A judge from Detroit was temporarily removed from the bench after he had a teen girl handcuffed and threatened to place her in jail for sleeping in his courtroom. Now, the family of that young girl has stated they are filing a lawsuit against that judge for his actions.
According to The Detroit News, Judge Kenneth King is being sued after a 15-year-old girl fell asleep while he was speaking to students on a field trip organized by a nonprofit group, The Greening of Detroit. When the teen was caught sleeping, he admonished her for it, and according to a YouTube video posted by WXYZ-TV, he said, “You fall asleep in my courtroom one more time, I’m putting you in the back, understood?”
According to the lawsuit, when he realized that she fell asleep once again, he ordered her to be jailed and handcuffed. He made her take off her clothes and placed her in prison wear. He then held a “fake trial” with her classmates as jurors, which was shown live on the internet.
“Then, making a mockery of the justice
guaranteed by the due process clauses of the United States Constitution, while panning the camera to focus upon his juvenile audience for the benefit of his internet fans, Defendant JUDGE KING asked (the teen’s) peers to serve as a fake jury of public opinion and decide whether to let her go home to her mother and grandmother or to serve time in the juvenile jail that he had but moments before denigrated as unfit.”Attorney James Harrington, representing the family, stated this incident occurred on Aug. 13 when the court was not in session.
CBS Detroit identified the teenager as Eva Goodman. It stated that the family seeks $75,000 for past, present, and future pain and suffering, medical expenses, including psychological and psychiatric treatment, exemplary damages, and attorney and expert witness fees.
Goodman’s mother, Latoreya Till, said, “I just want Judge King to take accountability for the way that he humiliated my daughter. It’s hard for her to sleep at night. She’s asking me, ‘Why did the judge do me like this out of all the kids?'”
King’s attorney, Todd Perkins, issued a statement on behalf of the judge:
“He is remorseful and sorry if any young person was hurt, as any actions by Judge King would never seek to have that as an intended consequence. He only wants the best outcome for this young person and all young people. She matters. They matter. They are our future.”
According to a statement from 36th District Court Chief Judge William McConico, King has been temporarily removed from his docket and will undergo training “to address the underlying issues that contributed to this incident. “