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Detroit Judge Handcuffs Teen for Sleeping During Court Field Trip

The teen girl was sleepy because she had no permanent place to stay. The Detroit judge who caught her nodding off in his courtroom wanted to send a message. Days after having the teen wear jail garb and handcuffs while threatening jail time, Judge Kenneth King is receiving death threats and was temporarily removed from his docket. Chief Judge William McConico announced King's temporary removal as well as required training, reports the Detroit Free Press. Eva Goodman, 15, works with The Greening of Detroit, a nonprofit that aims to improve the city's "green infrastructure." On Tuesday, Goodman and others from the project visited King's courtroom to watch proceedings and learn from the judge. While speaking to the teens, King noticed Goodman sleeping on two separate occasions, ordering her taken into custody.


Latoreya Till said her daughter acknowledged sleeping but did not understand the gravity of the situation. She has never been in a courtroom before, and never been in trouble before, Till said. After court staff led Goodman out of the room, they told her to undress and put on a green jail jumpsuit. Till said her daughter refused to take off certain clothing items but was allowed to change in an empty room. While there was no staff present, Till said her daughter believes there was a security camera. After she changed, Goodman remained out of King's courtroom for two hours before he brought her back. Ultimately, King allowed Goodman to leave, but not before asking her peers for a show of hands to decide whether she needed to spend time in jail. King said he thought he acted appropriately. "I wasn't trying to punish the young lady. What I was trying to do was, I was trying to serve as a deterrence," King said. "I wanted to instill in this kid that this is not a joke, this is a very serious situation."

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