Louisiana Judge who Used Anti-Black Racial Slurs on Video Resigns
City Court of Lafayette Louisiana
A Louisiana judge who was caught on video using racial slurs to describe a man who had reportedly attempted to break into her home and car two weeks ago has resigned after the video and story went viral.
Earlier this month, Lafayette City Court Judge Michelle Odinet was recorded reacting to surveillance video in which a Black man had reportedly been arrested while burglarizing her property.
On Dec. 14, high-profile attorney Benjamin Crump shared the unedited video on Twitter, which contains the usage of multiple racial slurs.
The origin of the video is unknown, but Odinet was heard on the footage declaring, “We have a n*gger. It’s a n*gger, like a roach.”
Odinet was not seen on the video, but after it was leaked, she confirmed the voice was hers. The Louisiana Supreme Court quickly suspended Odinet from all judicial fucntions without pay on Dec. 16.
An attorney for the judge told ABC News Odinet was “humiliated” after the video got out, and that she would take a leave of absence from the bench.
“She is humiliated, embarrassed and sorry for what she’s done and for the trouble she’s caused to everyone in the community,” attorney Dane Ciolino said two weeks ago. “She is taking, effective immediately, an unpaid leave of absence from the bench. She hasn’t made any longer-term decisions than that, but will in the next several weeks.”
On Friday, Odinet sent a letter to Louisiana Supreme Court Chief Justice John Weimer to inform him of her resignation.
“I take full responsibility for the hurtful words I used to describe the individual who burglarized the vehicles at my home,” Odinet wrote. “I am sorry for the pain that I have caused my community and ask for your forgiveness, as my words did not foster the public’s confidence and integrity for the judiciary.”
“After much reflection and prayer, and in order to facilitate healing within the community, I hereby resign as judge of the Lafayette City Court effective immediately,” the now former judge also stated. “I am sending a copy of this letter to the Secretary of State and hope that a special election can be scheduled to fill the vacancy that my resignation creates.”
