Judge claims he is immune from lawsuits after outrageous act on teenage girl who fell asleep in court during a field trip

A Detroit judge has claimed he is immune from lawsuits after committing an outrageous act against a teenage girl who fell asleep in court during a field trip.

Judge Kenneth King on Monday filed a motion to dismiss a lawsuit filed by the teenage girl’s mother. He claimed he was acting in his official judicial capacity when he handcuffed 15-year-old Eva Goodman and ordered her to wear prison clothes after she fell asleep. an excursion in August.

Goodman’s mother argued that he violated the teenage girl’s constitutional rights to unreasonable search and seizure, was detained without due process, forced to provide evidence against herself, not given the opportunity to retain an attorney of her choice rents and protection against ‘unusual punishments’.

But King claimed in his filing Monday that although he had spoken to the students at the time, he was still acting in his judicial capacity at the time of their interactions and is therefore entitled to immunity. reports the Detroit Free Press.

His lawyer cited case law stating that judges are immune in civil cases, even if they act wrongfully, maliciously or outside their authority.

“We believe that he is protected by being a judge and acting as a judge, regardless of how people may perceive what he has done,” King’s attorney, Todd Perkins, told the Free Press.

‘At the end of the day he is a judge.’

The judge, who has since been demoted to traffic court, was caught on the court livestream raising his voice at Goodman and saying, “You fall asleep in my courtroom again, I’m putting you in the back, understand? ‘

Judge King then ordered the teen to be handcuffed and threatened her with juvenile detention in front of the tour group, saying, “I’m going to sleep tonight while you’re in juvenile detention.”

He told the group, “One thing you will learn about my courtroom is that I am not a toy, not to be played with.”

She was eventually taken away and returned to the courtroom two hours later in prison clothes, her family claims.

In the end, King eventually had the teen’s peers raise their hands to determine whether he should let her go or send her to prison, the Free Press reports.

Eva Goodman, 15, was on a field trip to a Detroit courthouse in August when she fell asleep

King then ordered the teen to be handcuffed and threatened her with juvenile detention in front of the tour group

But Goodman’s mother, Latoreya Till, later explained that the teen was likely tired because her family had no permanent place to live and may have withdrawn because the murder case being discussed caused her to relive an old trauma.

She added: “We have to bounce around at the moment because we don’t have a permanent address. And so we arrived a little late that particular evening. And when she goes to work, she is usually planting trees or being active.”

The judge later told WXYZ-TV, “That’s not something that normally happens, but I felt compelled to do it because I didn’t like the kid’s attitude… I haven’t been respected like that in a long time.” .’

He also told the newspaper that he would not realistically put her in a juvenile detention center, saying he wouldn’t want to do that to a child on a field trip, but that it easily could have been done.

King argued in his motion Monday that the court is in session every time he is in court.

“Under the plaintiff’s understanding, the judge would not be able to direct the staff or control the function of the Court without the Court sitting directly,” which ignores what judicial functions are, the motion said, according to the Free Press.

“Plaintiff appears to be alleging that during a recess period, a judge loses all authority over a courtroom and is somehow stripped of his judicial authority.”

The girl’s mother filed a lawsuit against the judge, claiming he violated her daughter’s constitutional rights

He further argued that even Till’s complaint shows that the court was in session.

“The trip that plaintiff made was for the purpose of visiting a sitting judge to attend a hearing of the court,” the motion states: according to Law & Crime.

It further argues that Till cannot say that Goodman fell asleep during the official proceedings, while also saying that King’s response was not part of his official duties.

“It is quite a paradox that Plaintiff can argue that it was the nature of the court hearing that caused her detachment, and on the other hand, claim that Defendant King was somehow separated from his official duties and not acting in his official capacity,” it says, going on to call the statement the “antithesis of justice.”

But Goodman’s family has argued that King’s plan “was to orchestrate his own version of Scared Straight, which he broadcast on social media.”

“Plaintiff further alleged that the judge scheduled a bogus trial as evidenced by the fact that there was no case number, that there was no record, that there was no case or controversy, that [Goodman] did not engage Judge King in his official capacity and the judge was personally motivated to teach the minor a lesson knowing he had no authority to discipline the child,” the family wrote on its own initiative, urging the judge to not accept the motion. reject.

“Furthermore, all material actions occurred while the court was not in session.”

The filing further notes that Goodman “was not a party to the lawsuits and did not engage the judge or his officers in any judicial capacity.

“She was a guest at a speech, where the teacher happened to be a jury member,” it says.

A hearing on the motion is scheduled for January.