re: Woman spent 6 years fighting ticket in Woodworth, LA

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in what possible way is this legal?

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It stumped me too. I'm definitely no attorney. Just passing it on as it was told to me.

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"Stay outta the Woodworth's"

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Nice

LMA is very strong in the Legislature. Every rep and senator has to suck up to all these local guys, so while that would be a good thing, politics killed it.

I agree about Ms. Parker's case. That sucked and Woodworth should pay. However, I have a cousin that lives on Coulee Crossing, so when I go visit him I make sure I drive the speed limit because I don't want any trouble from some two-bit pissant small town cop.

Do any of y'all remember Jessel Ourso and his band of armed goons with the Iberville Parish Sheriff's office?

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After Parker was pulled over, another vehicle turned onto the same private road — and was allowed to travel on. "Absent a traffic violation, so far as can be gleaned from this record, the only visible attribute of Parker and her passengers that might have distinguished them from other motorists turning on Methodist Parkway was they are all African Americans," the court wrote. "There simply is no other distinguishing thing that can be surmised."

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You mean the court panel that the article proudly said had an old school civil rights activist on it? The main folks who still act like it is the 60s?


All the acticle said was that they "couldn't see any possibility other than race."

Well gee, it was dark and apparently the officer can clearly see the race of the occupants at a range so he pulled them over?

The notion of it being "could only be racially motivated" is so disingenuous that it's insulting. Slap him down all you want for overstepping his bounds, but where did the racist come from?

It could have been the make and model of the vehicle being "out of place."

Or hell, the officer might have just been bored at the time.

He can't do either, but it doesn't make him a racist.

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Several years ago in an attempt to put an end to local jurisdiction speed traps (tickets for 37mph in a 35mph) like Woodworth, Washington, Maurice, Henderson, etc...

The state legislature passed a law stating any ticket written by a local law enforcement agency LESS THAN 10 miles an hour above the speed limit, the fine $$$ goes to the State of La.

Any ticket written by a local law enforcement agency for 10 miles per hour ABOVE the posted speed limit, the local jurisdiction gets the $$$ fine.

This is why if your driving down I 10 thru Henderson and they are working traffic, you will not get stopped at 79, but you will at 80.

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I thought that was interstate hiways only?

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Nowhere in this country have I found a worst speed trap than in that stinking armpit of a town called Woodworth, LA."

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Sun says hello.

Did you see this?

This is an excerpt of a court document detailing the ruling by the judges:

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ion, so far as can be gleaned from this record, the only visible attribute of Parker and her passengers that might have distinguished them from other motorists turning on Methodist Parkway was they are all African Americans," the court wrote. "There simply is no other distinguishing thing that can be surmised."

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They flat out say that there is literally no other reason but race that made the officer pull over that particular car.

I saw all that, and that's fine, but I think greed played a huge part in it as well.

You did see how many tickets they write, correct?

ETA: The report, detailing fiscal years 2004 through 2006, showed that with each year, Woodworth collected more money. In 2005, the town wrote 5,858 tickets and collected $818,262.66; the next year, that total was 7,696 tickets and $1,017,418.58. Woodworth reported having five police officers — which would mean, in fiscal year 2006, each officer wrote an average of 1,539 tickets
With #'s like that, they are going to steal from everybody.

I am glad she fought it and got paid, whatever the reason.