{"id":161425,"date":"2026-08-25T06:43:51","date_gmt":"2026-08-25T14:43:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/2026\/08\/25\/judges-cant-handcuff-and-threaten-children-for-falling-asleep-on-field-trips-court-rules\/"},"modified":"2026-08-25T06:43:51","modified_gmt":"2026-08-25T14:43:51","slug":"judges-cant-handcuff-and-threaten-children-for-falling-asleep-on-field-trips-court-rules","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/2026\/08\/25\/judges-cant-handcuff-and-threaten-children-for-falling-asleep-on-field-trips-court-rules\/","title":{"rendered":"Judges Can\u2019t Handcuff And Threaten Children For Falling Asleep On Field Trips, Court Rules"},"content":{"rendered":"

The scope of judicial immunity is broad, but, alas, it is not \u201chandcuff-a-child-and-subject-them-to-a-live-streamed-show-trial-while-threatening-to-send-them-to-juvenile-hall-for-falling-asleep-on-a-field-trip\u201d broad.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s the takeaway from the Sixth Circuit\u2019s decision in Till v. King<\/em>:<\/p>\n

\n

While Judge King was informing students in the program about his career as a lawyer, ELG fell asleep. This offended Judge King, so he devised a plan to \u201cscare her straight.\u201d ELG was placed in handcuffs, forced to wear a prison jumpsuit, and locked in a detention cell for several hours. Later that day, Judge King put ELG on \u201cmock trial\u201d before the other students in the program, which was streamed on the court\u2019s YouTube channel.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

ELG was 15 and on a school field trip<\/a>. Her mother sued. The district court refused Judge Kenneth King\u2019s attempt to assert judicial immunity last year<\/a>. On appeal, a unanimous panel affirmed the district judge\u2019s ruling.<\/p>\n

The account of events is as galling as it is stupid. The judge had the girl taken to a detention cell, stripped and changed into a jumpsuit, and then \u201cthreatened to send\u201d ELG to \u201c\u2018juvey,\u2019\u201d \u201cwith vulgar stories of beatings and feces at the county\u2019s juvenile detention center, falsely casting her as a dishonest, disrespectful delinquent.\u201d <\/p>\n

This was all done, according to the plaintiff and as cited by the Sixth Circuit, \u201cfor the benefit of his internet fans.\u201d Influencer culture has gone too far, y\u2019all.<\/p>\n

\n

All reasonable jurists would presumably agree, for example, that a judge cannot shield himself from suit if he draws a firearm and shoots an observer who has dozed off in his courtroom. Or if he sexually assaults a litigant.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Would they not? Because a majority of the Supreme Court takes the stance that presidential immunity extends to assassinations<\/a>, so I would hesitate before dismissing what they might say if one of their own were up against it. That said, the Sixth Circuit opinion does condition this on \u201creasonable jurists\u201d so that might exclude the justices.<\/p>\n

Judge King\u2019s appeal seemed doomed from the start. According to the Sixth Circuit, his briefing didn\u2019t identify any actual error in the district court\u2019s reasoning. When the opinion includes lines like \u201cWe will instead address the merits (or the lack thereof),\u201d it\u2019s not a great sign. King had asserted that \u201c[u]nder all Federal and State case law, [the mother\u2019s] arguments must fail,\u201d citing one unpublished case and making, per the opinion, \u201clittle effort\u201d to apply anything else.<\/p>\n

\n

Till also alleges that there is no case number, order, or any other court record associated with the events that transpired.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

It is hard to claim judicial immunity for presiding over a fake case. Allegedly, he said on the livestream that \u201che probably did not have the authority to jail her.\u201d While it\u2019s disturbing that he used \u201cprobably\u201d there, it\u2019s still a damning admission to make before launching into a two-year court battle claiming that he was performing a function normally performed by a judge.<\/p>\n

If this all sounds familiar, it unfortunately should. Judge Roger Benitez handcuffed a crying 13-year-old girl<\/a> to a jury box in 2023, the Ninth Circuit\u2019s Judicial Council sat on it for over a year, found that shackling a non-disruptive spectator exceeded his authority, and then did jack squat about it<\/a>. Benitez responded that he disagreed, kept issuing opinions in his role as the gun manufacturing lobby\u2019s favorite draw, and retired this spring on his own terms<\/a>. <\/p>\n

Benitez and King don\u2019t have much in common, except judicial hubris. And access to a level of due process that wasn\u2019t afforded the innocent kids in these stories.<\/p>\n

Earlier<\/strong>: Okay, Judges Really Need To Stop Putting Innocent Kids In Handcuffs<\/a>
Judge Who Handcuffed And Harassed Field Trip Student For Sleeping Could Face Consequences<\/a>
Federal Judge Handcuffs Crying 13-Year-Old Girl Attending Father\u2019s Hearing<\/a>
Formal Complaint Lodged Against Federal Judge For Handcuffing Crying 13-Year-Old Girl<\/a>
Judge Given Slap On Wrist After Handcuffing Innocent, Crying Child<\/a><\/p>\n

\n

\"Headshot\"Joe Patrice<\/a>\u00a0is a senior editor at Above the Law and co-host of Thinking Like A Lawyer<\/a>. Feel free to\u00a0email<\/a> any tips, questions, or comments. Follow him on\u00a0Twitter<\/a>\u00a0or Bluesky<\/a> if you\u2019re interested in law, politics, and a healthy dose of college sports news.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

The post Judges Can\u2019t Handcuff And Threaten Children For Falling Asleep On Field Trips, Court Rules<\/a> appeared first on Above the Law<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n

The scope of judicial immunity is broad, but, alas, it is not \u201chandcuff-a-child-and-subject-them-to-a-live-streamed-show-trial-while-threatening-to-send-them-to-juvenile-hall-for-falling-asleep-on-a-field-trip\u201d broad.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s the takeaway from the Sixth Circuit\u2019s decision in Till v. King<\/em>:<\/p>\n

\n

While Judge King was informing students in the program about his career as a lawyer, ELG fell asleep. This offended Judge King, so he devised a plan to \u201cscare her straight.\u201d ELG was placed in handcuffs, forced to wear a prison jumpsuit, and locked in a detention cell for several hours. Later that day, Judge King put ELG on \u201cmock trial\u201d before the other students in the program, which was streamed on the court\u2019s YouTube channel.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

ELG was 15 and on a school field trip<\/a>. Her mother sued. The district court refused Judge Kenneth King\u2019s attempt to assert judicial immunity last year<\/a>. On appeal, a unanimous panel affirmed the district judge\u2019s ruling.<\/p>\n

The account of events is as galling as it is stupid. The judge had the girl taken to a detention cell, stripped and changed into a jumpsuit, and then \u201cthreatened to send\u201d ELG to \u201c\u2018juvey,\u2019\u201d \u201cwith vulgar stories of beatings and feces at the county\u2019s juvenile detention center, falsely casting her as a dishonest, disrespectful delinquent.\u201d <\/p>\n

This was all done, according to the plaintiff and as cited by the Sixth Circuit, \u201cfor the benefit of his internet fans.\u201d Influencer culture has gone too far, y\u2019all.<\/p>\n

\n

All reasonable jurists would presumably agree, for example, that a judge cannot shield himself from suit if he draws a firearm and shoots an observer who has dozed off in his courtroom. Or if he sexually assaults a litigant.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Would they not? Because a majority of the Supreme Court takes the stance that presidential immunity extends to assassinations<\/a>, so I would hesitate before dismissing what they might say if one of their own were up against it. That said, the Sixth Circuit opinion does condition this on \u201creasonable jurists\u201d so that might exclude the justices.<\/p>\n

Judge King\u2019s appeal seemed doomed from the start. According to the Sixth Circuit, his briefing didn\u2019t identify any actual error in the district court\u2019s reasoning. When the opinion includes lines like \u201cWe will instead address the merits (or the lack thereof),\u201d it\u2019s not a great sign. King had asserted that \u201c[u]nder all Federal and State case law, [the mother\u2019s] arguments must fail,\u201d citing one unpublished case and making, per the opinion, \u201clittle effort\u201d to apply anything else.<\/p>\n

\n

Till also alleges that there is no case number, order, or any other court record associated with the events that transpired.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

It is hard to claim judicial immunity for presiding over a fake case. Allegedly, he said on the livestream that \u201che probably did not have the authority to jail her.\u201d While it\u2019s disturbing that he used \u201cprobably\u201d there, it\u2019s still a damning admission to make before launching into a two-year court battle claiming that he was performing a function normally performed by a judge.<\/p>\n

If this all sounds familiar, it unfortunately should. Judge Roger Benitez handcuffed a crying 13-year-old girl<\/a> to a jury box in 2023, the Ninth Circuit\u2019s Judicial Council sat on it for over a year, found that shackling a non-disruptive spectator exceeded his authority, and then did jack squat about it<\/a>. Benitez responded that he disagreed, kept issuing opinions in his role as the gun manufacturing lobby\u2019s favorite draw, and retired this spring on his own terms<\/a>. <\/p>\n

Benitez and King don\u2019t have much in common, except judicial hubris. And access to a level of due process that wasn\u2019t afforded the innocent kids in these stories.<\/p>\n

Earlier<\/strong>: Okay, Judges Really Need To Stop Putting Innocent Kids In Handcuffs<\/a>
Judge Who Handcuffed And Harassed Field Trip Student For Sleeping Could Face Consequences<\/a>
Federal Judge Handcuffs Crying 13-Year-Old Girl Attending Father\u2019s Hearing<\/a>
Formal Complaint Lodged Against Federal Judge For Handcuffing Crying 13-Year-Old Girl<\/a>
Judge Given Slap On Wrist After Handcuffing Innocent, Crying Child<\/a><\/p>\n

\n

\"Headshot\"Joe Patrice<\/a>\u00a0is a senior editor at Above the Law and co-host of Thinking Like A Lawyer<\/a>. Feel free to\u00a0email<\/a> any tips, questions, or comments. Follow him on\u00a0Twitter<\/a>\u00a0or Bluesky<\/a> if you\u2019re interested in law, politics, and a healthy dose of college sports news.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The scope of judicial immunity is broad, but, alas, it is not \u201chandcuff-a-child-and-subject-them-to-a-live-streamed-show-trial-while-threatening-to-send-them-to-juvenile-hall-for-falling-asleep-on-a-field-trip\u201d broad. That\u2019s the takeaway from the Sixth Circuit\u2019s decision in Till v. King: While Judge King was informing students in the program about his career as a lawyer, ELG fell asleep. This offended Judge King, so he devised a plan to \u201cscare […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":161388,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-161425","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-above_the_law"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/xira.com\/p\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Headshot-300x200-SKuqf2.jpg?fit=300%2C200&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/161425","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=161425"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/161425\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/161388"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=161425"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=161425"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=161425"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}