ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Tuesday, March 5, 1996 TAG: 9603050064
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: A-1 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: RICHMOND
SOURCE: DAVID M. POOLE\STAFF WRITER
The most hallowed place in the House of Delegates chamber is reserved for Nathaniel Bacon, a 17th century planter who led an uprising against English rule.
Bacon's Rebellion was temporarily quelled when the king's governor had Bacon arrested as he traveled to Jamestown to take his seat in the House of Burgesses.
Today, Bacon is honored by a shrine above the House speaker's podium. He also is an inspiration for a centuries-old state law that has spawned a modern-day controversy.
The law gives state lawmakers and their aides immunity from arrest - except for treason, felonies and breach of peace - while the General Assembly is in session.
Chesterfield County officials generated headlines last week by claiming they were powerless to stop lawmakers and their aides from driving as fast they pleased on county roads.
The case involved an aide to Lt. Gov. Don Beyer who was let off with a warning after being clocked at 73 mph in a 55 zone.
The aide did not claim immunity, but some lawmakers in the past have called on their immunity when stopped for speeding and other traffic violations.
In 1991, Norfolk Del. William Robinson told a police officer who stopped him for having an illegal radar detector that he was "exempt from just about everything" because he was a lawmaker. Robinson later apologized for the remark, which the officer videotaped. He also paid the ticket.
Monday, General Assembly members said they wanted to clarify that statute to erase any perception that they put themselves above the law.
"It has been interpreted that we can act with impunity for 60 days - and that's not true," said Del. Robert McDonnell, R-Virginia Beach.
"I think the basis of the law is lost in the fog of history," said Del. William Mims, R-Loudoun County.
Some lawmakers said they would try to clarify the immunity law when the General Assembly meets next year.
The statute has its roots in English history when the Stuart kings tried to overrun Parliament by imprisoning its members. In 1676, Bacon was imprisoned in Virginia.
"It was abuses of that kind that led to a parliamentary immunity," said A.E. Dick Howard, a University of Virginia law professor who helped rewrite Virginia's constitution in 1969. Virginia, like most states, guarantees this immunity in its constitution.
Howard said the intent was not to place General Assembly members above the law, but to make sure they can carry out their official duties without the distractions of court proceedings.
The law has never been tested on appeal. Howard said he believed lawmakers accused of breaking the law while the General Assembly is in session could be tried later.
It is unclear whether Suffolk Del. Robert Nelms will claim immunity when he appears in a Richmond court later this month on an indecent exposure charge.
Nelms declined a request for an interview Monday.
The Republican was arrested Feb. 15 in a city park. He later said he simply was urinating while walking on a trail along the James River, and broke no laws.
LENGTH: Medium: 65 lines KEYWORDS: GENERAL ASSEMBLY 1996by CNB