The Louisiana Supreme Court has approved Judge Michelle Odinet's request for an unpaid leave of absence.
According to the court, effective immediately, Judge Odinet will be disqualified from exercising judicial functions, without salary, pending further proceedings.
Judge Odinet's attorney, Dane Ciolino, told KATC that he would file a motion Thursday morning with the Judiciary committee for Odinet to go on unpaid leave.
Video footage taken at Judge Odinet's home circulated online following an attempted burglary there over the weekend.
The video appears to show a group of people watching home surveillance. A woman's voice can be heard saying the n-word and comparing the suspect to a roach. Odinet said in a statement that she was given a sedative at the time of the video and has "zero recollection of the video and the disturbing language used during it."
Louisiana Supreme Court Judge Jefferson Hughes dissented against the court's decision to disqualify Odinet.
"While I condemn the language reported in the media, at this point all we have are media reports," he says. I would like to see some hard facts as to who said what and when. This situation did not happen in a vacuum."
On Thursday, Govenor John Bel Edwards said that he believed that Odinet should resign from her position as Lafayette City Court Judge.
Gov. Edwards believes Judge Michelle Odinet should resign
See the order below:
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