Teen sues Detroit judge who detained her after falling asleep during courtroom field trip

DETROIT – The teenage girl without a permanent home who was forced to don a jail uniform, wear handcuffs, and ask for mercy after falling asleep in a field trip to the courtroom is suing the Detroit judge who had her taken into custody.

Eva Goodman, 15, and her mother filed a federal lawsuit Wednesday in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan against 36th District Judge Kenneth King, who presides over the state court's criminal division. They allege he violated the teen's civil rights, arguing King acted outside the scope of his judicial authority when he detained her, yelled at her, and threatened her with jail time.

"Common sense and the facts demonstrate that a grown man became rattled by a young girl that he falsely concluded to be and cast as a delinquent, who was actually a fragile teenager forced to attentively face a past trauma during an actual prior court proceeding that had ended, before shutting down during class," the lawsuit states.

Goodman and her mother, Latoreya Till, are represented by James Harrington and Gary Felty of Fieger Law. In addition to suing King, the family is suing the private security services at the court and two unidentified court officers in King's courtroom.

"It's been pretty devastating. Eva does not want to come outside," Till said at a news conference. Her daughter was at the law firm during the event but declined to be interviewed.

"I just want Judge King to take accountability for the way that he humiliated my daughter...I feel like he owes her a public apology. Not only that, he owes her more than just a public apology."

Stories of justice and action across America. Sign up for USA TODAY's This is America newsletter.

Detroit judge temporarily removed from docket

King did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment. Last week when he spoke with the Detroit Free Press, part of the USA TODAY Network, he defended his actions but acknowledged a lawsuit could be coming. He has also reported receiving death threats.

Chief Judge William McConico temporarily removed King from the docket late last week and said he would not return until he underwent training. McConico did not say how long King would be removed from his docket, the judicial schedule courts use to determine which cases a judge will hear.

He described the training as "necessary training to address the underlying issues that contributed to this incident."

King will still receive pay during his time away from the bench. A 2023 Michigan legislative analysis said district court judges receive nearly $170,000 annually.

Wayne State University in Detroit also recently removed King from two classes he was scheduled to teach in the fall.

Video: Judge asked teen's classmates to vote on her jail time

On Aug. 13, Goodman attended King's courtroom as part of a field trip with a nonprofit group. Till said her daughter didn't know about the trip ahead of time and had never been in a courtroom before.

Goodman and her peers first watched a hearing related to a homicide charge. The lawsuit states watching the proceeding forced her to relive a traumatic event and caused her to "shut down," prompting her to sleep. Lawyers declined to provide additional details about the event.

In between hearings, King spoke with the group, according to a video of his courtroom posted to YouTube, which has since been removed. He took off his robe at one point, handing it to a young man who sat in the judge's chair while King spoke. King later noticed Goodman sleeping and yelled at her to wake up.

But after he saw her sleeping again, he had her taken away.

Goodman later told her mother that the staff asked her to disrobe and put on jail garb. The teen took off her hoodie but refused to remove other garments, according to the lawsuit. Once she had on the green jail jumpsuit, she was placed in an isolated holding cell and handcuffed. Goodman told her mother there was a camera in the room and she was alone.

About two hours after she was taken away, King had Goodman brought back to court. The video then shows him standing, yelling at her about being disrespectful, and asking her if she wants to go to jail. A defense lawyer King asked to stay to represent Goodman said the teen was tired and did not understand the seriousness of the situation.

Till later told the Free Press her daughter was tired because the family does not have a permanent place to stay and did not make it to bed until late the night before Goodman went to King's courtroom. King later asked Goodman's peers by a show of hands to indicate whether he should let her go or send her to jail.

Amid nervous laughter, most agreed he should show leniency, according to the video.

Lawsuit alleges constitutional violations

The lawsuit lists a litany of alleged violations of constitutional rights. That includes unreasonable search and seizures, being detained without due process, being compelled to provide evidence against herself, not getting the chance to hire a lawyer of her choosing, and protection from "unusual punishment."

Harrington and Felty argue that King had no authority to hold Goodman, and noted she was never charged with a crime. Even if he attempted to charge her with contempt of court, the lawsuit states King overstepped his authority by ignoring rules dictating when and how a judge can use contempt powers.

Notably, the lawsuit points out King was not in the middle of any court hearing when he had Goodman detained. King previously told the Free Press court is in session any time he is in his courtroom. "(King) was acting as teacher, not judge when (Goodman) nodded off, and Court was not in session because there was no proceeding pending," the lawsuit states.

Generally, judges have immunity that protects them from lawsuits directly stemming from their actions on the bench. But Harrington argues King's conduct occurred outside his purview as a judge.

"I can tell you with 100% certainty that there is zero immunity for what happened in the courtroom on this day," Harrington said. "Eva wasn't a litigant. She wasn't a party. She wasn't a witness, she wasn't a lawyer, she wasn't a court officer. She was there on a field trip."

The same principle applies to the court officers named in the lawsuit. Harrington and Felty claim they acted inappropriately by complying with extra-judicial orders.

The lawsuit also states King inappropriately forced Goodman to reveal her name, age, and other personal information during a proceeding broadcast online.

The lawsuit seeks more than $75,000 on each of the eight alleged violations.

Reach Dave Boucher at dboucher@freepress.com and on X @Dave_Boucher1.