United States v. Winn

331 F. Supp. 3d 620
CourtDistrict Court, W.D. Louisiana
DecidedSeptember 20, 2018
DocketCRIMINAL ACTION NO. 18-0032
StatusPublished

This text of 331 F. Supp. 3d 620 (United States v. Winn) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, W.D. Louisiana primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
United States v. Winn, 331 F. Supp. 3d 620 (W.D. La. 2018).

Opinion

ROBERT G. JAMES, UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

Before the Court is an appeal filed by the Defendant, Cathryn M. Winn ("Winn"). [Doc. No. 16]. After a bench trial before Magistrate Judge Kathleen Kay on January 8, 2018, Winn was convicted of three traffic violations: overtaking and passing a school bus ( La. Rev. Stat. 32:80 ), reckless operation of a vehicle ( La. Rev. Stat. 14:99 ), and hit-and-run driving ( La. Rev. Stat. 14:100 ). [Doc. No. 15]. Winn appeals her conviction. After careful consideration of the Defendant's appellate brief, the record, and the applicable law before the Court, Magistrate Judge Kay's decision is AFFIRMED IN PART and REVERSED IN PART .

BACKGROUND INFORMATION

On the morning of September 13, 2017, Winn was driving from her home on Fort Polk to Pickering High School in Leesville, Louisiana, where she is a teacher. In her vehicle at the time were her daughters and her neighbor's children. As Winn was exiting her Fort Polk housing development, her neighbor's daughter stated that she had left her gym shoes and she needed them for school. Winn turned her vehicle around and began traveling back toward her home on Kalina Street. While traveling south on Kalina Street, Winn noticed a school bus approaching from the opposite direction. Winn testified at trial, describing her next actions as follows:

I saw the bus and I saw the kids and I was, like, okay that bus is going to stop. So I stopped. I paused for a second and then it was like slow motion. And I thought about Julianna and Nathan getting to school on time. And I thought about the fact that, if that had been a place where there was a median in the middle of the road, that I wouldn't have to stop. And then I realized that that lot was there, and I had just been on that lot the previous weekend walking my dog so I was very familiar with the terrain on that hill. So in my split second *625of my flash anxiety attack slash hot flash, I just took off and went to the right. I didn't go forward. The terrain was hilly. There's no way I could have been speeding. And I thought they had some kind of video camera on the bus and I was, like, please bring it because you will see I wasn't speeding and I wasn't anywhere near the bus.
So I left the roadway. I went way up on the top of the hill as far away from the bus as I could. The children were far, far away. I did not enter the road until right in front of the driveway of the Stone residence, that first house at the end of the lot; and the bus was far gone by then. And so that was the whole school bus incident.

[Doc. No. 22, Trial Transcript at 77-78].

Also present that morning was First Sergeant Ericka Perez ("Perez"), who was standing in her driveway at 137 Kalina Street. Id. at 9-11. Perez testified that the school bus was stopped in front of her house with red flashing lights and stop signs extended because the children were loading onto the bus. Id. at 11, 15-16. Perez was waiting for the bus to finish picking up the children so that she could leave her house. While waiting, Perez noticed Winn's white SUV approach from the north, jump the curb onto a grassy lot and bypass the bus while the warning lights were out. Id. at 16. Perez also testified that, in her opinion, Winn was speeding because the neighborhood has a posted maximum speed of 15 mph. Id. at 18.

After driving off the road to avoid stopping for the bus, Winn continued on to her house. Id. at 88. She went inside to rinse her mouth with mouthwash because she had vomited during the drive due to stress, and Julianna went into her house next door to grab her shoes. Id. Winn testified that when she got back into her car she thought "holy smoke, you know, I just went over the hill." Id. As a result, Winn stated that she was trying to drive the speed limit on her way back out of the neighborhood when she noticed her neighbor, Amanda Marshall. Id. Winn stopped her vehicle to allow Amanda Marshall to cross the street, and when she proceeded she saw a group of people standing in the road. Id. As she approached, she saw Perez step into the road. Id. Winn then described the following events:

So I turned my wheel a little and she [Perez] started to approach some more in my direction and get more in my path. And I thought, well, she has a look on her face that says she's stopping my car and either I am or am not. So in that split second I decided I'm not stopping this car. I'm protecting these kids in my car. I didn't like her stance. I didn't like her face. I was scared. So I revved my engine-because she stepped this way, I revved my engine to let her know I don't intend to stop, because if I were going to stop I would have stopped. So I revved my engine and then I immediately tried to veer off to the left, and she moved into my path another time. And so as I get close to her I just whip it to the left really hard, and she reaches her hands up and she lunges down on the top of my vehicle and thuds my car so hard. And that is why my daughter was here today, because she was in the front seat too. And so after that I was like, "oh, my God. She just hit my car." And then I looked in my rearview mirror. She was standing like this with her hands up, and I just kept going.

Id. at 88-89. Winn further explained that she did not stop her car because Perez took a domineering stance, and she was scared and concerned for the children in her car. Id. at 90.

Perez testified that she decided to confront Winn because she was speeding and *626went around the bus while the children were present, and because children play on the grassy lot all the time. Id. at 19. Perez testified that she moved into the middle of the road and tried to flag Winn down so she could talk to her, but when the vehicle was around 100 feet from her she saw the vehicle stop and heard a revving of the engine. Id. at 20. Perez said the vehicle then continued on the road towards her and at the last moment it jumped the curb, grazing her with the passenger side of the vehicle. Id. at 20-21. Perez testified that there was sufficient contact with the vehicle to leave residue or dust on her uniform, but she was not injured. Id. at 21, 33. Perez testified that it is possible that she slapped her hand on Winn's vehicle when she was grazed. Id. at 33. Perez testified that Winn did not stop, and continued to drive north on Kalina Street. Id. at 21.

Perez filed a report with the Fort Polk Emergency Services. Id. at 38. Officer Terry Niette ("Officer Niette") investigated the incident, and issued Winn citations for overtaking a school bus ( La. Rev. Stat. 32:80 ), reckless operation of a vehicle ( La. Rev. Stat. 14:99 ), and hit-and-run driving ( La. Rev. Stat.

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Bluebook (online)
331 F. Supp. 3d 620, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-v-winn-lawd-2018.