It makes sense during what Gov. Mark Dayton has called an “unsession” to clean up the books by eliminating an archaic protection that may keep legislators from being arrested for drunk driving and other crimes.
Dayton has dubbed 2014 the “unsession” because he wants lawmakers to spend much of their time cleaning house by eliminating old, outdated state laws as well as coming up with ideas for making government better, faster and simpler.
The Minnesota House last week voted to repeal their immunity from arrest on certain violations. The bill approved alters existing law so that any lawmaker who commits felon, gross misdemeanor or misdemeanor crimes violates a breach of peace under the Minnesota Constitution and can therefore be arrested.
Some representatives argued the old law wouldn’t hold up in court because of established case law, but the House approved the change on a 115-13. Others have said that Minnesota lawmakers have in some places and in some situations used the clause to avoid the legal system.
The immunity clause put in place more than 150 years ago for members of Congress and many state lawmakers may have been well intended, but has outlived its usefulness. Referred to as the “privilege from arrest,” the law was an effort to help lawmakers avoid being detained for important votes or intimidated to vote a certain way. That the “get out of jail free” card existed for Minnesota lawmakers was revealed in a project at Concordia University and sparked much debate around the state.
We certainly don’t want to waste a lot of legislator’s time on this issue. However, even if no Minnesota legislator has used the immunity clause, the public perception that the clause provides unnecessary and extraordinary privilege for elected officials needs to be changed.
And there’s no better time to eliminate this old and perhaps unusable clause than the 2014 unsession by clearing it from the books and the public’s concern.
