Detroit Judge Punished for Putting Sleeping Field Trip Teen in Cuffs

A judge in Detroit will undergo “necessary training” and has been temporarily booted from his criminal case docket after he ordered a teenage girl on a field trip to wear prison clothes and threatened her with jail time for sleeping in his courtroom. As more details about the girl’s situation began to surface, the court’s chief judge confirmed Thursday that 36th District Judge Kenneth King is off the bench, for now. Eva Goodman, 15, fell asleep during a visit to the court organized by the nonprofit, The Greening Project, to learn about and watch the court system in real time. According to the Detroit Free Press, King spotted Goodman sleeping twice before ordering her into custody. The teen was told to put on a green jail jumpsuit, then handcuffed and reprimanded by King for her actions in his courtroom. She was ultimately allowed to leave. Goodman’s mother, Latoreya Till, is furious, telling the Detroit Free Press that her daughter is “hurt” and “feeling scared,” adding the family is currently without a permanent home. Till described King as a “big bully.” William McConico, the chief judge at 36th District Court, told the Associated Press that King would now undergo “necessary training to address the underlying issues that contributed to this incident.” McConico added the court “remains deeply committed to providing access to justice in an environment free from intimidation or disrespect. The actions of Judge King on August 13th do not reflect this commitment.” King will continue to be paid. Further details were not revealed. Speaking to WXYZ-TV, who published video of the courtroom incident, King defended his actions: “I wanted to get through to her, show how serious this is and how you are to conduct yourself inside of a courtroom.”