quarrel over forgetting to wish his wife on her birthday purportedly escalated into violence.

Bray allegedly pushed his wife onto the couch in their home and put his hands on her neck. The arrest affidavit stated that he lifted his hand to strike her, but never did, CBS News reported.

Bray’s wife told the court that she did not fear for her life.

Besides ordering a couple’s night out, Judge John Hurley on Tuesday also ruled that they should start seeing a marriage counsellor right away.

The judge reportedly emphasized that he would not have come up with such a ruling had the charge been more serious, or if Bray’s wife was in any danger.

 “It was a minor incident, in the court’s opinion,” Hurley said.

According to the Florida Sun Sentinel, Bray had no prior arrests

“The court would not normally do that if the court felt there was some violence but this is very, very minor and the court felt that that was a better resolution than other alternatives,” he added.