Accusing the judge of “ridiculing” her in front of her peers, a 15-year-old girl who fell asleep in a Detroit courtroom while on a field trip has filed a lawsuit against him.
Eva Goodman, 15, and her mother, Latoreya Till, are seeking more than $75,000 for the incident on August 13 in Detroit’s 36th District Court, when Judge Kenneth King “berated” the teenager for dozing off.
According to the lawsuit filed on Wednesday, King, who has been removed from the bench, then ordered the girl to be shacked and detained for hours.
James Harrington, the teen’s attorney, told the media that “He treated her like an inmate.” “He handled her like a convicted criminal.”
According to the lawsuit, “Common sense and the facts demonstrate that a grown man became rattled by a young girl that he falsely concluded to be and cast as a delinquent, who was actually a fragile teenager forced to attentively face a past trauma during an actual court proceeding that had ended, before shutting down during class.”
According to the lawsuit, King immaturely decided to teach the teen a lesson in front of her colleagues and broadcast the proceedings online out of King’s alleged anger.
The lawsuit stated that “An otherwise shy, polite, and courteous [Eva], who was not interested in the practice of law and who had had a rough night’s sleep, unintentionally expressed her disinterest in the proceedings by nodding off after being exposed to a court hearing that forced her to relive a traumatic event, causing her to shut down.”
According to the lawsuit, King then falsely identified the teen as a juvenile criminal, “publicly berated and humiliated” her, and ordered that she be handcuffed and detained for hours.
In a statement released on Wednesday by his lawyers, King, who was relieved from all judicial duties until he completes sensitivity training, refused to discuss the case in detail.
Lawyer Todd Perkins told the media, “As a friend, law school classmate, and legal representative for Judge King, I know the man, the father, the husband, the lawyer, and the judge very well.” To begin with, he believes that if any of our young people are hurting, we are all hurt. He has sought to protect, nurture, mentor, and educate them. This is what he stands by and has been his mantra.
According to his attorney, King is also “remorseful and sorry if any young person” was hurt by his actions.
Perkins stated, “He only wants the best outcome for this young person and all young people.” “She matters. They matter. They are our future.”
School officials told the media on Wednesday that King will also be denied the opportunity to teach a semester at Wayne State University this fall in addition to being temporarily removed from the courtroom. Since 2022, he has worked as a part-time faculty member and taught five courses.
