Civil Law Strict Construction Against the Penal Authority – La. C.C. art. 9 + Penal Statute Doctrine
Louisiana civil-law tradition combines TWO interpretive principles that strongly favor parking ticket defendants: (1) La. C.C. art. 9–13 require that the LEGISLATURE'S literal language control — courts may not expand statutes through equity; and (2) penal/quasi-penal statutes (which include parking ordinances imposing fines) must be STRICTLY construed against the State (State v. Murray, La. 1982; State v. Skipper, 387 So.2d 592 (La. 1980)). The combined effect is that any ambiguity, vagueness, or gap in a parking statute or ordinance must be resolved IN FAVOR of the defendant. This is materially stronger than the rule of lenity in common-law states because it is rooted both in the Civil Code and in Louisiana criminal law jurisprudence.
Legal basis
La. C.C. art. 9–13; La. R.S. §14:3 (criminal statutes strictly construed); State v. Skipper, 387 So.2d 592 (La. 1980); State v. Murray, 416 So.2d 540 (La. 1982)
Sample appeal wording
Central Adjudication Bureau / [Parish] Court Re: Citation [CITATION_NUMBER] CONTEST – STRICT CONSTRUCTION REQUIRES DISMISSAL The ordinance under which I am cited – [§NUMBER, e.g., New Orleans Code §154-XXXX] – is ambiguous as to [SPECIFY: the geographic boundary / the time of day / the term "commercial vehicle" / the meaning of "loading zone"]. A reasonable reading of the literal text supports my conduct because [EXPLAIN]. Louisiana civil-law interpretive doctrine compels resolution in my favour: • La. C.C. art. 9: clear and unambiguous law shall be applied as written; courts shall not expand it. • La. C.C. art. 11: words shall be given their generally prevailing meaning. • Penal/quasi-penal statutes are strictly construed against the State (State v. Skipper, 387 So.2d 592 (La. 1980); La. R.S. §14:3 by analogy). Because the ordinance is ambiguous and a reasonable reading exonerates me, the citation must be DISMISSED. [NAME] | [DATE]
Replace [PARKING DATE], [NtK DATE] etc. with your own dates before sending.
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- La. C.C. art. 9–13
- La. R.S. §14:3
- State v. Skipper, 387 So.2d 592 (La. 1980)
- State v. Murray, 416 So.2d 540 (La. 1982)