NASHUA, N.H. (AP) – Getting a break on minor motor vehicle violations is one of the few perks state lawmakers enjoy, according to the lawyer for a state representative who’s fighting a speeding ticket.
Rep. Bea Francouer, R-Nashua, was cited for speeding Jan. 4 after a Nashua police officer clocked her at 44 mph in a 30 mph zone.
She is challenging the ticket, however, arguing that the state constitution forbids police from arresting legislators on their way to or from Concord on official business – in this case, Gov. John Lynch’s inauguration.
Francouer’s lawyer, Rep. Gregory Sorg of Franconia, said police traditionally have given legislators some deference and tend not to stop them unless the offense is blatant.
Sorg said New Hampshire State Police have assured him that is the case.
“We’re essentially volunteers there,” Sorg said. “The one thing that we get to our benefit is being left alone as we travel to and from the State House … They cut us slack.”
Sorg said he doesn’t use the special legislative license plates but once was let go with a verbal warning after he was stopped doing 78 mph on the highway.
“If we were traveling to Concord at 100 miles per hour down I-93, I wouldn’t expect them to let that go,” Sorg said, adding later, “We’re very aware that if we abuse this … we know that would have a very negative effect on the public’s view of us and on the Legislature as a whole.”
According to the New Hampshire Constitution, legislators can’t be arrested or held for court appearances on their way to or from a session of the legislature.
The provision originally was placed in the Constitution as part of the checks and balance system of government, to ensure that the governor or other officials couldn’t send out troops or police to keep opposing legislators from voting, Sorg said.
Police contend that stopping someone to issue a traffic ticket does not amount to an arrest and that legislators aren’t immune from prosecution for such offenses.
They also noted that Francouer was stopped at 8:10 a.m., while the inauguration didn’t start until 11 a.m.
Sorg said Francoeur considers challenging the ticket “a matter of principle.”
“She’s not trying to make herself better than anyone else,” Sorg said. “When she gets behind a principle, she won’t budge. She’s a feisty lady.”
“She said, ‘I just felt like I needed to make an issue of it, for the protection of all of us,”‘ Sorg said. “It’s there (in the Constitution), it ought to be acknowledged and respected, just like the state police do.”
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