The Detroit judge who tried to teach a teen a brutal lesson by having her handcuffed and outfitted in prison fatigues is being sued by the teen’s family.
Eva Goodman, 15, and her mother, Latoreya Till, filed a federal lawsuit on Wednesday in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan against 36th District Judge Kenneth King, according to the court documents obtained by WXYZ-TV of Detroit.
Goodman and Till are seeking unspecified compensation for instilling “mental anguish and humiliation” and also for medical treatment, NBC News reports.
Detroit Judge said he was teaching the teen a lesson
King told the news station that he intended to “get through to her” after the teenager nodded off twice in his courtroom on Aug. 13. A group of teens was there as part of a summer field trip to get young people interested in careers in the judicial system.
“That’s not something that normally happens. But I felt compelled to do it because I didn’t like the child’s attitude,” King said in the aftermath of the debacle that went viral nationally. “I haven’t been disrespected like that in a very long time.”
“That was my own version of ‘Scared Straight,’ ” he added, referencing the reality show whose goal was to dissuade adolescent delinquents from continuing their lives of criminality.
After the teen fell asleep the second time, King “publicly berated and humiliated” her, NBC News reports. He told Goodman to go to the bathroom because he had something in store for her. When she returned, King ordered her to be handcuffed and placed in a holding cell for hours. He also made her put on a jail uniform and then paraded her before her peers.
The entire fiasco was exacerbated because the episode was live-streamed on YouTube.
Detroit judge punished while the teen’s mother is devastated
Following a probe, King was removed from the bench and required to undergo training. Also, his classes at Wayne State University in Detroit were reassigned to other professors indefinitely.
Goodman’s mother was emotionally crushed and said her daughter is traumatized by the humiliation.
Speaking at the news conference Wednesday, the teen’s mother, Latoreya Till, said her daughter was devastated by the events.
“She doesn’t want to come outside,” Till said at a news conference. “It’s hard for her to sleep at night. She’s asking me, ‘Why did the judge do me like this, out of all the kids?’ “
