Detroit judge Kenneth King is being sued by a teenager detained in his courtroom
Detroit judge handcuffs teenager who fell asleep during courtroom excursion
The teenager was on an outing with the environmental nonprofit Greening of Detroit when Judge Kenneth King expressed his displeasure that she had fallen asleep twice in his courtroom.
Fox – 2 Detroit
The homeless teenager who was forced to put on prison garb, handcuff her and beg for mercy after falling asleep in the courtroom is suing the Detroit judge who ordered her detained.
Eva Goodman, 15, and her mother filed a lawsuit against 36th Circuit Judge Kenneth King in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan on Wednesday, claiming he violated the teens’ civil rights and that King acted outside of his judicial authority when he restrained her, yelled at her and threatened her with jail time.
“Common sense and the facts demonstrate that an adult man was unsettled by a young girl whom he falsely believed and labeled as a delinquent. In fact, however, the young woman was a fragile teenager who had to deal with past trauma during a previous actual court case that had concluded before shutting herself off during class,” the lawsuit states.
Goodman and her mother, Latoreya Till, are represented by James Harrington and Gary Felty of Fieger Law. The family is suing not only King, but also the court’s private security services and two unidentified court officials who appeared in King’s courtroom that day.
“It was pretty devastating. Eva doesn’t want to come out,” Till said at the press conference. Her daughter was at the law firm during the event but declined an interview.
“I just want Judge King to take responsibility for the way he humiliated my daughter… I think he owes her a public apology. And not only that, he owes her more than just a public apology.”
King did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment. Speaking to the Free Press last week, he defended his actions but acknowledged that a lawsuit could be imminent. He also reported receiving death threats.
36th District Court Judge William McConico removed King from his position late last week, saying King would not return until after training. King will continue to be paid during his absence. A 2023 analysis of Michigan legislation says district judges receive just under $170,000 a year.
Wayne State University also recently suspended King from two courses he was scheduled to teach in the fall.
On August 13, Goodman visited the King courtroom as part of a field trip with a nonprofit organization. Till said her daughter had no prior knowledge of the field trip and had never been in a courtroom before. Goodman and her classmates initially watched a hearing related to a murder charge. The lawsuit says watching the hearing forced the 15-year-old to relive a traumatic event and caused her to “shut down,” which triggered sleep. Attorneys declined to provide further details about the event.
Between hearings, King spoke to the group, according to a video of his courtroom posted on YouTube. At one point, he took off his robe and handed it to a young man who was also sitting on the bench as King spoke. Eventually, King noticed that Goodman was asleep and yelled at her to wake up. But when he saw that she was asleep again, he had her taken away.
Goodman later told her mother that staff had asked her to undress and put on prison clothes. According to the lawsuit, the teen took off her hoodie but refused to remove any other clothing. After putting on the green prison jumpsuit, she was placed in a solitary cell and handcuffed. Goodman told her mother that there was a camera in the room, but otherwise she was alone.
About two hours after she was taken away, King had Goodman brought back to court. A video shows him standing up, yelling at her that she was disrespectful, and then asking her if she wanted to go to jail. A defense attorney whom King asked to stay to represent Goodman said the teenager was tired and did not understand the seriousness of the situation.
Till later told the Free Press that her daughter was tired because the family had no permanent home and did not get to bed until late at night before Goodman went to King’s courtroom.
Eventually, King asked Goodman’s colleagues by a show of hands whether he should release them or send them to jail. Amid nervous laughter, most agreed that he should show leniency, according to the video, which has since been removed from YouTube.
The lawsuit lists a litany of alleged violations of constitutional rights, including unreasonable searches and seizures, detention without due process, coercion to produce evidence against themselves, inability to hire an attorney of their choice, and protection from “unusual punishment.”
Harrington and Felty argue that King had no authority to detain Goodman, pointing out that she was never charged with a crime. Even if he did try to charge her with contempt of court, the lawsuit says, King exceeded his authority by ignoring the rules that dictate when and how a judge can use his powers in contempt of court.
In particular, the suit points out that King was not in the middle of a court hearing when he had Goodman arrested. King had previously told the Free Press that the court was in session any time he was in his courtroom; Harrington and Felty disagree.
“(King) was serving as a teacher, not a judge, when (Goodman) nodded off, and the court was not in session because no case was pending,” the lawsuit states.
More: Wayne State University terminates teaching assignment for Detroit judge who arrested sleepy teenager
Generally speaking, judges enjoy immunity from lawsuits that arise directly from their actions as judges. However, Harrington argues that King’s conduct occurred outside his jurisdiction as a judge.
“I can tell you with 100 percent certainty that there is no immunity whatsoever for what happened in the courtroom that day,” Harrington said.
“Eva was not a participant in the trial. She was not a party. She was not a witness, she was not a lawyer, she was not a court official. She was there on a field trip.”
The same principle applies to the court officials named in the lawsuit. Harrington and Felty argue that they acted improperly by complying with extrajudicial orders.
More: Detroit’s chief judge hopes another judge’s handcuffing of a sleepy teenager will not undermine the court
The lawsuit also alleges that King improperly coerced Goodman into revealing her name, age and other personal information during an online broadcast of a proceeding.
The lawsuit does not seek a specific dollar amount, but rather seeks an amount in excess of $75,000 for each of the eight alleged violations.
Reach Dave Boucher at [email protected] and on X, formerly Twitter, @Dave_Boucher1.
