Detroit judge criticized after ordering teenagers to be handcuffed on school trip

A sleepy teenage girl was handcuffed, dressed in a prison uniform and threatened with jail time during a trip to a Detroit judge's courtroom, leaving her “traumatized.”

The 16-year-old girl and her classmates went to the 36th District Court on Tuesday to learn about the legal system. But instead, she and her parents say, Judge Kenneth King used “unnecessary discipline and verbal abuse.” King, who has been a judge on the court since 2006, had called an impromptu hearing for the girl because of her “behavior” and her constant falling asleep on the drive.

“If you fall asleep in my courtroom again, I'll put you in the back,” King said. “I'm not someone to be trifled with.”