36th District Court Judge Kenneth King should have known better than to abuse his authority by turning his courtroom into a reality television show.
There’s nothing amusing about the consequences of jailing Black folks, even if you’re upset over a 15-year-old’s attitude.
Apparently, King — a judge who seems to participate in a fan group with more than 700 members dedicated to him on Facebook — thought that the threat of jail was an appropriate punishment in “contempt of court” for student Eva Goodman, who fell asleep during a field trip to his courtroom.
It’s bad enough that young Black folks nationally are disproportionately jailed. Now Detroit has a judge who threatened a teen with jail time for falling asleep.
King decided to make an example of the young lady, first by yelling “wake up,” and then by sending her out of the courtroom with jail staff for about two hours, making her wear a jail uniform with “Wayne County Jail” on the back, putting her in handcuffs and holding an impromptu “hearing” before her peers — all available live online to anyone logged into King’s courtroom.
I’m sure that’s not what the Greening of Detroit expected when they set up the field trip to King’s courtroom.
And now we wonder why Black teenagers — and their older peers — don’t trust the court system to deliver justice. We wonder why so many don’t believe law enforcement will deal fairly with them, and why they run from police.
The Black Lives Matter movement is not only about abuse during arrests, but extends to justice in courtrooms throughout America, both the punishment of criminal cops and justice for those unfairly imprisoned alike.
And I’m sure that many Black folks, watching this kangaroo court on YouTube, couldn’t have faith in our justice system.
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There's no justice here
The YouTube video has been taken down, but I watched portions of the incident on Instagram .
King’s actions are hideous.
“You fall asleep in my courtroom one more time, I’m putting you in the back instead,” King says. “You sleep at home, in your bed, not in court, and quite frankly, I don't like your attitude. How old are you? You old enough to know better?”
Later, King attempts to “teach” the young people about juvenile court through the 15-year-old girl, who apologized, by holding a mock trial. Her “attorney” explained the girl didn’t sleep well the night before.
“I'm tempted to give her some days in jail as a lesson. I’m thinking maybe she needs to go to the juvenile detention facility,” King says. “You do understand that we have a jail for kids. (It’s) not a very pleasant place to be. You guys enjoy your freedom, don't you? You don't have any freedom there. I have no problem (sending you there) because I'm going to go to sleep tonight.”
How can people expect fair and equitable justice in King’s courtroom after seeing this heavy-handed behavior with a teenager?
Policing teenage behavior
For his part, King told the Free Press Wednesday , the incident is being blown out of proportion and, he insists, he was simply trying to teach a lesson of respect.
"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 told a Free Press reporter. “I wanted to instill in this kid that this is not a joke, this is a very serious situation."
Yet King, a 1988 graduate of Southwestern High School, should have some compassion for what young Detroiters go through. King made it through the tough crime and drug-filled ‘80s that included the BMF gang, now recreated in a Starz series.
Instead, his actions reinforced the pipeline to prison culture that community activists are continually fighting against. That culture includes everything from metal detectors and uniforms in public schools to forcing young people to cut their hair because it’s too long, or suggesting that wearing a hoodie or engaging in other normal teen activities are inherently suspicious and must be policed.
That’s normal teenage behavior. I could not imagine my reaction if my teenagers had been put in jail uniforms and cuffs for falling asleep on a field trip.
Falling asleep on a field trip is not acceptable, yet the punishment doesn’t fit the crime, particularly when the judge doesn’t know what’s going on in her home or her life.
And now it turns out that the 15-year-old girl is homeless, the Free Press reported Thursday . Eva Goodman's mother, Latoreya Till, told a reporter that the family does not have a permanent residence.
“We have to bounce around currently because we don't have a permanent address,” Till told the Free Press. “And so, that particular night, we got in kind of late. And usually, when she goes to work, she's up and planting trees or being active."
That’s exactly why people should not cast judgment before making an assumption that Eva was an unruly child. Using his platform as a judge, King could have helped a Detroit family. Instead, he embarrassed Eva more.
Homelessness is not a crime.
King’s bio at the Wayne State University Law School says he enjoys mentoring “children and young adults,” and was involved in Big Brothers Big Sisters. His recent actions will now make people question his mentoring and how he deals with young people.
It’s bad enough King seems to participate in the “King’s Corner” private Facebook group. It calls into question his motives in this incident.
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He should have cared
King told the girl that she was old enough to know better, and that he didn’t like her attitude.
"What is your problem?” he said. “She just don't give a care.”
But King should have cared. Statistics show one in five Black men born in 2001 are likely to experience imprisonment in their lifetime. That’s four times than their white counterparts. The rate of imprisonment of Black women was 1.6 times the rate of white women.
Now we’re left with a girl who’s traumatized by King’s unwarranted disciplinary actions, and a possible lawsuit.
All of this to prove a point: That you’re in charge.
The only lesson her peers learned that day is that a judge can bully a young lady and put her in handcuffs.
At least in my eyes, King is guilty as charged: Of turning a 15-year-old girl into a spectacle, showing how not to run a courtroom — and of further eroding our community’s faith in a system he ought to be upholding.
Editor's note: This column has been updated to reflect new reporting about teenager Eva Goodman's residency.
Darren A. Nichols is a contributing columnist at the Free Press. He can be reached at darren@dnick-media.com or his X (formerly Twitter) handle @dnick12. Submit a letter to the editor at freep.com/letters .
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit judge who threatened sleepy teen with jail sends message to Black community
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