A Detroit judge who placed a 15-year-old girl in handcuffs after she fell asleep in his courtroom during a summer field trip has been removed from the bench, NBC News reports
Judge Kenneth King pointed the minor out as Greening of Detroit, a nonprofit organization, led the group on a tour of his courtroom in 36th District Court to learn more about legal proceedings. After the teen fell asleep, King allegedly “chose to make an example of a 15-year-old girl in front of her peers,” according to a statement from the organization’s PR representative, Colleen Robar. “He made her wear handcuffs and a jail uniform and yelled at her for falling asleep in his courtroom,” Robar said.
“Although the Judge was trying to teach a lesson of respect, his methods were unacceptable.”
Simply asking the minor to leave if he wasn’t happy with the minor’s behavior would have sufficed, Robar continued.
In a decision handed down on Aug. 15, Chief Judge William McConico said that after a “swift and thorough internal investigation,” King will be removed from his post and required to “undergo the necessary training to address the underlying issues that contributed to this incident.”
According to WXYZ Detroit, King said it was the teen’s attitude not her falling asleep — that prompted him to place her in handcuffs. “It was her whole attitude and her whole disposition that disturbed me,” King said. “That’s not something that normally happens. But I felt compelled to do it because I didn’t like the child’s attitude. I haven’t been disrespected like that in a very long time.”
The judge continued to say his goal was to “get through to her” and teach her the seriousness of courtroom demeanor. Before releasing her, King also threatened to place her in the juvenile detention facility.
Latoreya Till, the child’s mother, said her daughter is “traumatized” and is glad the story is making national headlines against someone in power. She explained her daughter’s drowsiness, as Till and her daughter have been between housing and staying up late.
King’s stern lessons are causing ripples in the legal community. Larry Dubin, a former attorney and now-law professor at the University of Detroit Mercy, labeled the move inappropriate. “It was just totally inappropriate. There were so many other ways in which to have helped that young girl learn,” Dubin said.
“I have never seen anything quite like what I saw that took place in the courtroom.”
However, King is standing firm on his decision.
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