from Sharelle Burt

16 August 2024

There should be limits in tough love…

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A Detroit judge who handcuffed a 15-year-old girl after she fell asleep in his courtroom during a summer field trip has been removed from office. NBC News reports.

Judge Kenneth King pointed to the minor as the nonprofit Greening of Detroit led the group through his courtroom in the 36th District Court to learn more about the legal proceedings. After the teen fell asleep, King allegedly “made an example of a 15-year-old girl in front of her peers,” according to a statement from the organization’s public relations representative, Colleen Robar. “He forced her to put on handcuffs and a prison uniform and yelled at her for falling asleep in his courtroom,” Robar said.

“Although the judge tried to teach a lesson in respect, his methods were unacceptable.”

If he was dissatisfied with the minor’s behavior, it would have been enough to simply ask him to leave, Robar continued.

In a ruling announced on August 15, Chief Judge William McConico said that following a “prompt and thorough internal investigation,” King would be relieved of his post and ordered to “complete the necessary training to address the underlying issues that contributed to this incident.”

According to WXYZ DetroitKing said it was the teenager’s posture – not her falling asleep – that prompted him to handcuff her. “It was her whole posture and her whole being that disturbed me,” King said. “This kind of thing doesn’t normally happen. But I felt compelled to do it because I didn’t like the child’s posture. I haven’t been treated with such disrespect in a long time.”

The judge said his goal was to “get through to her” and teach her how serious courtroom conduct should be. Before releasing her, King also threatened to send her to a youth detention center.

Latoreya Till, the child’s mother, said her daughter was “traumatized” and she was glad the story was making national headlines against someone in power. She explained her daughter’s sleepiness by saying that Till and her daughter cycle between getting up and staying up late.

King’s stern lessons are making waves in the legal community. Larry Dubin, a former lawyer and now a law professor at the University of Detroit Mercy, called the move inappropriate. “It was just completely inappropriate. There were so many other ways to help this young girl learn,” Dubin said.

“I have never experienced anything like what happened in the courtroom.”

King, however, stands by his decision. He describes it as his own version of the hit series “Scared Straight” and claims he just wanted to help. “I wanted it to look and feel very real to them, even though there’s probably no real chance that I’ll put them in jail,” he said.

“That was my own version of Scared Straight.”

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