Here’s the thing: This isn’t the first time Above the Law has written about judges putting innocent teens in handcuffs. And not “innocent” as in, found not guilty by a jury, but “innocent” as in, not in the courtroom as a defendant. It’s… weird that it happened twice, right?
Detroit judge Kenneth King of the 36th District Court was hosting a field trip by The Greening of Detroit, a nonprofit environmental group. One student fell asleep during the trip, and Judge King took offense. His response, though, was out of pocket — he had the teen dress in prisoner clothes and had her handcuffed.
What’s more is King’s defending his actions, saying, “I wanted this to look and feel very real to her, even though there’s probably no real chance of me putting her in jail. That was my own version of ‘Scared Straight.’”
“It was her whole attitude and her whole disposition that disturbed me,” the judge said. “I wanted to get through to her, show how serious this is and how you are to conduct yourself inside of a courtroom.”
There is so much wrong with all of this. First off, best educational practice is no longer to embarrass or punish a sleepy student — after all, you have no idea what the child went through the night before, perhaps they had to work a late shift or had a family emergency that prevented them from sleeping properly. Also, Judge King’s argument that this was his version of “Scared Straight” is absurd — sleeping does not drive someone into a life of crime. And in the year of our lord 2024, who *doesn’t* know that claims that Scared Straight-type programs prevent juvenile delinquency have been widely debunked — in fact, they does the opposite! So when Judge King said, “I’ll do whatever needs to be done to reach these kids and make sure that they don’t end up in front of me,” what he actually did is more likely to encourage delinquent behavior.
This is a criminal justice professional — he needs to do better.
Understandably, The Greening of Detroit said the “young lady was traumatized.”
“Although the judge was trying to teach a lesson of respect, his methods were unacceptable,” chairperson Marissa Ebersole Wood said. “The group of students should have been simply asked to leave the courtroom if he thought they were disrespectful.”
Judge Aliyah Sabree, Chief Judge Pro Tem, issued a statement saying the incident “does not reflect the standards we uphold at 36th District Court.”
Sabree continued, “I am committed to addressing this matter with the utmost diligence.” Which makes sense because a power-tripping judge is a bad look for the court.
Kathryn Rubino is a Senior Editor at Above the Law, host of The Jabot podcast, and co-host of Thinking Like A Lawyer. AtL tipsters are the best, so please connect with her. Feel free to email her with any tips, questions, or comments and follow her on Twitter @Kathryn1 or Mastodon @[email protected].
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