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Sleeping teenager handcuffed by Detroit judge has every reason to be angry

I was told that ego stands for “getting God out of the way.” The video of a Detroit judge's inhumane treatment of a young girl who dozed off in his courtroom during a field trip to court is a confirmation of this truth.

Judge Kenneth King, the presiding judge of the criminal division of Michigan's 36th District Court, yelled at a 15-year-old student who was visiting his courtroom with a nonprofit group, then sent her to the court's jail cell, where she had to strip naked, put on a prison jumpsuit, and sit alone. As if that wasn't overly punitive enough, King continued the teen's humiliation by ordering her back to the courtroom in handcuffs. He made her beg for leniency. He let her classmates, some of whom couldn't suppress their laughter, vote on her fate.

King continued to humiliate the teenager by ordering her back to the courtroom in handcuffs.

King, who has since been removed from his roster and ordered to undergo mandatory training, defended his actions when it became known what he had done to the girl. “This kind of thing doesn't normally happen,” he told Detroit television station WXYZ-TV. “But I felt compelled to do it because I didn't like the child's attitude.” He called his actions “my own version of 'Scared Straight,'” and told the television station, “I haven't been treated with such disrespect in a long time.”

But the most blatant disrespect that day came from the judge himself. He was disrespectful not only to the teenager standing before him, but to the justice system. In fact, as a legal professional, retired lawyer, mother and human being, what the judge did to this young person – which would have been inappropriate even if she had been a defendant and not just a student on a summer field trip – made me angry.

Last week, the teenager's family sued King, accusing him of violating their civil rights. “This is a very disturbing case,” said one of the family's lawyers. “A member of our court has vilified, humiliated, intimidated and essentially imprisoned a 15-year-old child.”

This lawyer is right. It is disturbing. Visiting a courtroom should have made this young black woman want to become, say, a Supreme Court justice like Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson. Instead, because of King, she had a devastating encounter with a judge who wrongfully flaunted his authority, which will only increase her distrust and the public's distrust of our justice system.

True authorities don't try too hard. People who know their authority know they don't have to speak harshly to gain respect. Authority is conveyed through professionalism and fairness. Unfortunately, the judge in this case was more interested in asserting his dominance over this young person than in creating an atmosphere of learning, understanding and respect in his courtroom.

The judge was more concerned with asserting his dominance over the young person than with promoting an environment of learning, understanding and respect.

The judge would not look good if he sent her to prison just because she fell asleep, but when details of her circumstances came to light, he looked even worse.

Latoreya Till, the teen's mother, told NBC News that they had no permanent place to stay and arrived late at the home where they were staying the night before the teen's outing. In an interview with WXYZ-TV, she said, “The fact that he said, 'Go home and get in your bed,' how do you know my baby has a home? How do you know my baby has a bed, her own bed to sleep in? She doesn't have that right now, so she was tired.”

People often fall asleep in the courtroom because they are taking medication, have an illness, the temperature in the courtroom is too high, or because they do not understand the court proceedings. His ego led him to believe that she fell asleep to disrespect him.

I know being a judge is tough. I served nearly 10 years in the Municipal Court of Newark, New Jersey. When I took my oath of office, I pledged to treat every person who enters my courtroom with dignity, respect, and fairness. This commitment is fundamental to the justice system's mission of ensuring justice for all.

This belief is based on a concept known as procedural justice or procedural fairness. Simply put, when people believe that the justice system will treat them with dignity, respect, and fairness, the outcomes are overwhelmingly positive. Compliance with court orders increases. The public has greater trust in the justice system. And crime goes down.

The principles of procedural fairness require judges, lawyers and other actors in the justice system to ensure that people are given a voice, that they understand the process and that they are treated neutrally and respectfully. Crucially and somewhat counterintuitively, this is as important as whether someone wins or loses in court. In other words, if a person feels they have been treated decently, they are usually willing to accept the outcome of the case, even if it goes against them.

What King did violates every principle of procedural fairness.

What King did violates every principle of procedural fairness. Fortunately, few judges behave this way. Nevertheless, it should serve as a stark reminder to those in authority of the dangers of selfishness. King had a duty to remember that he wore a robe, not a crown.

The judge's behavior didn't just harm one student; it harmed everyone in the courtroom that day by negatively affecting their perception of the legal system (or confirming their pre-existing negative views). Courtroom observers should leave the courtroom with more respect for the legal proceedings. That was clearly not the case for those in King's courtroom that day.

A judge's authority is not a weapon to be used against the weak. A judge's authority must serve to protect, promote and embody the principles of procedural justice. As the teen's mother put it, he should “show love and compassion and enforce the law, and he did none of those things.”

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