The Louisiana Supreme Court appointed its first Black female judge to replace a Lafayette judge who blurted out racial epithets.
Judge Vanessa Harris temporarily replaces Lafayette City Court Judge Michelle Odinet who was caught on cell phone video blurting out a racist slur after a burglary at her home.
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The incident happened at Odinet’s home in Bendel Gardens on Saturday, DailyMail.com reports.
The burglary suspect, who is Black, was chased and tackled to the ground by two male members of the Odinet family.
Ronald Handy, 59, was arrested and charged with two counts of simple burglary.
Afterward, as Odinet and her family watched the incident unfold on her home security footage, they laughed and cracked racist jokes.
One of her 4 children said, “And mom’s yelling n****r, n****r,” to which Odinet allegedly responds “We have a n****r. It’s a n****r, like a roach.”
The Republican judge claims she took a sedative which affected her “mental state”.
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
Local officials and members of the community have called on Odinet to resign. She has since taken a leave of absence,
“I’m sure that people of color will find it impossible to trust that they will be treated fairly and equally when they have to stand for judgment before Judge Odinet,” Lafayette City Marshall Reggie Thomas told the Acadiana Advocate.
CNN reported that Judge Harris will hold the position until Odinet returns from her unpaid leave of absence, or until she is removed from the bench.
