Judge Who Had Sleepy Teen Handcuffed Is Suspended

On Tuesday, a story emerged out of Detroit about a 15-year-old girl who was visiting a courtroom on a field trip but ended up in handcuffs because she fell asleep. Now, the teen's mother is not only condemning the judge's actions but adding some sobering context about why her daughter was so tired—the family doesn't have a home. The judge, meanwhile, has been temporarily removed from the bench. Coverage:

• "We have to bounce around currently because we don't have a permanent address," Latoreya Till tells the Detroit Free Press. "And so, that particular night, we got in kind of late." She identified her daughter as Eva Goodman.
• The teen works during the summer with the nonprofit Greening Project, "and usually, when she goes to work, she's up and planting trees or being active," says Till. But the late night caught up with her while she was sitting in the courtroom, she adds.

• His defense: Judge Kenneth King initially defended his decision to punish the teen—he had her removed from the courtroom and forced to don a prison uniform as well—as "my own version of Scared Straight." King told media outlets he felt the girl was being disrespectful and wanted to teach her a lesson. But "would you want someone to treat your child like that?" Till asks WXYZ. "Would you even treat your child like that?"
• Punishment: On Thursday, King was temporarily removed from the bench and ordered to undergo unspecified training, reports the AP. The 36th District Court on which he serves "remains deeply committed to providing access to justice in an environment free from intimidation or disrespect," said chief judge William McConico. "The actions of Judge King on August 13th do not reflect this commitment." Earlier, another judge on the court said much the same. His behavior "does not reflect the standards we uphold," said Judge Aliyah Sabree, per the New York Times. "I am committed to addressing this matter with the utmost diligence."
• Scathing view: "King's actions are hideous," writes Darren A. Nichols in a Free Press column. "(W)e 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."

(This story was updated with details of King's temporary removal from the bench.)