A 3rd Circuit Court of Appeal decision rendered in a Rapides Parish lawsuit explains in vivid detail why Woodworth has earned a reputation as the most infamous speed trap town in Louisiana.

Patricia Parker and two of her co-workers were traveling early on the morning of Jan. 4, 2009, to the Methodist Conference Center at Woodworth where they were employed. Parker turned off U.S. 165 onto Coulee Crossing Road, which intersects with Methodist Parkway that leads to the conference center.

Officer David R. Godwin of the Woodworth City Police Department began following Parker on Coulee Crossing Road with his dash cam video recording Parker’s vehicle. After Parker turned onto Methodist Parkway, Godwin turned on his police unit lights signaling Parker to pull over.

Godwin later admitted Parker hadn’t committed any traffic violation but testified he stopped her vehicle because “he wanted to see who she was” and “where she was going.” Parker recalled the officer told her he pulled her over because she and her occupants looked suspicious.

After some questioning, Parker was cited for driving under suspension, unlawful use of a driver’s license, operating a vehicle not covered by insurance/security and for not having a current registration. Although Parker had proof her license was valid and the vehicle had insurance and a proper registration, Godwin wasn’t interested.

The officer had the truck towed at a cost of $193, and the fines for the traffic citations totaled $1,060. The town ultimately sought to collect over $1,500 from Parker.

Parker filed suit against Woodworth and Godwin on April 14, 2009. Two months later, the magistrate court for Woodworth issued warrants for Parker’s arrest for failure to pay $1,580 in fines for the traffic citations. She was arrested Aug. 31, 2009, and spent 25 days in jail.

The 9th Judicial District Court of Rapides Parish on May 25, 2011, granted a summary judgment in favor of Woodworth and Godwin, dismissing all of Parker’s claims. Parker appealed and the 3rd Circuit based in Lake Charles reversed the trial court on March 7, 2012, and remanded the case for further proceedings.

The case went to trial and Parker was awarded general damages of $30,000 for her psychological suffering, together with legal interest. She was also reimbursed for fines she had paid.

Woodworth appealed the trial court ruling, and the case went back to the 3rd Circuit. The three-judge panel hearing the appeal consisted of Judges Sylvia R. Cooks, Billy H. Ezell and Phyllis M. Keaty.

The court said it was up to Godwin and the town to prove there was justification for infringing on Parker’s constitutional expectation of privacy. It added that Godwin “boldly admitted” in his trial testimony he had the right to detain her “to check to see if there’s any warrants, see if there — if this person is wanted and there’s other things that goes on besides just — just — I’m going to check and make sure everything is all right before I let her go. I do it for everybody.”

Godwin had no right, the appeal court said, to infringe upon the privacy of citizens he serves without the requirement that he have a clear and reasonable basis to believe a crime has been or is about to be committed.

The court quoted Edward Larvadain Jr., Parker’s attorney, with whom it said it agreed.

“In other words, these police officers have been habitually violating the rights of individuals passing through the town of Woodworth by illegally violating their constitutional rights against illegal search and seizure …,” Larvadain said. “These officers have been doing wrong so long, they have begun to believe that wrong is right.”

The court said, “We could not say it better.” And the court used even stronger language when it said Godwin’s testimony demonstrated he genuinely believes he has a right to make these “check-em-out stops.”

“Godwin’s testimony shows a complete lack of knowledge of the restraints imposed upon police conduct by the U.S. Constitution and the laws and Constitution of the State of Louisiana,” the court said.

“To be clear, these sorts of ‘check-em-out’ stops are forbidden and are repugnant to our federal and state constitutional right to privacy, and when such conduct is identified, it must be condemned by the judiciary.”

The court called what Parker experienced a “nightmare” as she struggled to stop her unlawful detention and ultimate incarceration.

“The mental anguish she must have endured while incarcerated for 25 days and nights cannot be explained away or left uncompensated,” the court said.

“Additionally, Parker left her employment with the Methodist Center, where she had been employed for over three years, because she lived in fear that any time she passed through the Town of Woodworth on her way to work she would again be subjected to the same kind of unlawful treatment she endured in this case which might also lead to her unlawful imprisonment again…”

The 34-page appeal court decision in this case should be required reading for anyone in law enforcement. It is Case No. 14-943 on the 3rd Circuit website (www.la3circuit.org).

The thousands of motorists who have been ticketed while driving through Woodworth over many, many years will know and appreciate how Parker must have felt when she was stopped on that early morning of Jan. 4, 2009. And for Parker, this eventually turned out to be a violation of her individual liberty far beyond reason.

The court concluded, “It is difficult to calculate a just amount of damages which would fully compensate a victim such as Parker for the losses and indignities she suffered in this case.”

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