A Detroit nonprofit's field trip to the 36th District Court took a shocking turn when a judge put a sleepy 16-year-old girl in handcuffs and a jail uniform.
The students were part of a three-week program with The Greening of Detroit, which included outdoor activities like kayaking and birdwatching.
The court visit was intended as a learning experience, but it became a traumatic event for one young girl. While addressing a group of students during a trial, Judge Kenneth King noticed the teen dozing off.
'You fall asleep in my courtroom one more time, I'm gonna put you in back understood,' the Judge addressed the girl in the courtroom.
Instead of a gentle reminder, he threatened to put her in a holding cell.
A Detroit nonprofit's field trip to the 36th District Court took a shocking turn when Judge Kenneth King (pictured) put a sleepy 16-year-old girl in handcuffs and a jail uniform
The students were part of a three-week program with The Greening of Detroit, which included outdoor activities like kayaking and birdwatching
When she allegedly gave the judge 'attitude' and showed signs of disengagement, the judge held to his word.
'It wasn't so much, in fact, that she had fallen asleep because I have attorneys that fall asleep sometimes, so that's not too big of a deal. It was her whole attitude and her whole disposition that disturbed me,' King told7 News Detroit. 'I wanted to get through to her, show how serious this is and how you are to conduct yourself inside of a courtroom.'
'That's not something that normally happens. But I felt compelled to do it because I didn't like the child's attitude,' King said. 'I haven't been disrespected like that in a very long time.'
The girl was ordered to wear a jail uniform and sit in a lockup area, exposed to other detainees.
King justified his actions, claiming it was necessary to teach the girl a lesson about respect.
He even threatened to send her to juvenile detention, painting a graphic picture of the facility's conditions.
'The thing about the juvenile detention facility is a lot of the people that are there are not just bad kids. You have a lot of mentally ill kids there. The last time I was there, I had a kid who was actually sticking a spoon up their rectum and spreading feces on the wall,' he said to the young girl in the courtroom.
King held a vote among the students for whether or not she should be sent to the detention facility, but ended up letting her go.
'Was I really going to do that? Probably not. Could I have? Probably so. But that's not what I want to do to a kid who's there on a field trip,' King said. 'Do I think I was heavy handed in what I did? No, I don't. Because I'll do whatever it needs to be done to reach these kids and make sure that they don't end up in front of me.'
The judge's behavior has sparked outrage and raised concerns about appropriate disciplinary measures. Legal experts criticized his actions as excessive and counterproductive.
Larry Dubin, a former attorney with a background in legal ethics, said the judge's actions were 'just totally inappropriate.'
'There were so many other ways in which to have helped that young girl learn,' Dubin said. 'I have never seen anything quite like what I saw that took place in the courtroom.'
The court visit had been intended as a learning experience but the dozing teenager may have taken more away from the experience than she expected
The girl was ordered to wear a jail uniform and sit in a lockup area, exposed to other detainees
Veronica Valentine McNally, director of Trial Advocacy at Michigan State University's College of Law, emphasized the importance of courtroom experiences for young people.
'It can be beneficial for students to learn proper courtroom etiquette and to understand the importance of courtroom proceedings, which helps them appreciate the seriousness of the environment while gaining valuable insights,' she said.
The nonprofit has expressed deep concern for the student's well-being, stating that she was traumatized by the experience.
Despite the backlash, Judge King maintains that his actions were intended to be a deterrent and that he would not hesitate to use similar tactics in the future.
'I wanted this to look and feel very real to her, even though there's probably no real chance of me putting her in jail,' he said. 'That was my own version of Scared Straight.'
