An elected state House representative for Arizona’s 5th District, Paul Mosley, bragged to a sheriff’s deputy that he drives at speeds of up to 140 miles per hour, claiming legislative immunity.
The interaction took place at around 4:30 p.m. on March 27th, 2018, according to public records, when Mosley (R-Lake Havasu City) was pulled over by a La Paz County Sheriff’s Deputy just north of Parker, AZ allegedly doing 97 mph.
According to the deputy’s , Mosley was swerving in and out of traffic passing vehicles on State Route 95 north of Resort Drive. Radar indicated that the vehicle’s speed was 97 mph in a 55 mph zone.
When he pulled Mosley over, the deputy said that he saw Mosley waving something out the driver’s side window. When the deputy got out of his patrol vehicle and made contact with Mosley on the passenger side, he said it turned out that Mosley had been showing him a placard which indicated that he was an elected state representative, and reportedly told the deputy that he shouldn’t waste his time processing a citation because he has legislative immunity.
“I explained the reason for the stop to Mosley and asked if there was any reason he was traveling so fast,” the deputy said in his written report. “I informed Mosley that 97 mph in a 55 mph zone is considered criminal speed. Mosley stated he was just in a hurry to get home to surprise his family in Lake Havasu City, Arizona. Mosley also told me that I should just let him go and that I shouldn’t waste anymore of my time dealing with him due to his immunity as a government official.”
Legislative immunity is designed to protect lawmakers from targeted attempts to keep them from voting on essential state matters. According to Arizona state law:
“Members of the legislature shall be privileged from arrest in all cases except treason, felony, and breach of the peace, and they shall not be subject to any civil process during the session of the legislature, nor for fifteen days next before the commencement of each session. (Article IV, part 2, section 6.).”
After leaving Mosley to run his driver’s license, the deputy walked back to Mosley’s vehicle and told him to watch his speed, reminding him of how fast he was going.