by
Judge Kenneth King
The teen who fell asleep in court on Aug. 13 is suing the Detroit judge who had her handcuffed and put in jail garb as punishment.
The federal lawsuit filed Wednesday alleges that Detroit 36th District Court Judge Kenneth King "publicly berated and humiliated" Eva Goodman, 15, after she twice fell asleep. The suit asks for monetary compensation of more than $75,000 for severe emotional pain and suffering.
The suit, which names Goodman and her mother as plaintiffs, was filed by the Southfield law firm of Fieger, Fieger, Kenney and Harrington. It alleges that King made a spetacle of the teen on a live YouTube stream. The teen, who does not have a permanent home, is named as ELG in the suit.
King has subsequently been removed from the court docket while he undergoes training. Wayne State University has removed him from teaching as an adjunct. King deferred comment to his lawyer Todd Perkins, who did not immediately respond to a call from Deadline Detroit.
Perkins told WXYZ that the public has some misconceptions about who he is, however, right now their focus is on reminding the teen that she matters.
"There’s never been any intention to hurt anyone to embarrass anyone to put them in the cross hairs of harm," said Perkins. "Let’s move away from Judge King and let’s concern ourselves with this young person who has announced that they’re hurting. Let’s fix that. Judge King will be okay. He’s going to be okay because he’s done too much for his community, for this community to not embrace him afterward."
Goodman was part of a vocational program run by the nonprofit, Greening of Detroit. The mission: To plant foilage in the city and learn to succeed in the workforce.
The group took a field trip that day to court for those interested in being a lawyer, the suit said. It noted that Goodman had no interest in being a lawyer, but rather wanted to be a cardio-thoracic surgeon.
The group briefly watched a homicide proceeding in court. Subsequently, Judge King gave a lecture. Though the court was no longer in session, the lecture was aired on the court's YouTube channel for the public to view and comment.
"An otherwise shy, polite and courteous Ms. ELG, 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," the suit said.
The judge publicly berated her for nodding off and "falsely" accused her of being a juvenile deliquent, the suit said.
The teen subsequently apologized but fell asleep again.
The judge had her taken to a detention cell.
"Judge King decided to enact his own version of the reality show 'Scared Straight,' by ridiculing Ms. ELG in front of her peers and the defendant’s online followers," the suit states. "He made Ms. ELG an unwitting actor in his improv version of 'The Star Chamber.' He berated the minor on a live platform, ordered her jailed, caused her to be handcuffed, demanded that she take off her clothes and change into jail garb, imprisoned her for hours, and then conducted a fake trial with her classmates (and possibly his internet followers) as her jurors and his audience."
King then conducted a mock trial, and assigned an attorney to represent her.
The suit alleged that the judge coerced "the minor" into giving her name and other personal information on the live YouTube stream.
"Judge King then threatened to send Ms. ELG to 'juvey,' with vulgar stories of beatings and feces at the county’s juvenile detention center, falsely casting her as a dishonest, disrespectful delinquent."
Instead of apologizing, the suit said, the judge doubled down and told reporters that the teen had a bad attitude, was disrespectful and required his mentorship.
The suit argues that the judge does not have immunity under the circumstances.
"Therefore, defendant Judge King is liable for his actions in creating a publicly broadcast fake trial of a minor where he acted as producer, broadcaster, complaining witness, arresting officer, finder of fact, judge, and disciplinarian."
