Louisiana judge forced to resign after racist comments

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Amid calls for her resignation, Michelle Odinet, a municipal court judge in Lafayette, Louisiana, has been banned from work after using a racial slur in a video released last week.

An unknown source posted a one-minute video of Judge Odinet and others inside the judge’s home watching and recounting security camera footage of someone trying to break into a car in the alley of the judge in the early morning of December 11.

A racist insult is used repeatedly, and laughter and cheering can be heard as security footage shows two people pinning a man to the ground.

“And mom shouts n *****, n *****”, says a male voice, to which a female voice responds: “We have a *****, this is a ***** , like a roach.

The speakers’ faces are not visible on camera, but Judge Odinet’s lawyer Dane Ciolino said in an interview that the judge herself used a racial slur in the video. She feels “humiliated and embarrassed by what she admittedly did,” Ciolino said.

Earlier, Judge Odinet told The Current that she had been sedated at the time of the video and had “no recollection” of the video and the “disturbing language” it contained.

She said that she and her children were the victims of an “armed robbery” at her home which “was horrible” and “shook” her “to the heart”.

The Lafayette Police Department report says the man attempted to escape when a car entered the driveway at 2 a.m. last Saturday, The Current reported, and an anonymous person caught him and kept it until the police arrived.

The 59-year-old, who is black, was arrested and charged with simple car burglary, The Current reported. Police said he was unarmed.

Judge Odinet, a Republican and former prosecutor, was elected in November 2020 for a six-year term as a judge in Division A of the Lafayette Municipal Court.

The Louisiana Supreme Court on Thursday ruled that Judge Odinet be “disqualified from performing judicial duties, without pay, while new proceedings in this case are pending.” She had requested unpaid leave.

The president of the Lafayette branch of the NAACP has called for the judge’s resignation. “We do not believe that a person with his or her disposition revealed should perform a function with judicial powers,” Toussaint said in a statement.

The Louisiana Legislative Black Caucus, the Louisiana Democratic Party and the Southern Division of the Anti-Defamation League have also called for his resignation, The New York Times reported.

“This situation and the comments are reprehensible, offensive and totally unacceptable on the part of anyone who serves as a judge,” State Senator Gerald Boudreaux said in a statement, adding that he would formally ask the Judicial Commission to l ‘State to investigate. His comments “cast a cloud over the impartiality of the judge to serve as an impartial arbiter in cases involving African-Americans.”

The mayor-president of the consolidated government of Lafayette, Josh Guillory, said he was disgusted by the information. “This type of language is hurtful, divisive and unacceptable,” he said in a statement. “The fairness and objectivity of our courts are the foundation of our legal system. I hope the judge will do what is best to help the community heal and move forward.

“The use of the N word to describe an individual is not only deplorable, it is indicative of racial prejudice, not to mention such a high representative of our legal system,” the Marshal of the Town of Lafayette told KATC. Reggie Thomas. “I’m sure people of color will find it difficult to believe that they will be treated fairly and equitably when they come before Judge Odinet. This type of language cannot be accepted or tolerated by anyone, especially those who serve as rulers in our city. “

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