A Detroit judge has been temporarily removed from the bench after he forced a 15-year-old girl to wear handcuffs and a jail uniform because she appeared to fall asleep during a court field trip.
District Court Judge Kenneth King expressed his displeasure with Eva Goodman’s “attitude” and said he intended to show her “how you are to conduct yourself in a courtroom.
” The teenager was visiting the 36th District Court as part of a field trip organized by the environmental charity The Greening, which also arranges activities like kayaking and bird-watching.
Chief Judge William McConico of the 36th District Court announced on Thursday that he had conducted a “swift and thorough internal investigation” into the incident. As a result, Judge King has been temporarily removed from his cases to undergo “necessary training.”
Judge McConico stated, “We sincerely hope that this incident does not undermine our longstanding relationships with local schools.”
Eva’s mother, Latoreya Hill, expressed her distress, asking, “Would you want someone to treat your child like that? To belittle her in front of everyone and make her feel worse about her situation?”
Video footage shows Judge King telling Eva, “One thing you’ll learn about my courtroom is that I’m not a toy. I am not to be played with.” He even asked other visitors to vote on whether Eva should be placed in juvenile detention before deciding to handcuff her and dress her in a jail uniform.
Judge King later explained that his actions were intended to convey the seriousness of courtroom behavior, saying, “I wanted to get through to her and show how serious this is.” He added, “I’ll do whatever needs to be done to reach these kids and make sure they don’t end up in front of me.”
In the video, Judge King told Eva, “You sleep at home in your bed, not in court.” Eva’s mother responded that her daughter did not have “her own bed that she can sleep in,” and described her efforts as a single mother trying her best.
Judge Aliyah Sabree, the court’s No. 2 leader, stated that Judge King’s actions did “not reflect the standards” of the court and that the matter would be addressed with “the utmost diligence.”
Judge King defended his actions, describing them as his own version of “Scared Straight,” despite acknowledging that there was little real possibility of him sending Eva to jail.
