A recent field trip to the 36th District Court in Detroit took a turn when Judge Kenneth King reprimanded a 16-year-old girl for falling asleep by dressing her in jail attire and placing her in handcuffs. The incident, which has stirred significant dialogue, occurred during a visit organized by The Greening of Detroit, a nonprofit environmental group, aiming to educate students on the legal system, as reported by WXYZ.
According to the WXYZ report, King justified his actions by stating he wanted "to get through to her, show how serious this is and how you are to conduct yourself inside of a courtroom" after the teen allegedly gave him attitude for admonishing her about dozing off, this has raised concerns about the appropriateness of the judge's methods. Judge Aliyah Sabree, holding the No. 2 leadership position at the court, expressed that King's conduct "does not reflect the standards we uphold at 36th District Court", as per the Associated Press.
Compounding the event, WXYZ reported that the judge put the decision to send the teen to juvenile detention to a vote among the attending students, King admitted to the teen's unlikely chance of actual incarceration, referring to his approach as his own version of 'Scared Straight.'
The Greening of Detroit issued a statement, relayed by Chairperson Marissa Ebersole Wood, proclaiming the young lady was traumatized and criticizing King's methods as unacceptable, according to the nonprofit's account. Meanwhile, Larry Dubin, a professor at the University of Detroit Mercy Law School, said, per the Associated Press, there were "so many other ways in which to have helped that young girl learn," highlighting the extreme nature of the judge's actions during what was intended as an educational excursion.
