Louisiana judge who said n-word repeatedly on video resigns and apologizes

A Louisiana judge has resigned after a video captured her repeated use of the n-word as she and her family watched surveillance footage of a black robbery suspect attempt to break into her home.

Michelle Odinet, 52, stepped down from her seat on the Lafayette City Court Friday only weeks after the video using the racist language surfaced.

“I take full responsibility for the hurtful words I used to describe the individual who burglarized the vehicles at my home,” Odinet wrote in her resignation letter to the chief justice of the Louisiana Supreme Court. 

“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,” she added. 

Odinet, who is a mother of four, is heard making racist comments at her home in Bendel Gardens in Lafayette early on December 11. The short clip captured one of Odinet’s children saying “And mom’s yelling n****r, n****r,” to which a female voice responds “We have a n****r. It’s a n****r, like a roach.”

On December 16th, Odinet agreed to take a temporary leave without pay, and the Louisiana Supreme Court soon opened an investigation into the video. A lawyer for Judge Odinet spoke to the Acadiana Advocate about the incident earlier this week, saying she felt, “humiliated, embarrassed, and sorry for what she has done and the harm she has caused to the community.”