On Friday, August 16, 2024, the Detroit Free Press reported that Wayne State University had ended its association with a Detroit judge following his controversial detention of a sleeping teen in his courtroom earlier that week.
According to the article, 36th District Judge Kenneth King had worked as an adjunct professor at Wayne State, teaching classes related to criminal justice. However, in light of Judge King’s recent suspension from courtroom duties by Chief Judge William McConico, Wayne State spokesman Bill Roose announced that the university had reassigned two courses scheduled for the upcoming fall semester to other instructors. Roose noted that King had never held an ongoing faculty appointment and had only taught a total of five sections between Wayne State’s law school and college of liberal arts and sciences since 2022.
The report detailed King’s financial disclosures, which indicated he had earned over $5,000 from Wayne State in 2022 and nearly $10,000 from Ferris State University in 2020 for his work as an adjunct professor.
Last week, 15-year-old Eva Goodman had fallen asleep twice during one of Judge King’s courtroom presentations while on a field trip with a local nonprofit. King had Goodman taken into custody after she dozed off again. She was detained for around two hours, during which time she was instructed to change into jail attire but refused to remove all of her personal clothing. She was held, handcuffed, for roughly two hours in a separate room.
Goodman was eventually brought back before King, who scolded her and threatened juvenile detention or jail time before taking a poll from her peers on whether he should show leniency. The majority voted to release her. Goodman’s mother criticized King’s handling of the situation, pointing out that her daughter was likely tired as their family currently lacks permanent housing. She has since filed a legal complaint against King and created a fundraising campaign.
In light of the events, Chief Judge McConico had temporarily removed King from his judicial docket and mandated further training. King maintained his actions were appropriate, but the article suggested the employment termination from Wayne State was among further consequences faced in the aftermath.
Source: Detroit Free Press
