Michelle Miller Odinet (born c. 1968) is an American lawyer who was elected as a Lafayette, Louisiana City Court Judge in November 2020. Odinet was previously an assistant district attorney in New Orleans and Lafayette and a public defender. She resigned from her judgeship on December 31, 2021, days after a video surfaced of her repeatedly using a racial slur.
Michelle Odinet | |
|---|---|
| Born | Michelle Marie Miller c. 1968 New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S. |
| Alma mater | H. Sophie Newcomb Memorial College Tulane University Law School |
| Occupation | Lawyer |
| Political party | Republican |
| Children | 4 |
Early life edit
Michelle Marie Miller[1][2] was born c. 1968 in New Orleans, the daughter of Metairie attorney M.O. Miller II and his wife Diane.[3][4] The extended Miller family have "deep roots" in New Orleans, and in 1989, Odinet was "crowned Queen of the Hermes Ball."[3][4] She completed a B.A. at H. Sophie Newcomb Memorial College in 1990 and a J.D. at Tulane University Law School in 1993.[5][4]
Career edit
Odinet joined the New Orleans district attorney's office as a prosecutor part time in June 1991. She became a full-time assistant assistant attorney in November 1993.[6] From September to December 1996, Odinet was a part-time worker for the indigent defender program.[5] In December 1996, following the resignation of Robin Rhodes, Mike Harson, the fifteenth judicial district attorney, named Odinet as the new assistant district attorney. In this role, she served as a prosecutor of misdemeanors.[5]
Odinet worked at a private law firm where she managed insurance defense cases.[7] Odinet took a break from her career to homeschool her four children.[7] In the fall of 2019, she returned to the Lafayette Parish, Louisiana public defender's office.[8]
In 2020, Odinet was elected to a six-year term as Lafayette City Court Judge, Division A.[8] She ran as a Republican and succeeded Francie Bouillion.[7] Odinet won 56 percent (32,104) of the vote to nonpartisan Jules Edwards III's 43 percent (24,237).[9][10] In December 2021, Odinet took an unpaid leave of absence following the surfacing of a video of her using racist language in her home.[11][12] Odinet issued a statement that she was on a sedative at the time and had no recollection of the event.[13] The Louisiana Supreme Court appointed Vanessa Harris to replace Odinet from December 17, 2021 through February 28, 2022.[14]
In December 2021, the New Orleans district attorney, Jason Williams, ordered a review of all of Odinet's New Orleans cases by the civil rights division in his office.[6] Odinet resigned from the bench on December 31, 2021.[15][16]
Personal life edit
In 1996, Odinet was a resident of Lafayette, Louisiana.[5] She is married to plastic surgeon and otolaryngologist Kenneth Louis Odinet, Jr.[4][17][1] Odinet is the son of Kenneth Odinet, Sr., who served as the state representative for St. Bernard Parish in the Louisiana House of Representatives from 1987 to 2007 as a Democrat, though he changed his party affiliation to Republican when he ran for Public Service Commissioner in 2008 and lost.[3][18][19] Odinet has four children, two sets of boy/girl twins.[9][7][3]
References edit
- ^ a b "Births". The Daily Advertiser. 2002-02-24. p. 39. Retrieved 2021-12-17.
- ^ "Breaud & Lemonie". The Daily Advertiser. 1995-12-03. p. 31. Retrieved 2021-12-17.
- ^ a b c d Simmerman, John. "'Disgraced Lafayette judge Michelle Odinet was once a promising member of a sprawling NOLA family'". theadvocate.com. The Advocate. Retrieved 1 January 2022.
- ^ a b c d Berry, Alyssa. "Elections 2020: Judge, attorney seeking open seat on Lafayette's city court". The Daily Advertiser. Retrieved 2021-12-17.
- ^ a b c d "New ADA named by Harson". The Daily Advertiser. 1996-12-31. p. 5. Retrieved 2021-12-16 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b Lemos, Gregory; Jones, Kay; Hanna, Jason (December 21, 2021). "New Orleans' DA will review old cases that were handled by a prosecutor who's now a judge on leave over a video with racist language". CNN. Retrieved 2021-12-23.
- ^ a b c d Wyatt, Megan (November 3, 2020). "Michelle Odinet wins Lafayette city court judge seat". The Advocate. Retrieved 2021-12-16.
- ^ a b Stelloh, Tim (December 15, 2021). "Louisiana judge to take unpaid leave after home video captures racial slurs". NBC News. Retrieved 2021-12-16.
- ^ a b "Michelle Odinet on winning Lafayette City Judge Division A". KATC. 2020-11-04. Retrieved 2021-12-16.
- ^ "Michelle Odinet elected Lafayette city court judge". KLFY. 2020-11-04. Retrieved 2021-12-16.
- ^ "Michelle Odinet: Louisiana judge faces calls to quit over home video slurs". BBC News. 2021-12-16. Retrieved 2021-12-16.
- ^ Holpuch, Amanda (2021-12-15). "Louisiana Judge to Take Unpaid Leave After Using Racial Slur". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on 2021-12-16. Retrieved 2021-12-17.
- ^ Young, Ryan; Cartaya, Maria; Spells, Alta; Burnside, Tina (December 16, 2021). "A Louisiana judge is on unpaid leave and facing pressure to resign after a home video with racist language surfaced". CNN. Retrieved 2021-12-16.
- ^ Askelson, Kristin (December 17, 2021). "Supreme Court appoints first Black judge to replace Michelle Odinet in Lafayette City Court". The Advocate. Retrieved 2021-12-21.
- ^ Beals, Monique (January 1, 2022). "Louisiana judge caught using racial slur has resigned". TheHill.
- ^ Patel, Vimal (2022-01-01). "Louisiana Judge Who Used Racial Slur in Video Resigns". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2022-01-04.
- ^ "Odinet opens plastic surgery practice". The Daily Advertiser. 1996-01-07. p. 13. Retrieved 2021-12-17.
- ^ "Our Campaigns Election Resource". Our Campaigns Election Resource. Our Campaigns.
- ^ "'Kenneth Odinet, Sr". Just Facts: Vote Smart. Retrieved 1 January 2022.