ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Thursday, March 28, 1996 TAG: 9603280030
SECTION: EDITORIAL PAGE: A-10 EDITION: METRO
GENERAL Assembly service is not without its perks. Still, it seems unlikely anyone would run for the job in order to gain the advantage of partial immunity from arrests while the assembly is in session, and for 15 days before and after. Nor is there any evidence that the immunity privilege has been widely abused.
Even so, the appropriateness of the ages-old immunity for lawmakers and their aides has been called into question recently - and we think for good reason.
Is the immunity needed to ensure that legislators' political enemies won't have them targeted, for example, for drunken-driving arrest, or even falsely accused and imprisoned to block their influence or stop the passage of certain laws?
Should we worry, say, that Gov. George Allen might sic the State Police on House Majority Leader Dick Cranwell and have him thrown in a dungeon during the session?
Hey, if such plots could be hatched in Richmond today, than democracy has more to worry about than Cranwell missing a vote on the budget bill.
A more realistic concern for legislators ought to be the symbolism of special strokes for special folks. The police don't usually smile and wave on their way motorists stopped for driving 73 mph in a 55 mph zone - as Chesterfield County officers did last month when it turned out the driver was an aide to Lt. Gov. Don Beyer. (To the aide's credit, he asked the police to ticket him, and he offered to pay the $90 fine even if they didn't.)
The public, for sure, would be even more resentful had a Richmond judge this week not properly rejected an attempt by a House of Delegates clerk to beat a drunken-driving charge by citing the dubious immunity.
Some very limited protection for legislators might be justified on this ground: A group of citizens might be temporarily denied full representation if their delegate or senator were thrown in the slammer during a legislative session or were to miss a floor vote because he or she had to appear in court. (Never mind that lawyer-legislators often are granted leave from legislative attendance to attend to business in court.)
Presumably, though, this problem could be addressed simply by delaying a lawmaker's trial until after the session. Other protections should be scrapped. Any hint that lawmakers are above the law, however limited the time and circumstances, ultimately undermines the democratic spirit and the public trust.
And certainly there's no justification for the 15-day extension - a throwback to horse-and-buggy days when travel to and from Richmond might take that long. Nor is there any legitimate reason for extending immunity to aides.
Congress has picked up on citizens' demand that legislators live by the laws they pass for the common folk. Lawmakers in Richmond would be wise to follow suit.
LENGTH: Medium: 56 linesby CNB