Detroit judge forced to take a break after making sleepy teenager wear prison clothes on court field trip

DETROIT – A Detroit judge who ordered a teenager to put on prison garb and handcuffs for a trip to his courtroom will no longer serve as a judge for the duration of “necessary training,” the court's chief judge said Thursday.

Meanwhile, the girl's mother said Judge Kenneth King was a “great bully.”

“My daughter is hurt. She is scared,” Latoreya Till told the Detroit Free Press.

She identified her daughter as Eva Goodman. The 15-year-old fell asleep in King's Court on Tuesday while on a visit organized by a Detroit nonprofit organization.

King didn't like that. But he said it was her attitude that led to the prison garb, the handcuffs and the stern words.

“I wanted it to look and feel very real to them, even though there's probably no real chance I'm going to put them in jail,” he told WXYZ-TV.

King has been temporarily removed from the criminal docket and will “complete the necessary training to address the underlying issues that led to this incident,” said William McConico, presiding judge of the 36th District Court.

The court “remains firmly committed to providing access to justice in an environment free from intimidation or disrespect. Judge King's actions on August 13 do not reflect that commitment,” McConico said.

He said the state court's administrative office approved the move. King will continue to be paid. Details of the training and how long it would last were not disclosed.

King, who has been a judge since 2006, did not immediately respond to a phone request for comment. He made a heart shape with his hands at the end of his hearings Thursday, which can be viewed on YouTube. One of the judge's duties is to decide whether there is enough evidence to move criminal cases to Wayne County District Court.

Till said her daughter was sleepy during the court appearance on Tuesday because the family has no permanent residence.

“And so we got home pretty late that night,” she told the Free Press, referring to Monday night. “And usually when she goes to work, she's up planting trees or being active.”

The teenager toured King's Court as part of a visit organized by environmental group The Greening of Detroit.

“Although the judge was trying to teach a lesson in respect, his methods were unacceptable,” said Marissa Ebersole Wood, the group's chairwoman. “The group of students should have simply been asked to leave the courtroom if he found them disrespectful.”