A federal appeals court has rejected Detroit Judge Kenneth King's bid to escape a civil rights lawsuit over an August 2024 incident in which he had a teenage girl handcuffed, dressed in jail clothing, and subjected to a mock trial after she fell asleep in his courtroom gallery. The ruling means Eva Goodman and her mother, Latoreya Till, can move forward with a case seeking to hold King personally accountable for what their attorneys describe as gross misconduct against a minor who was not even a party to any case before him.
Appeals Court Rejects Immunity Claim
A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit ruled that King's actions during the encounter may not be protected by judicial immunity, the legal doctrine that generally shields judges from most legal challenges over official-capacity actions, according to the Detroit Free Press. Circuit Judge Ronald Lee Gilman, who wrote the appellate opinion, stated that not all actions taken by a judge in his courtroom are protected by judicial immunity. The panel pointed to the absence of a case number, file, or standard court document tied to the incident, which suggested King's actions were nonjudicial rather than an exercise of his official duties.
The appellate decision affirms an earlier ruling from the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan, which found in May 2025 that detaining and mocking a spectator without a docketed case fell outside protected judicial conduct, according to a summary of the ruling published by FindLaw. The Sixth Circuit's opinion itself is not a final decision in the underlying case, but it clears the way for the lawsuit to proceed into discovery, a process that includes collecting additional evidence and could require King to sit for a deposition, per the Free Press.
What Happened During the Field Trip
Goodman, then 15, was attending a civics field trip hosted by the nonprofit environmental group The Greening of Detroit when she fell asleep in the gallery of King's courtroom in Detroit. Court filings described that she had been watching a live homicide preliminary examination, which forced her to relive a past personal trauma, and her family has said she was also exhausted at the time because they were experiencing housing instability and lacked a permanent address, circumstances reported by the Guardian.
According to the lawsuit, King had a bailiff remove Goodman from the courtroom, and she was handcuffed and required to remain in a room typically used for people accused of crimes before being forced to wear jail clothing. King then brought her back into the courtroom, where he had a criminal defense lawyer represent her in a faux hearing and asked the other teens in attendance to raise their hands if she should go to jail. He also threatened her with jail before ultimately releasing her, per the underlying claims in the case. King has said he was trying to deter rather than punish Goodman. The encounter was captured on King's YouTube livestream, since he regularly streamed his court proceedings online.
Lawsuit Seeks Accountability From Judge and Court Officers
The federal lawsuit, filed by attorney James Harrington of Fieger Law on behalf of Goodman and Till, names King along with private court security contractor Universal Protection Services and individual court officers, seeking more than $75,000 in damages for false arrest, unlawful detention, and intentional infliction of emotional distress. Harrington has said King acted outside the bounds of judicial functions to embarrass and scare Goodman, and he told the Free Press he is preparing for a trial that could potentially occur in early 2027. Todd Perkins, who represents King, did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the appellate ruling, and King's lawyer has Harrington's phone number should he wish to discuss the case, the Free Press reported.
King could still appeal the appellate decision to the U.S. Supreme Court. Marissa Ebersole Wood, board chairperson of The Greening of Detroit, publicly condemned King's actions as unacceptable in the aftermath of the incident, saying that if students were perceived as disrespectful, court staff should have simply asked them to leave, a statement carried by WXYZ-TV.
Judge Already Demoted, Now Faces State Discipline
King, a 36th District Court judge, was temporarily removed from the bench by Chief Judge William McConico following the incident, and required to undergo social-emotional training. He was later shifted from hearing early stages of high-profile felony cases and assigned to traffic court, where he now handles matters like speeding tickets rather than major preliminary examinations.
Separately, the Michigan Judicial Tenure Commission confirmed in November 2025 that it was investigating King's actions involving Goodman, and it has accused him of violating multiple judicial canons and rules, including failing to treat her with respect. That disciplinary case has a public hearing set for September, and the Michigan Supreme Court could ultimately impose sanctions up to ouster from King's judicial role, according to Michigan Public.
The 36th District Court, where King has served, is the largest and busiest limited-jurisdiction court in Michigan, staffed by nearly 30 judges who together handle roughly 500,000 cases a year, ranging from misdemeanors and traffic offenses to felony preliminary hearings. Hoodline previously reported on the initial 2024 courtroom incident and the family's decision to file suit against King.
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