Dem lawmaker says Constitution barred police from stopping her after alleged 100 mph speeding

A Democratic New Hampshire lawmaker accused of driving much than 100 mph successful 1 lawsuit and 92 mph successful different argues a centuries-old proviso of the authorities constitution protected her from being stopped portion traveling to oregon from legislative session, according to tribunal documents obtained by Fox News Digital.

State Rep. Ellen Read argues constabulary unlawfully stopped and detained her due to the fact that the New Hampshire Constitution protects lawmakers from being "arrested, oregon held to bail" portion attending, traveling to oregon returning from the General Court. She contends the charges stemmed from an unconstitutional halt and should truthful beryllium dismissed.

Read was archetypal stopped successful December 2024, aft authorities alleged she drove much than 100 mph connected Interstate 93 successful Windham. A 2nd lawsuit followed successful June 2025, erstwhile authorities accused her of driving 92 mph successful a 65 mph portion successful Londonderry.

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New Hampshire authorities Rep. Ellen Read, pictured during a governmental objection successful 2015, is seeking to disregard 2 speeding cases by arguing the authorities constitution protected her from apprehension portion traveling to oregon from legislative session. (Getty Images)

In some cases, Read argued she was driving a conveyance displaying a New Hampshire State Representative licence sheet and told officers she was returning from a legislative session.

"At the clip of the stop, Ms. Read was a sitting subordinate of the New Hampshire House of Representatives," her petition states. "She was traveling successful a conveyance bearing a New Hampshire State Representative licence plate. Upon being stopped, Ms. Read informed the lawman that she was returning from the General Court."

In effect to questions from Fox News Digital, Read said she is not arguing the Constitution shields lawmakers from prosecution, but alternatively protects them from being stopped portion traveling to oregon from legislative duties.

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"The plain speechmaking of the Constitution says that legislators cannot beryllium stopped connected their mode to oregon from their duties," Read said. "It says thing of being ticketed oregon arrested astatine the extremity of the commute, and thing astir prosecution."

"Under the plain connection of the New Hampshire Constitution, suspect was unlawfully detained/seized/arrested successful usurpation of her Legislative privilege," 1 question states. "All grounds illegally obtained should beryllium suppressed, and the complaint dismissed."

At the halfway of Read's defence is simply a 1784 proviso of the New Hampshire Constitution that states, "No subordinate of the House of Representatives, oregon Senate shall beryllium arrested, oregon held to bail, connected mesne process, during his going to, returning from, oregon attendance upon, the Court."

Read said the proviso was intended to forestall section officials from delaying lawmakers and interfering with legislative votes, not to exempt legislators from transgression liability.

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State Capitol of New Hampshire, Concord (Photo by: Joe Sohm/Visions of America/Universal Images Group via Getty Images) (Joe Sohm/Visions of America/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)

"It was ever the commute itself that was meant to beryllium protected... Not the legislator protected from breaking the law," she said.

Read's petition argues the New Hampshire Supreme Court has ne'er interpreted the scope of the proviso successful the astir 240 years since it was ratified, calling it a law question of archetypal content that the state's highest tribunal has ne'er squarely addressed.

"The question is not whether a sitting legislator is 'above the law,'" the petition states.

Instead, Read argues lawmakers traveling to and from legislative duties should person the aforesaid "functional analysis" applied to constabulary officers oregon exigency aesculapian technicians who interruption postulation laws portion performing authoritative duties.

A justice rejected that statement successful Read's archetypal speeding case.

Court records amusement she was recovered blameworthy of negligent driving successful August 2025 and fined $1,240, with fractional the good deferred.

She was besides allowed to support her licence arsenic agelong arsenic she maintained bully behaviour for 2 years, completed a safe-driving people and avoided further moving violations.

Read aboriginal asked the New Hampshire Supreme Court to instrumentality up the law question earlier the 2nd speeding lawsuit proceeded. The tribunal declined, denying her petition without prejudice and allowing her to rise the arguments again successful a aboriginal entreaty that complies with tribunal rules.

Read defended her handling of the lawsuit successful an Instagram statement, saying she accepted the reduced negligent driving complaint "to extremity the case" and did not entreaty the law issue.

In the aforesaid statement, Read's bureau disputed allegations that she exceeded 100 mph, arguing the 2009 Toyota Yaris she was driving, which she said has much than 440,000 miles connected it, "simply cannot spell that fast."

Her bureau besides said the serviceman did not usage radar oregon timepiece her velocity and alternatively estimated it portion accelerating to drawback up to her vehicle. Read's bureau further claimed a State House worker who was connected the telephone with her during the postulation halt aboriginal testified to an relationship that conflicted with the officer's mentation of events.

Read's bureau besides criticized the deficiency of body-camera footage from the halt and said she present encourages motorists to usage dashboard cameras.

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Read said her situation focuses connected the legality of the postulation stops alternatively than the underlying charges.

"The unconstitutional mode of the stops, and not the charge, therefore, was the taxable of treatment successful the case," she said.