The teen girl was sleepy because she had no permanent spot to stay. But the Detroit judge who caught her nodding off in his courtroom wanted to send a message.

Days after having the teen don jail garb and handcuffs while threatening jail time, 36th District Court Judge Kenneth King is receiving death threats and was temporarily removed from his docket. The girl is traumatized and afraid. Her family hired a lawyer.

It’s a situation antithetical to “the people’s court” atmosphere that one of Detroit’s busiest courts aims to provide, acknowledged Chief Judge William McConico. He also announced King’s temporary removal from the docket and required training.

“We sincerely hope that this incident does not undermine our longstanding relationships with local schools. Our thoughts and actions are now with the student and her family, and we are committed to taking these corrective measures to demonstrate that this incident is an isolated occurrence,” McConico said in a statement Thursday afternoon.

“We are dedicated to ensuring that our court continues to uphold the highest standards of fairness and respect.”

‘My daughter is hurt’

Eva Goodman, 15, works with The Greening of Detroit, a nonprofit that aims to improve the “green infrastructure” of the city. On Tuesday, Goodman and peers with the project attended King’s courtroom to both watch proceedings and learn from the judge.

While speaking to the teens, King noticed Goodman sleeping. Video of King’s courtroom showed he yelled at her to wake up, but minutes later saw her sleeping again. At that point he ordered her taken into custody.

Latoreya Till said her daughter acknowledged sleeping, but did not understand the gravity of the situation. She has never been in a courtroom before, and never been in trouble before, Till explained.

After court staff led Goodman out of the room, Till said they told her daughter to undress and put on a green jail jumpsuit. Till said her daughter refused to take off certain clothing items, but was given the opportunity to change in an empty room. While there was no staff present in the room observing the minor changing, Till said her daughter believes there was a security camera.

After she changed, Goodman was handcuffed. Video shows she remained out of King’s courtroom for roughly two hours before he brought her back. At that point, he held a hearing, asking a defense lawyer to help her before berating her for sleeping and threatening her with jail time.

Ultimately, King allowed Goodman to leave, but not before asking her peers for a show of hands to decide whether she needed to spend time in jail.

“My daughter is hurt. She is feeling scared. She didn’t want to go to work. She feels like as if her peers went against her. She was real nervous and intimidated,” Till told the Free Press in a phone interview.

“We have to bounce around currently because we don’t have a permanent address. 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.”

King told the Free Press on Wednesday he thought he acted appropriately.

“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 said in a phone interview Wednesday afternoon.

“I wanted to instill in this kid that this is not a joke, this is a very serious situation.”

But Till said her daughter did not need the lesson: she’s a kind, smart, funny, athletic teen.

“(King) basically was being a big bully to a child that was sleeping and unaware of the etiquette of a courtroom, because she’s never been there, she’s never been in trouble,” Till said. “She’s not a problem child.”

‘You guys are making me tear up’

King did not return a phone message seeking additional comment on Thursday.

Before being removed from his docket, King conducted court as usual on Thursday, according to YouTube footage of his courtroom. Throughout the morning, viewers commented with messages of support for King.

About 27 minutes into the footage, in between hearings, King appears to review the YouTube comments. Then someone posting under the name “CTRM 234 36^th District Court” typed in the chat “receiving death threats.”

King typically presides over courtroom 234.

At the end of his morning docket, he turned to the camera and gave the “heart hands” symbol.

“That concludes the docket for today, folks. Hope to see you tomorrow, same bat station, same bat time,” he said, making a reference to the classic Batman television show.

Later, he appears to type several more times in the chat.

“You guys are making me tear up,” he writes, wiping his eyes, as commenters wish him well.  

His final post indicated he’s not allowed to comment on his situation.

It’s unclear how long he will be removed from the docket.

Reach Dave Boucher at dboucher@freepress.com and on X, previously called Twitter, @Dave_Boucher1.

DETROIT (FOX 2) – Detroit Judge Kenneth King has been removed from the docket in Wayne County after ordering a teenager into cuffs and a jail jumpsuit when she fell asleep in court while on a field trip.

Judge King was removed from the docket on Thursday, two days after the incident in the 36th District Court.

King had a group of students from the environmental non-profit Greening of Detroit in his courtroom when one student fell asleep twice in his courtroom. 

“Why are you being disrespectful to this court?” King said. “You sleep at home, in your bed – not in court. And quite frankly, I don’t like your attitude.”

When the judge asked the 16-year-old, “what is your problem?” She responded with, “I apologize, I’m just tired.”

FOX 2 sources say, at that point, it turned into a “Scared Straight!” simulation to send a message.

“I’m thinking maybe she needs to go to the juvenile detention facility. You do understand we have a jail for kids?” King told the teen.

King reportedly said he no real intentions of sending the girl anywhere, but instead described the conditions at the Detroit Detention Facility to all the teens on the trip.

“Not a very pleasant place to be in,” the judge said. “You guys enjoy your freedom, don’t you?” 

“Yes,” the teens responded.

The incident was captured on video by the court, via Zoom, and created an uproar around King.

Chief Judge William McConico issued a statement on Thursday, saying that a review was done and King would be removed from the bench and have necessary training to address “the underlying issues that contributed to this incident”

“We hope that these steps will help to reassure the public of the 36th District Court’s dedication to serving our community with integrity and fairness. The 36th District Court, known as “the people’s court,” remains deeply committed to providing access to justice in an environment free from intimidation or disrespect. The actions of Judge King on August 13th do not reflect this commitment,” Judge McConico said in a statement on Thursday. “We sincerely hope that this incident does not undermine our longstanding relationships with local schools. Our thoughts and actions are now with the student and her family, and we are committed to taking these corrective measures to demonstrate that this incident is an isolated occurrence. We are dedicated to ensuring that our court continues to uphold the highest standards of fairness and respect.”