Luis Gutierrez, Congressional representative of the Illinois 4th district, was arrested yesterday for unruly behavior at a rally outside the White House:
(CNN) – Police arrested Illinois Rep. Luis Gutierrez at an immigration rally outside the White House on Saturday.
Gutierrez, a Democrat, was among a group of protesters arrested by police in front of the White House.
The protesters wore T-shirts that read, “ARREST ME NOT MY FAMILY” and “ARREST ME NOT MY FRIENDS.”
I’ll be interested in hearing the reactions of legal scholars to this. In my view he should not have been arrested as a consequence of Article I, Section 6 of the Constitution:
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.
The emphasis is mine. Congress is nearly always in session these days and Congressmen are always arguably “going to and returning from” their duties.
However, I think he should be censured and possibly expelled from the House by his fellow Congressmen. Congressmen shouldn’t be engaging in this kind of behavior.
As a sideline IMO the Illinois 4th District is likely to cease to exist in anything resembling its present form in the next re-districting which is just around the corner.
I think that clause has been given a very narrow reading, as applying to civil arrests, something that I don’t even know if it happens anymore. I recall write-ups on this involving perhaps Cynthia McKinney (?) a few years ago.
To me, that reads like the lawyer’s privilege from arrest when attending court, violating posted speed limits. The notion is that the innocent client would suffer from a default, so the lawyer cannot be detained, but it doesn’t mean that once the need is gone, the lawyer cannot be given a ticket or sent to jail.
No, it was the infamous Mr. Craig, flying to and from D.C. on the people’s business. The phrase “breach of peace” devolves from English parlaiment, and would include all criminal offenses.
http://volokh.com/archives/archive_2007_09_09-2007_09_15.shtml#1189454362
I think the plain reading of the Constitution wouldn’t offer the Rep. any immunity. It seems to read that if Gutierrez acted this way ON THE FLOOR OF THE HOUSE, he could still be arrested if his actions constituted a breach of the peace.
Too bad being a windbag doesn’t qualify as a breach of the peace. Then again, it might be hard to muster a quorum.
“However, I think he should be censured and possibly expelled from the House by his fellow Congressmen. Congressmen shouldn’t be engaging in this kind of behavior.”
LOL Of course they shouldn’t. But the intersection of House rules violations and a congressman’s behavior is currently the null set. And, if a Democrat, the notion that the press might follow and press such a story to its logical conclusion is ludicrous.
Ladies and gentlemen, I present you the perfect political storm: politicians with complete “journalistic” cover. PLAY BALL!!