The judge claimed that he had wanted to ‘scare straight’ the teen after she fell asleep in court
A teen visiting a courtroom on a school trip ended up being handcuffed after falling asleep during a hearing.
The girl had been on a field trip to see the court in action, but the judge whose court she visited was left extremely unimpressed by her behaviour.
Judge Kenneth King was so affronted by the teenager’s conduct that he ordered she be placed in handcuffs and wear prison clothes.
King then asked other teens on the trip with the 16-year-old if she should be placed in juvenile detention as a result of her attitude, according to a report from WXYZ-TV.
The teen had been visiting the court as part of an organised trip by non-profit environment group The Greening of Detroit.
During the visit King noticed that the girl was dozing off, and decided to make an example of her.
The judge made the teenager change into prison fatigues (stock image). (Peter Dazeley / Getty)
In a video he can be heard to say: “You fall asleep in my courtroom one more time, I’m gonna put you in back, understood?”
After the initial warning King then had the teenager change into prison clothes, and put her in handcuffs.
King has defended his decision, telling WXYZ: “I wanted this to look and feel very real to her, even though there’s probably no real chance of me putting her in jail. That was my own version of Scared Straight.”
He added: “It was her whole attitude and her whole disposition that disturbed me. I wanted to get through to her, show how serious this is and how you are to conduct yourself inside of a courtroom.
“I’ll do whatever needs to be done to reach these kids and make sure that they don’t end up in front of me.”
A community group criticized the approach (Getty stock photo)
King’s decision to make an example out of the visiting teenager was criticized by community group The Greening of Detroit.
Chairperson Marissa Ebersole Wood said: “Although the judge was trying to teach a lesson of respect, his methods were unacceptable.
“The group of students should have been simply asked to leave the courtroom if he thought they were disrespectful.”
Larry Dubin, a professor at the University of Detroit Mercy law school, also criticised the decision, saying: “There were so many other ways in which to have helped that young girl learn.”
UNILAD has reached out to Detroit’s 36th District Court and The Greening of Detroit for comment.
