Family Sues Judge Who Put Teen in Handcuffs After She Fell Asleep During Courtroom Field Trip: 'Humiliation'

Michigan Judge Kenneth King is accused of violating the 15-year-old teen's civil rights

• In the complaint, the teen alleged that she was ordered to wear a prison jumpsuit and was held in a cell after Judge Kenneth King felt "he was disrespected"

• The teen nodded off “after being exposed to a court hearing that forced her to relive a traumatic event," according to the complaint

• The complaint alleges King violated the teen's constitutional rights

A Michigan judge has been sued by the family of a 15-year-old girl who was allegedly placed in handcuffs after falling asleep during a courtroom field trip.

The lawsuit against Judge Kenneth King of the 36th District Court was filed by the teen and her mother, Latoreya Till, on Wednesday, Aug. 21, in U.S. District Court in the Eastern District of Michigan.

According to the complaint, the incident occurred on Aug. 13 when the teen and her classmates were attending a lecture presented by King in the courtroom as a part of a field trip arranged by a local nonprofit organization.

The complaint alleged that the judge "felt personally disrespected" when the teen nodded off during the lecture, which was streamed live through the court’s YouTube platform.

“[King] made Ms. ELG an unwitting actor in his improv version of ‘The Star Chamber,’ ” read the complaint. “He berated the minor on a live platform, ordered her jailed, caused her to be handcuffed, demanded that she take off her clothes and change into jail garb, imprisoned her for hours, and then conducted fake trial with her classmates (and possibly his internet followers) as her jurors and his audience.”

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The complaint added that the purpose of the courthouse field trip, which was held by the nonprofit that employs teens to plant foliage in Detroit, was for students who aspired to become lawyers.

However, the teen was not interested in studying law but rather wanted to become a cardiothoracic surgeon. The teen only found out about the trip when she arrived at her worksite, preparing to plant trees, and was then transported to the courthouse. The complaint also alleged permission for the teen’s participation in the field trip was not sought from her mother.

The complaint further stated that the students were required to observe a homicide proceeding that was presided over by King. After the proceeding was over, the judge delivered his lecture to the students about the law.

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The teen, whom the complaint said was “shy, polite and courteous,” had difficulty sleeping the night before and fell asleep during the lecture “after being exposed to a court hearing that forced her to relive a traumatic event.” The complaint alleged that King “publicly berated and humiliated” her because he later said "he was disrespected," for which the teen apologized.

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The judge proceeded to move on but then allegedly confronted the teen after she nodded off again, seeking a “safe space” in her mind.

The complaint alleged that when the teen returned to the gallery after going to the bathroom, a court officer accused the teen of disrespecting the judge, directed her to the side of the bench and ordered her to stand still “as a real defendant was escorted out of a detention cell.”

The teen was brought into a detention cell and locked inside, according to the complaint. The complaint then alleged that about 10 minutes later, the court officer opened the cell, handcuffed the teen, and brought her to another cell, where she was told to take off her clothing and put on a prison jumpsuit. When the teen refused to strip other than the removal of her hoodie, the court officers allegedly allowed the jumpsuit to be worn over her clothes.

She was then brought back to the original holding cell, “where she was held captive for hours, before being re-cuffed and brought into the courtroom after the close of the day’s proceedings, where a fake trial was convened," per the complaint.

As the episode was being streamed online, the complaint added that King threatened to send the teen to a juvenile detention center. He then allegedly asked the teen’s classmates to serve as a fake jury and decide whether the teen should be sent home to her family or serve time in juvenile prison.

“Of course, Defendant JUDGE KING was not going to send Ms. ELG to jail as there was no actual case or controversy and because he admitted to the press that the foregoing was simply his version of ‘Scared Straight,’ because he was going to teach this teen a lesson for disrespecting him," according to the complaint.

The complaint accused King and the court officers of abusing their power and breaching the teen’s civil rights.

“Defendant King’s extrajudicial actions violated the minor’s constitutional rights, subjecting him and the other defendants to liability as stated in the balance of this Complaint,” read the suit.

“As a result of his [King’s] anger, the defendant immaturely decided to teach the girl a lesson in front of her peers and his internet audience,” the complaint also stated.

The teen’s family is seeking monetary damages exceeding $75,000. The complaint also said that the teen has experienced "severe emotional pain and suffering," "mental anguish" and "humiliation and mortification" following the episode.

King was temporarily removed from his docket after the event and was due to be trained "to address the underlying issues that contributed to this incident," said 36th District Court Chief Judge William McConico, per CBS News, USA Today and Newsweek.

PEOPLE has reached out to the 36th District Court for comment.

James Harrington, one of the attorneys representing the family, told PEOPLE in a news release that "subjecting a minor to such public humiliation and violating her rights is unconscionable."

"Our legal system is built on principles of fairness and respect for all individual rights, and those who violate those rights should be held accountable for their actions," he added.

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Latoreya Till, the teen’s mother, described the alleged incident to WXYZ as traumatizing for herself and her daughter, who PEOPLE previously reported was 16.

Till added that her daughter fell asleep because the family currently doesn’t have a permanent residence.

"The fact that he was talking about 'you go home and get in your bed', how do you know my baby got a home, how do you know my baby got a bed, her own bed she could sleep in, she don’t have that right now, so she was tired," said Till, per WXYZ.

King defended his alleged actions in an earlier interview with ABC affiliate WXYZ.

"Do I have any reservations?” he told the station. “Do I think I was heavy-handed in what I did? No, I don't, because I'll do whatever it needs to be done to reach these kids and make sure that they don't end up in front of me. That was my own version of scared straight."

In a statement obtained by PEOPLE, a spokesperson for The Greening of Detroit, the organization that held the students' visit to the courthouse, described King’s methods as “unacceptable” — even if he was trying to teach a lesson. The spokesperson also said, via the family, that the teen “was traumatized by the Judge’s unnecessary disciplinary treatment and scolding."

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