Lafayette City Court Judge Michelle Odinet
The attorney for Lafayette City Court Judge Michele Odinet says his client is now admitting to using a racist slur when reacting to a person seen in a security video that captured an attempted burglary at her home last Saturday morning. Dane Ciolino is representing Odinet and tells LRN.com “Judge Odinet is sorry for what she has done and for the trouble she has caused the community as a result of what she admittedly has said.”
Odinet had earlier denied using the racial slur, saying she had been given a sedative and had no recollection of the video.
Ciolino says Odinet is petitioning the Louisiana Supreme Court and the Judiciary Commission asking that she be placed on an indefinite period of unpaid leave “while she makes longer term decisions about what’s best for her community.”
Ciolino tells us that Odinet is hoping she can be forgiven for her inappropriate utterances. “She understands that there’s going to be a long road back to being redeemed for this conduct,” said Ciolino.
Governor Edwards at his end of the year press conference Thursday said that Odinet should resign her post for using a racial slur while viewing the security camera video. He said, “there’s no place for that kind of language especially among a member of the judiciary.”
A 59-year-old Black man was arrested and charged with two counts of simple burglary in connection with Saturday’s incident at Odinet’s residence.
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