Judge in Detroit harassed teenager in courtroom and made her a spectacle

Darren A. Nichols

36th District Court Judge Kenneth King should have known better than to abuse his authority by turning his courtroom into a reality TV show.

The consequences of incarcerating black people are not exactly funny, even if you are upset about the attitude of a 16-year-old.

Apparently, King – a judge who apparently belongs to a fan group dedicated to him with over 700 members on Facebook – felt that the threat of prison was an appropriate punishment for “contempt of court” for a 16-year-old student who fell asleep during a field trip to his courtroom.

It's bad enough that a disproportionate number of young black people are incarcerated across the country. And now a judge in Detroit threatened a teenager with prison time for falling asleep.

King decided to make an example of the young lady. First he yelled at her to “Wake up!”, then he and jail staff sent her out of the courtroom for about two hours. He forced her to wear a prison uniform with “Wayne County Jail” written on the back, handcuffed her, and held an impromptu “hearing” in front of her fellow inmates. All of this was available live online to anyone logged into King's courtroom.

I'm sure the Greening of Detroit didn't expect this when they planned the field trip to King's courtroom.

And now we wonder why black teenagers – and their older peers – don't trust the justice system to deliver justice. We wonder why so many don't believe law enforcement will treat them fairly, and why they run from the police.

The Black Lives Matter movement is not just about abuse during arrests, but also about justice in courtrooms across America. This includes both punishment for criminal police officers and justice for those wrongfully imprisoned.

And I'm sure that many black people watching this mock trial on YouTube have no faith in our legal system.

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There is no justice here

The YouTube video was removed, but I saw parts of the incident on Instagram.

King's actions are heinous.

“If you fall asleep in my courtroom one more time, I'll put you in the back instead,” King says. “You sleep at home, in your bed, not in the courtroom, and quite frankly, I don't like your attitude. How old are you? Are you old enough to know better?”

Later, King tries to teach the teens about juvenile court by holding a mock trial through the 16-year-old girl, who apologized. Her “lawyer” explained that the girl had not slept well the night before.

“I'm tempted to give her a few days in jail as a lesson. I think maybe she should go to juvenile hall,” King said. “They understand that we have a prison for children. (It's) not a very pleasant place. You enjoy your freedom, don't you? You don't have any freedom there. I have no problem sending you there because I'm going to sleep tonight.”

How can the people in the courtroom of King's Court expect fair and just justice after witnessing this brutal treatment of a teenager?

Monitoring the behavior of teenagers

King himself told the Free Press on Wednesday that the incident was being blown out of proportion and insisted he was simply trying to teach a lesson in respect.

“I didn't want to punish the young lady. I wanted to deter her,” King told a Free Press reporter. “I wanted to make it clear to this boy that this is not a joke, this is a very serious situation.”

But King, who graduated from Southwestern High School in 1988, should have some sympathy for what young Detroiters are going through. King survived the tough '80s with its crime and drugs, which included the BMF gang, now being remade in a Starz series.

Instead, his actions reinforced the prison culture that community activists are constantly fighting against. That culture includes everything from metal detectors and uniforms in public schools to forcing young people to cut their hair because it's too long or suggesting that wearing a hoodie or other normal teenage activities are inherently suspicious and need to be monitored.

It is not acceptable to fall asleep during an outing. Nevertheless, the punishment is not appropriate for the crime, especially if the judge does not know what is going on at home or in their private life.

And although it's disrespectful, it's normal teenage behavior.

I can't imagine my reaction if my teenagers were put in prison uniforms and handcuffs for falling asleep on an outing.

King's biography at Wayne State University Law School says he enjoyed mentoring “children and young adults” and was active in Big Brothers Big Sisters. His recent actions will now cause people to question his mentoring and interactions with young people.

It's bad enough that King appears to participate in the private Facebook group “King's Corner.” It raises questions about his motives for this incident.

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He should have taken care of it

King told the girl that she was old enough to know better and that he didn't like her attitude.

“What's your problem?” he said. “She just doesn't care.”

But King should have been concerned. Statistics show that one in five black men born in 2001 will likely end up in prison during his lifetime. That's four times the rate for white men. The incarceration rate for black women was 1.6 times higher than for white women.

Now we are left with a girl traumatized by King's unjustified disciplinary actions and a possible lawsuit.

And all of this to prove one thing: you are in charge.

The only lesson her classmates learned that day was that a judge can intimidate a young woman and put handcuffs on her.

Judge in Detroit harassed teenager in courtroom and made her a spectacle

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