Law shields legislators from citations

AUSTIN (KXAN) - A DPS sergeant is being verbally reprimanded and may have to be "counseled" after he ticketed a driver for speeding - because the passenger was a state senator.

A statute written in the mid-1800s protects lawmakers from being cited, detained, or in some cases, arrested during a legislative session. That apparently includes ticketing people who are driving with a lawmaker in the car.

The senator, Republican Steve Ogden of Bryan, did not complain or mention the law during the stop, a source within the department said.

In fact, Ogden said Monday, he disagrees with DPS interpretation that a citation counts as "an arrest" under the law.

"In my opinion, the law means 'arrest,'" Ogden said. "It doesn't exempt a lawmaker from getting a ticket if they're speeding."

Here's the statute in the Texas Code of Criminal Conduct, written the same today as it was in 1859, the last available code where it's found:

TEXAS CODE OF CRIMINAL CONDUCT:

Art. 1.21. PRIVILEGE OF LEGISLATORS
Senators and Representatives shall, except in cases of treason, felony or breach of the peace, be privileged from arrest during the session of the Legislature, and in going to and returning from the same, allowing one day for every twenty miles such member may reside from the place at which the Legislature is convened.

A 'routine' stop

It was a routine traffic stop in Dimebox, around 4 p.m. on Friday, March 27th. A DPS sergeant saw a car speeding 12 miles over the limit, issued the woman a ticket and headed back to work.

The only problem was the woman he cited was the wife of Sen. Steve Ogden, R-Bryan, and the passenger in her car was the senator himself.

Ogden didn't ask for a reprieve for his wife, and the sergeant apparently went back to his superiors and told them about the citation.

But even though there was no complaint, the sergeant, a 13-year veteran of the agency, was verbally reprimanded and schooled on the law by his superiors, according to sources within the DPS.

No official action was taken against him, sources said. But the idea that the sergeant might have gotten heat over it did not sit well with Ogden, who is chairman of the powerful Senate Finance Committee.

"I got to the office this morning and I learned by email, from friends of his, that he might be getting criticized for giving us a ticket," Ogden said. "So I told a staffer to call DPS and tell them not to criticize him for doing his job."

He added, "I don’t think the constitution suggests, nor do I believe, that if you’re speeding you should not get a ticket."

DPS officials said he is not facing any reprimand, as far as they know. However, they did confirm that writing a ticket is considered an arrest.

"What you're doing is you're signing a ticket promising to appear in court," said DPS spokesperson Tela Mange. "So, you're being released on your own recognizance."

Lawmakers also enjoy this privilege before and after session - one day for every 20 miles they live away from the Capitol. That means if a lawmaker lives in Amarillo, he or she would enjoy 24 days of immunity even before the legislative session begins - a clear throwback to the 19th-century modes of transport, when it could take an entire day to go 20 miles.

This law applies even if the lawmaker is not in a state marked vehicle, as in the case of Sen. Ogden on Friday.

It was apparently written as a way to keep lawmakers from being detained for political reasons, like making them unable to vote on a bill.

"This could still apply today though," said Rep. Warren Chisum (R-Pampa). "When we have votes that depend on one or two people."

The exception to the law is if the lawmakers is arrested for treason, felonies, or any kind of "breach of peace" crime, although DPS officials did not immediately say which crimes constitutes a "breach of peace."

DWI arrests, for example, are misdemeanors on first offense. But state Rep. Harold Dutton, D-Houston, was arrested for DWI in April 2007, during a legislative session.

Gov. Perry's infamous words

This is not the first case a trooper has received verbal reprimand for citing a lawmaker and/or failing to recognize the politician during the traffic stop. In 2000, Perry was caught on videotape taken by a trooper's mounted camera after his driver was stopped for speeding. The video camera captured an agitated Perry urging the officer to "let us get on down the road."

According to her colleagues, the trooper who stopped Perry was later berated by her superiors for not recognizing the lawmaker.

The dashboard footage of the incident was later used in a 2002 gubernatorial campaign by Democrat Tony Sanchez, whom Perry easily defeated.

History of DPS and Sen. Ogden

Though sources said he did not complain about the incident, Sen. Ogden might be one of the last lawmakers troopers would want to agitate. In 2007, Ogden passed a law that requires each law enforcement agency adopt physical fitness standards that a law enforcement officer must meet to continue employment with the agency. According to DPS agency insiders, this came after Ogden noticed one of the troopers was out of shape.