Arizona Gov. Ducey issues executive order to limit immunity for legislators
Jul 20, 2018, 1:27 PM | Updated: Jul 24, 2018, 10:47 am
PHOENIX – Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey signed an executive order Friday that would remove reckless driving from the types of offenses that lawmakers have immunity from during the legislative session.
“No one is above the law, and certainly not politicians,” Ducey said in a news release announcing the order. “Everyone should know that, but clearly a reminder is needed.”
The order came in the wake of scandal surrounding state Rep. Paul Mosley (R-Lake Havasu City), who was captured on video, after being stopped for speeding, boasting that he’d driven as fast as 140 mph.
Earlier this week, it was learned that Mosley had been pulled over and warned by state troopers multiple times.
“Public safety must come first, and we have a responsibility to ensure that our officers are supported in enforcing the law, and have the tools, under the Constitution, to hold all bad actors accountable,” Ducey said in a news release.
“This executive order will provide Arizona’s officers with the support and trust they need to exercise their professional judgment and expertise without regard for an individual’s political stature.”
On Thursday, Arizona Department of Public Safety Director Col. Frank Milstead told KTAR News 92.3 FM’s Bruce St. James and Pamela Hughes he’d sought a legal review of the state’s immunity statue.
According to the Arizona constitution, legislators are “privileged from arrest in all cases except treason, felony, and breach of the peace” while the legislature was in session.
Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich told KTAR News 92.3 FM that the statute goes back to the state’s territorial days, “where you had folks like sheriff’s offices that were arresting legislators to prevent them from going down to take key votes.”
He said it wasn’t designed as a “get-out-of-jail or no-prosecution pass” for state lawmakers.
On Twitter, Ducey questioned whether the provision should even exist.
Also — as long as this Constitutional provision exists (and it really should not), it needs to be clear that it has zero application outside of legislative session.
— Doug Ducey (@dougducey) July 20, 2018
Under the executive order, “any criminal violation that endangers the safety of another including but not limited to, criminal speeding, reckless driving and driving under the influence” should be considered as a “breach of the peace.”
“It is clear in some recent cases that the peace has been breached, and we have a responsibility to enforce the law in these cases,” the order said.
Here is the full text of the order:
1. Peace officers employed by the State of Arizona, including those at the Department of Public Safety, the Department of Transportation and any other agency of the State that may be in a position to enforce criminal traffic violations, shall consider any criminal violation that endangers the safety of another including but not limited to, criminal speeding, reckless driving and driving under the influence, as a “breach of the peace” under Title 4, Section 6, Part 2 of the Arizona Constitution. It is clear in some recent cases that the peace has been breached, and we have a responsibility to enforce the law in these cases.
2. Peace officers employed by the State of Arizona shall strictly limit application of Title 4, Section 6, Part 2 of the Arizona Constitution, to circumstances where immunity applies during the legislative session and the 15 days immediately prior to the start of the session.
3. All agencies managing Arizona Peace Officers and Standards Training Board (AZPOST) certified peace officers are encouraged to adopt this policy as it relates to Title 4, Section 6, Part 2 of the Arizona Constitution.
KTAR News 92.3 FM’s Griselda Zetino contributed to this report.