Law360 (August 25, 2026, 1:40 PM EDT) -- A Sixth Circuit panel on Monday allowed to proceed a Michigan federal lawsuit filed against a Detroit judge who handcuffed a 15-year-old student and subjected her to a mock trial after she fell asleep in his courtroom, ruling that judicial immunity does not protect him.
The panel's opinion affirmed the decision of the lower court and agreed that Detroit Circuit Court Judge Kenneth King was not acting in the capacity of a judge when he executed the mock arrest and trial, which was live streamed on the court's
YouTube channel, after the student dozed off during a field trip to his courtroom.
During oral arguments in the Sixth Circuit last month, it was established that court was not in session at the time of the incident and that Judge King was giving a lecture to the students. The 15-year-old, identified in the opinion as "ELG," was forced to wear jail attire during the mock trial, according to court documents.
No official record of the proceedings was kept, there is no case number associated with the mock trial, and the student was not in the courtroom because she was connected to any official case as a witness, plaintiff or defendant.
In its opinion, the Sixth Circuit panel said that not all actions taken by a judge in the courtroom are protected by judicial immunity. A judge could not expect protection, the panel wrote, if he drew a gun and shot an observer who fell asleep in his courtroom during a hearing.
"A line must therefore be drawn between the actions that a judge can take in his courtroom under the cloak of judicial immunity and those that he cannot," the panel wrote.
The panel agreed with the plaintiff's claim that Judge King's actions were not in keeping with any "official act or sanction" but were executed to foster his "private interests."
The mother of the student filed a suit in Michigan federal court in August 2024 alleging Fourth Amendment violations, invasion of privacy, false arrest and imprisonment, intentional infliction of emotional distress, and malicious prosecution and unlawful arrest.
Judge King filed a motion to dismiss in October 2024 claiming judicial immunity, which a district judge denied in May 2025, at which time Judge King filed his appeal.
Judge King claimed the mock trial was his version of the popular reality show "Scared Straight" and that he subjected the student to the faux proceedings because she "was disrespectful" to him.
Regardless of Judge King's reasons for handcuffing the student and forcing her to endure a mock trial, the panel wrote, he was acting without "any judicial authority."
The plaintiff presented factual allegations, the panel wrote, showing that Judge King was neither "performing a function normally performed by a judge" nor "acting in his judicial capacity."
plaintiff's counsel Robert G. Kamenec of
Fieger Law told Law360 the district and appellate court took note of the "egregious nature" of the judge's conduct.
"Both the district court and the Sixth Circuit realize the egregious nature of Judge King's conduct by finding an exception to the otherwise broad doctrine of judicial immunity," Kamenec said.
Representatives for Judge King did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
U.S. Circuit Judges Ronald Lee Gilman, Richard Allen Griffin and Chad A. Readler sat on the panel.
The plaintiff is represented by Robert G. Kamenec, Gary N. Felly and James J. Harrington IV of Fieger Law.
Judge Kenneth King is represented by Todd Russell Perkins of
Perkins Law Group PLLC.
The case is ELG et al. v. Kenneth King et al., case number
25-1614, in the
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit.
--Editing by Alex Hubbard.
Update: This story has been updated with comment from the plaintiff's counsel.
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