A Detroit judge who handcuffed a teenager for falling asleep in a courtroom has argued for immunity in a federal lawsuit, claiming he was acting in his official judicial capacity.
The incident gained national attention after a 15-year-old girl named Eva Goodman visited Detroit 36th District Court Judge Kenneth King's courtroom on a field trip. There, Goodman was detained by the judge for dozing off in the court, prompting her mother to file a lawsuit alleging multiple violations of constitutional rights, as reported by the Detroit Free Press.
In response, Judge King filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit, asserting that his actions, even during a recess, were within his judicial authority. Meanwhile, the plaintiff argued that the judge was acting outside his role when engaging with the girl.
"We believe that he is protected by being a judge and acting as a judge, notwithstanding how people may perceive what he did," Todd Perkins, King's attorney, told the Detroit Free Press. "At the end of the day, he is a judge."
The girl's mother claimed in the suit that the teen was sleepy because the family did not have a place to live at the time and that the homicide case being discussed led her to relive old trauma, causing her to dissociate.
"[King] was acting as teacher, not judge when [Goodman] nodded off, and Court was not in session because there was no proceeding pending," the lawsuit stated, according to the Detroit Free Press.
The case is ongoing and a hearing is scheduled for January 2025.
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