By Ashlee Banks ·Updated December 21, 2021
A Lafayette judge who was heard on video spewing racial slurs has been replaced by a Black judge, at least temporarily.
This comes after many have demanded Lafayette City Court Judge Michelle M. Odinet’s resign from her position.
Last week, a video circulated on social media showing a suspect burglarizing two vehicles parked in the driveway of Odinet’s home.
A male voice can be heard saying “And Mom’s yelling n—er, n—er.”
To which Odinet responds while laughing “We have a n—er, it’s a n—er, like a roach.”
This is DISGUSTING! Judge Michelle Odinet is captured on video using racial slurs while reviewing home security footage. People’s lives are in HER HANDS on a daily basis. This level of hate & racial bias should not be in our courtrooms! She needs to RESIGN! pic.twitter.com/TVny8kcaUZ
— Ben Crump (@AttorneyCrump) December 15, 2021
Instead of resigning, Odinet chose to take an unpaid leave of absence.
While speaking with Lafayette’s ABC station, she stated she did not remember the events that unfolded during the video and her behavior was due to consuming a sedative.
In her absence, Judge Vanessa Harris has replaced the disgraced judge and is making history as the city’s first ever Black judge.
CNN reported that Harris will hold the position until Odinet returns from her unpaid leave of absence or until an election is held, in the event she is removed.
An attorney representing Odinet spoke to The Acadiana Advocate and said the judge was “humiliated, embarrassed, and sorry for what she has done and the harm she has caused to the community,” and she plans to make a decision in the coming weeks on whether she will continue to hold her position as the city’s judge.
TOPICS: black women judges first black woman judge Racism
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