If a license plate says ‘US Senate,’ can it park anywhere, say, a handicapped spot?
I did a little weak googling and can’t find much - nothing I trust.
No. Officially, they are subject to the same parking and traffic rules and regulations as everyone else.
However, in practice, at least around DC proper, the police generally look the other way, at least as far as minor parking violations go. I can’t speak for Congresspeople in their home states. Anecdotally, I’ve seen plenty of cars with “Senator” and “Congressional” plates parked illegally around town with no ticket. My personal theory is the DC Metropolitan Police have bigger fish to fry (or it just isn’t worth the hassle), and the Capitol Police don’t give a shit.
I suppose it would be a state-level thing; that’s a good point.
Do you have a cite that they are officially subject to the same parking regulations?
Or is it just the absence of a cite that they are exempt?
US Constitution, Article 1, Section 6:
The Senators and Representatives shall receive a Compensation for their
Services, to be ascertained by Law, and paid out of the Treasury of the United
States. **They shall in all Cases, except Treason, Felony and Breach of the
Peace, be privileged from Arrest during their Attendance at the Session of
their respective Houses, and in going to and returning from the same; **and for
any Speech or Debate in either House, they shall not be questioned in any other
Place.
(my bolding). The DC police have to be very circumspect as to what they can do with Senators & Reps while Congress is in session.
Parking tickets do not constitute an arrest.
True. And case law supports you. But I think that a colorable argument could be made that having to deal with a parking citation, e.g. deciding whether to fight it or not, having to write a check, having to tell your secretary to deal with it, paying money out of your own funds, could constitute an interruption in Congressional business sufficient enough to call it an “arrest” for Constitutional purposes.
From this story at Roll Call:
The section of D.C. law they are referring to is, I think, (IANAL), DC Code section § 50-2201.03 (c), which says:
The full DC Code, if you’re having trouble with insomnia, can be found here.
Thanks for the answers. I guess in other states, when congress is not in session, it would depend on the state, and there probably aren’t any that make the exception.
I do remember a congressman or senator who got stopped for drunk driving waving around a copy of the constitution in a Virginia trooper’s face some years ago (at least back in the 90’s), and I seem to remember he ‘won’ (although there was some argument in the media about whether he was legally in the right, and whether the section of the constitution **muldoonthief **cited applied to all arrest or only civil arrest).
Ha! I remembered that part of the constitution because it’s what Rep. Patrick Kennedy tried to hide behind several years ago when stopped for DUI:
U.S. Capitol Police officers suspected that Kennedy was intoxicated when he staggered out of his Ford Mustang shortly before 3 a.m. after he nearly hit a police car and then crashed into a security barrier. But the six-term congressman – who said he was trying to reach the Capitol for a vote – was not given a sobriety test. Instead, Capitol Police commanders ordered that Kennedy be driven to his nearby home, touching off complaints that the son of Sen. Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass.) received special treatment.
The purse of the Article 1 Section 6 bit above less an entitlement given to MoCs than it is to protect them from harassment/detention in such a way that prevents them from doing their job. This is why only felonies, treason, and breach of peace are specified (if you charge a MoC with a felony, you’d better be able to back it up) - but y’know, you wouldn’t really want to postpone locking a traitor up. I would also note the qualifying phrase that states that the protection applies only when Congress is in session.
Depending on your jurisdiction, police can arrest or issue a citation you for a period of time after witnessing your illegal act. A friend I used to work with (a police officer) and I witnessed this dude driving like an ass. For various reasons, he didn’t want to make a traffic stop. Instead he took down the plate and made a note of what the driver looked like. He called the driver the following day, just to let him know that he’d been seen and should stop driving like an ass. At the end of a brief phone conversation, four separate citations were in the mail.
Moral of the story is that, if they really wanted to, a LEO could just sit on a misdemeanor charge until Congress is no longer session. Oh, and cops hate when you get obnoxious with them.
Although it would probably be smarter to just make a comment to a hungry journalist.
I would also think that drunk driving could be argued as being a “breach of the peace.”
The ARREST quoted here is on the CIVIL Process, not criminal. During the drafting, arrest on the Civil Process was more common.
In my state also we have a “Privilege from arrest” law, but that also applies to arrest on the CIVIL Process. If I remember correctly, the Ohio Supreme Court case was Akron v. Mingo (1958?) that clarified it from arrest for a criminal law.
Mingo was on his way from court as a juror and they arrested him on some charge, I forget now. He claimed the PRA law meant he was falsely arrested. The OSC said, it was NOT related to a criminal charge, just arrest on the Civil process. The Ohio constitution forbids imprisonment for debt except in cases of fraud, so if faud is committed concerning debt, fraudulent conveyance, etc., then a Contempt charge is possible for arrest on the Civil Process.
The PFA law forbids a civil arrest while going to and coming from a worship service, a juror going to and coming from court, a voter, etc.
I doubt it, while the defintion of arrest at times is not an academic one, the US SC in Knowles v. Iowa ruled the issue of a citation is NOT an arrest. Although the case concerned a “search incident to citation”.
While a prolonged Terry Stop can turn into an arrest, the issuance of a citation is not.
Even before Knowles, my state had a similar ruling, State v. Darrah (198?)
Here’s a similar Colorado case from earlier this year: http://www.gjsentinel.com/news/articles/not-above-law-bradford-tells-house-session
Yeah, googling “Senator constitution beats DUI” turns up a bunch of state-level instances, like the Denver one and some in Minnesota.
Also, an interesting and compelling case about the TSA and Rand Paul - does the TSA have the right to detain a senator?
So, lawbuff, does that mean all the reps and senators who claim immunity from DUI if they’re in session are legally wrong, even if their bluff works? I will feel better about the universe if it is so.
As they possess no Diplomatic immunity, yes, as long as the Constitution is followed.
Congressmen are not immune from Investigatory stops when the Cause is supported.
Under the federal constitution, per the SC, they are NOT entitled to immunity. The only exception is if that particular state/jurisdiction where the offense occurred has broadened section 6 to apply it to thier laws. This is permissable. I do not know if any has?
While most states permit a warrantless Misdemeanor arrest if the act was committed in the officer’s presence (emphasis added), a warrant can always be secured later, if needed. Most Misdemeanors are not a mandatory arrest on scene.
Privilege From Arrest
This clause is practically obsolete. It applies only to arrests in civil suits, which were still common in this country at the time the Constitution was adopted.376It does not apply to service of process in either civil377 or criminal cases.378Nor does it apply to arrest in any criminal case. The phrase “treason, felony or breach of the peace” is interpreted to withdraw all criminal offenses from the operation of the privilege.379
…Bradford was referring to Article V, Section 16 of the Colorado Constitution, which protects state lawmakers from being arrested for anything except treason or a felony when “going to and returning from” the Legislature…
I suspect the case law will mirror the federal, applying only to civil arrest. She was a state legislator, not federal.
It’s kind of scary that I live in a state where DUI is not a felony.
Here is that case I mentioned, it was online as a matter of fact, or a syllabus really.
…The interpretation placed by the Supreme Court of the United State upon the wording of the exception to the immunity provision in Section 6, Article I of the United States Constitution, should be, and it hereby is, adopted and placed upon the same words in Section 2331.13 of the Ohio Revised Code…
So in Ohio, state Legislators are not immune from criminal arrest while going to, at or coming from a session.
http://oh.findacase.com/research/wfrmDocViewer.aspx/xq/fac.19590715_0040155.OH.htm/qx
Oh Akron v. Mingo is also footnoted in Atwater v. Lago Vista, USSC. As a side note, Ohio does not conform to the Atwater decision, we have greater protection.
I’m certainly no legal expert, and it’s been quite a few years, but I used to work on Capitol Hill (on the Senate side). First of all, back then, they had an underground garage for Senators only. In addition, there were several aboveground parking lots controlled by the Capitol Police, plus most of the street parking in the immediate vicinity. So they probably wouldn’t have to worry about parking while at work.
Back then, as far as I recall, there were no official license plates for regular Senators or Representatives, although a handful in leadership positions may have had official cars with official plates. But the ones I worked for had their own cars with license plates issued by their own states.
I think most of us who worked there got decals indicating where we were allowed to park. The higher your standing in the office pecking order, the closer you got to park. When I started working there in 1966, I parked in a lot about a block from the office building. Many of us back then referred to it as the “peon lot.” (1st and D, NE, for those familiar with the Hill) By the time I left the Hill in 1982, I was parking a block further away and the former “peon lot” had become primo parking.
I’m sure Capitol Police have always tried to look out for Senators and Representatives. Another fond memory involves watching them stop traffic for a jogger in white T-shirt and white shorts, looking almost like underwear. That was Senator Proxmire of Wisconsin who routinely jogged 6 or 7 miles each way from his home in upper northewest to the Hill. I suspect tourists who happened to see that probably wondered what was going on.
But back to the original question. I don’t believe they’re immune from parking tickets. But I also doubt if they park on the street very often. Their residence almost certainly has some off-street parking, they’ve got the underground garage at work, when they go to an official function off the Hill, they’re almost certainly driven there by an aide who then parks the car in an underground garage at the venue. It just wouldn’t be an issue.