Records show history of speeding for legislator
A state lawmaker criticized for claiming legislative immunity during a traffic stop in March has a history of speeding without consequence on Arizona roadways, documents show.
Since February 2017, troopers with the Arizona Department of Public Safety warned Rep. Paul Mosley about excessive speeding on five occasions and, on a sixth, about his failure to heed a stop sign, according to DPS records obtained by The Arizona Republic.
Police body-camera video released last week shows Mosley, a Republican from Lake Havasu City, telling a La Paz County sheriff’s deputy that “legislative immunity” prevents him from getting a speeding ticket. The deputy wrote in his report that he had clocked Mosley driving 97 mph in a 55-mph zone.
In video of the March 27 traffic stop, the deputy warned Mosley to watch his speed out of safety. Mosley then told the deputy he drove over 120 mph earlier and, at times, drives up to 140 mph.
The DPS records show instances where troopers stopped Mosley for driving at least 16 mph over the speed limit and, at most, in excess of 33 mph over it:
❚ 8:42 p.m. February 16, 2017, in La Paz County. Speed: 80 mph in 55-mph zone. Trooper warned Mosley for a passing-zone violation.
❚ 8:46 p.m. April 13, 2017, in La Paz County. Mosley failed to stop at a stop sign.
❚ 10:29 p.m. April 22, 2017, in La Paz County. Speed: 72 mph in 55-mph zone. Other violations: having a minor less than 16 years old in the front passenger seat without a seat belt.
❚ 7:33 a.m. March 18, 2018, in Mohave County. Speed: 71 mph in a 55-mph zone.
❚ 3:17 p.m. April 5, in Maricopa County. Speed: 81 mph in a 65-mph zone.
❚ 5:05 p.m. April 5, La Paz County. Speed: 88 mph in a 55-mph zone.
Troopers don’t indicate whether Mosley claimed legislative immunity, but each let him go with a warning.
Mosley didn’t return calls for comment about the incidents. A DPS official said the troopers’ reports would stand on their own, and he declined to comment further.
The Arizona Constitution provides legislative immunity, saying lawmakers are “privileged from arrest in all cases except treason, felony, and breach of the peace.”
But the immunity is not indefinite — the constitutional provision says only that lawmakers cannot be subject to civil proceedings while the Legislature is in session, or for 15 days before the beginning of a legislative session.