#UPDATE: Conveniently, Judge Michelle Odinet says she can’t remember a thing. But, #Louisiana judge #MichelleOdinet has officially resigned from her seat on the #LafayetteCity Court weeks after a home video showed her and other people using racial slurs after a suspect in an attempted car burglary was apprehended. Odinet was on unpaid leave after video footage taken at her home circulated online following an attempted burglary there. The video shows a group of people watching home surveillance. A woman’s voice can be heard saying the #nword and comparing the suspect to a #roach. Odinet’s lawyer, Dane S. Ciolino, later confirmed that she had used a racial slur in the video, which did not show the faces of those speaking. Odinet said she was stepping down “after much reflection & prayer, and in order to facilitate healing within the community.” “I take full responsibility for the hurtful words used to describe the individual who burglarized the vehicles at my home. 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. After much reflection and prayer, & in order to facilitate healing within the community, I hereby resign as judge of the #Lafayette City Court effective immediately. I am sending a copy of this letter to the Secretary of State and hope that a special election can be scheduled to fill the vacancy that my resignation creates.” Odinet said in a statement, at the time, that she was given a sedative and had “zero recollection of the video & the disturbing language used during it.” After an unknown person released the video to the local news media, civic groups, including the Lafayette branch of the #NAACP., called on the judge to resign, & criminal defense lawyers asked the judge to recuse herself from their cases. Mr. Ciolino acknowledged that the video footage had raised understandable concerns about Ms. Odinet’s impartiality as a #judge. “There was never going to be a situation where #AfricanAmericans would appear before her & not file motions to recuse,” Mr. Ciolino said. Source: newonyx @wonderwombman2 @wonderwombman https://www.instagram.com/wonderwombman/p/CYUW4UqlVh-/?utm_medium=tumblr
