Chief Judge William C. McConico says that while he cannot remove Judge King from the bench, he says, “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."
A Detroit judge who caused controversy earlier this week after he placed a 16-year-old in handcuffs and a jail uniform after the judge says she was sleeping and talking back to him during a recent field trip to a local courthouse has been temporarily removed from his docket, the court announced.
Chief Judge William C. McConico of the 36th District Court released a statement to Inside Edition Digital saying, “Following the recent incident in which Judge Kenneth J. King ordered a minor student to be handcuffed and detained for appearing to fall asleep in his courtroom, we have conducted a swift and thorough internal investigation. Based on our findings, we are implementing the following immediate actions to prevent any future occurrences of this nature:
1. Judge King has been temporarily removed from his docket.
2. Judge King will undergo the necessary training to address the underlying issues that contributed to this incident.”
A Detroit nonprofit called the Greening of Detroit hosted a field trip at the 36th District Court in the Motor City so the juveniles could learn about the legal system on Tuesday.
During the visit, a teenager was caught sleeping in front of Judge Kenneth King before the defense and prosecution entered the court, according to WXYZ.com.
When Judge King told the student to go to the back of the court, he said she talked back and he didn’t like her “attitude” inside his courtroom, so he put her in handcuffs and in a jail suit, according to reports.
"It wasn't so much, in fact, that she had fallen asleep because I have attorneys that fall asleep sometimes, so that's not too big of a deal. It was her whole attitude and her whole disposition that disturbed me," Judge King told 7 News Detroit following the incident. "I wanted to get through to her, show how serious this is and how you are to conduct yourself inside of a courtroom."
King says he has reached out to the student and would like to mentor her.
Judge King also threatened the 16-year-old with jail time at the juvenile detention facility but had other students vote if she should be sent to the detention facility; he ended up letting her go, according to WXYZ.com
Because the teenager is a juvenile, she has not been named nor was her image shown during the YouTube broadcast of the pretrial and court room proceedings.
Chief Judge William C. McConico added that while he cannot remove Judge King from the bench, he says, “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.
“We regularly and actively welcome students to observe and engage with the judicial process, aiming to provide valuable educational experiences and foster familiarity with the justice system. 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,” the statement concluded.
Inside Edition Digital has reached out to the Greening of Detroit for comment and they declined to participate.
Inside Edition Digital has reached out to Judge King for comment and has not heard back.
