LA Supreme Court Replaces Judge Odinet With Southern Alum

Friday, December 17, the Louisiana Supreme Court replaced Judge Michelle Odinet with, Judge Vanessa Harris. The Southern University alumni will serve as judge pro tempore through Feb. 28 following Odinet's suspension for using racial slurs and demeaning epithets in a viral video reported on Monday, December 13.

Harris is a retired Opelousas City Court Judge, ironically became the first African American to serve as a City Court judge in Lafayette, Louisiana. Judge Harris has a long list of accolades and is more than qualified for the position according to The Advocate.

In 1985, Judge Vanessa Harris earned her Bachelor’s in Computer Science from Southern University. In 1988, Harris received her Juris Doctorate from Southern University Law Center and began her career shortly thereafter. She practiced law with the Harris & Harris Law Firm in Opelousas, LA, and served as Assistant D.A. in St. Landry Parish until 2008.

The following year in 2009, Judge Harris made history becoming the first female and African American ever elected to serve as Opelousas City Court Judge. She proudly presided on the bench for 11 years until her retirement in December 2020. Only to make history again in 2021, a moment marked with a hardy congrats by civil rights attorney Benjamin Crump,