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Judge Whose Medicine Allegedly Had A Side Effect Of Racism Found Not To Have Violated Ethical Conduct

I think the only judge on record to have said that word with more conviction than her is Justice Taney.

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Judge Without an AnswerTo slur or not to slur? The general answer is that you shouldn’t — and you definitely shouldn’t if you’re a judge who’s being recorded. Stuff like that is begging to end up on some legal website. Likely due to a strong urge to make things right, public shaming or some permutation therein, Judge Michelle Odinet added the prefix “former” to her title and stepped down. And while her outburst was bad and not well received by the community she presided over, the question remained open on as to whether she did anything bad legally. Turns out, it was fair game. From the ABA Journal:

A now-former judge who used the N-word in a video taken at her home did not violate lawyer ethics rules, according to a hearing committee of the Louisiana Attorney Disciplinary Board.

Odinet resigned from her position as a Lafayette city court judge within days of the incident. She remained a lawyer, however.

For those who would like to hear or familiarize themselves with Odinet’s Calvin Candie impersonation, you can watch the footage here:

The hearing committee said Odinet’s slur violated judicial conduct rules that require judges to uphold the integrity of the judiciary and to avoid impropriety and the appearance of impropriety in all activities. But Odinet can’t be subject to discipline as a member of the bar, unless her conduct is also grounds for lawyer discipline, the hearing committee said.

In Louisiana, the hearing board said, there is no ground for lawyer discipline “for profanities and undignified/uncivil language used by a lawyer in their own home.”

Ah, the good ol’ curtilage protection against judicial conduct rules. I wonder if other judges make use of that protection when their ethical conduct falls under scrutiny. Surely, discussing insurrections would be covered by the uncivil language prong above. That could be why the investigation into who leaked the Dobbs opinion turned up goose egg.

For what it is worth, the hearing committee went on to list the facts of the case that point to earnest attempts Odinet took to make things right.

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The committee listed several mitigating factors. Odinet had no prior discipline; she had no dishonest or selfish motive; she made a good faith effort to rectify her conduct; she cooperated in the investigation; she suffered “other penalties” that included resigning from her position, losing income and being subject to widespread condemnation; witnesses said she had a good character and reputation; and she showed remorse.

The hearing committee concluded that Odinet’s “self-imposed discipline, resigning as judge, [was] more onerous than any discipline sought by [the Office of Disciplinary Counsel of the Louisiana Attorney Disciplinary Board] such that any requested discipline is superfluous.”

I wish Odinet a fruitful career as an attorney once she overcomes this dark spot (pun intended) in her work history. I’d be on high alert if she decided to pivot in to civil rights representation though. For reasons.

Earlier: On This Week’s Episode Of Judicial Misconduct: Percocet Slurs?

Using N-word At Home Is Not Lawyer Ethics Violation, Hearing Committee Says [ABA Journal]

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Chris Williams became a social media manager and assistant editor for Above the Law in June 2021. Prior to joining the staff, he moonlighted as a minor Memelord™ in the Facebook group Law School Memes for Edgy T14s.  He endured Missouri long enough to graduate from Washington University in St. Louis School of Law. He is a former boatbuilder who cannot swim, a published author on critical race theory, philosophy, and humor, and has a love for cycling that occasionally annoys his peers. You can reach him by email at cwilliams@abovethelaw.com and by tweet at @WritesForRent.

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