A Black judge on the receiving end of a racial slur by a white defendant in court has changed his mind about his punishment after the man apologized for using the term.
In the viral video, Jefferson Circuit Court Judge Olu A. Stevens in Kentucky, who is Black, revoked white defendant Adam Satterly’s bond on drug charges Monday. Upon leaving the courtroom, Satterly yells from the hallway “punk a– n—–!”
After letting out a sigh, Stevens utters under his breath, “[This is] how the new year starts” before calling Satterly back into the courtroom.
“Is there something that you wish to say to me,” Stevens asked.
“No, that was to my brother,” Satterly answered.
“I heard you say a racial epithet,” Stevens said.
“No, no, no I didn’t mean it like that,” Satterly replied.
“Oh, you didn’t mean it like that? You don’t speak those words in here. And that word particularly, you don’t use that word,” Stevens said. “I’m going to hold you in contempt right now for having used it in this courtroom. It’s disrespectful; don’t ever do it again.”
Stevens initially added 60 days of jail time for Satterly for using the racial slur but on Tuesday, Stevens reduced the sentence to time served after Satterly apologized. The judge reportedly lectured the Satterly on the proper way to conduct himself in court and about his use of the n-word.
Stevens is known for his stance on efforts to balance out the justice system. He made headlines in 2015 for halting several cases with Black defendants facing all-white juries and voicing his opposition on social media.
Appointed by Kentucky Gov. Steven Beshear in 2009, Stevens was elected by voters in November 2010 and re-elected without opposition in 2014, winning an eight-year term that expires in 2023. He is a 1992 graduate of Morehouse College and graduated from George Washington University Law School in 1995.
