Judiciary
Judge who oversaw handcuffing of sleepy teen on field trip now hearing these cases
A Detroit judge sued for allegedly making an example of a sleepy teenager on a courtroom field trip is back on the bench, but he no longer presides in preliminary stages of serious criminal cases. (Image from Shutterstock)
A Detroit judge sued for allegedly making an example of a sleepy teenager on a courtroom field trip is back on the bench, but he no longer presides in preliminary stages of serious criminal cases.
Judge Kenneth King of the 36th District Court in Michigan is now presiding over cases in the traffic division, report the Detroit Free Press and the Associated Press. He has successfully completed social-emotional training taught by a former Chicago school principal.
King is among the defendants in an Aug. 21 lawsuit alleging that he ridiculed the 15-year-old girl for falling asleep during his lecture broadcast on YouTube. According to previous coverage, King told the teen during her Aug. 13 courtroom visit that he didn’t like her attitude, and he was not to be “played with.”
The teen was escorted to a detention cell, directed to put on a jail jumpsuit, held in detention for hours, handcuffed and brought back into King’s courtroom, according to the suit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan.
“A fake trial was convened” in which King threatened to send the teen to “juvey,” the suit says. King then asked the teen’s peers to vote on whether she would be released. The Detroit Free Press has prior coverage of the suit.
The teen was in court with co-workers for a lecture arranged by a nonprofit that ran a vocational program, according to the suit. She had a “rough night’s sleep” and nodded off during King’s lecture, which followed a court hearing that forced her to relive a traumatic event, the suit says.
Todd Perkins, King’s lawyer, told the Associated Press that King is willing to work anywhere at the court.
“He truly understands and wholeheartedly embraces the concept of teamwork,” Perkins told the Associated Pres.
See also:
Michigan supremes demote chief district court judge, saying he hasn’t cooperated with takeover
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