‘SHE IS HUMILIATED’

Judge Takes Unpaid Leave After Home Video Showed Family Using Racial Slurs

Michelle Odinet faced calls to resign after footage showed her family shouting the N-word at surveillance footage.

The Louisiana judge whose family was caught on a home video using racial slurs in the aftermath of a burglary attempt is taking some time out. Lafayette City Court Judge Michelle Odinet faced calls to resign after the footage, first reported by The Current, showed an unidentified person—apparently a member of Odinet’s family—laughing about “mom” shouting the N-word at a burglary suspect. However, rather than resigning, Odinet has decided to take some unpaid leave. Her lawyer, Dane Ciolino, said in a statement reported by NBC News late Wednesday: “She is humiliated, embarrassed and sorry for what she’s done and the trouble she’s caused to the community... Tomorrow, she’s going on interim leave without pay. And as far as what'll happen in the longer term, she’ll have to deal with that in the weeks to come.” Odinet previously claimed that she was “was given a sedative at the time” and had “zero recollection of the video and the disturbing language used during it.”