- A Louisiana judge will take a temporary unpaid leave of absence, her attorney confirmed to Insider.
- Michelle Odinet appeared to use racial slurs in a home video that emerged on social media this week.
- "Odinet is humiliated, embarrassed, and sorry for what she has done," her attorney told Insider.
A Louisiana judge who appeared to use racial slurs in surveillance video has apologized and is taking an unpaid leave of absence — but has not resigned.
Michelle Odinet, a Lafayette City Court Judge, is "humiliated, embarrassed, and sorry for what she has done and the trouble that she has caused to her community," Odinet's lawyer, Dane Ciolino, told Insider.
Her lawyer said the judge will file a request to take "indefinite" leave on Thursday and "in the weeks to come, she will consider what's best for her and her community in the long term."
Odinet's decision to temporarily step down comes days after a video of what appears to be security footage of her home surfaced online. The video appears to show security footage of a burglary attempt as people giggle and spew racial slurs.
In the video, a male can be heard saying the N-word twice. And a woman responds saying the N-word twice. "Like a roach," she adds as she laughs.
On Tuesday, Odinet blamed sedatives, telling Louisiana's KLFY News 10 that she had "zero recollection of the video and the disturbing language used during it."
Elected leaders and civil rights organizations have all come out to condemn the video, with some calling for Odinet's resignation.
Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards joined the calls Thursday for Odinet to resign.
"Quite frankly, there is no place for that kind of language, especially among members of the judiciary who have the most important role in the administration of the justice in our state," Edwards said at an end-of-the-year press conference Thursday.
In the statement to Insider, Odinet's lawyer said the judge "she certainly understands the Governor's view of her inappropriate statements and the similar views of many, many others."