Ellen Read is seeking to dismiss Ellen Rep read speeding charges in two cases by arguing that the New Hampshire Constitution barred police from stopping her while she was traveling to or from legislative duties. She says the dispute turns on legislative privilege, not on whether the speeding allegations can be proven in court.
The first case dates to December 2024, when authorities alleged she drove more than 100 mph on I-93 in Windham. A second case followed in June 2025, when authorities accused her of driving 92 mph in a 65 mph zone in Londonderry.
New Hampshire Constitution provision
Read says the 1784 constitutional language protects lawmakers while they are attending, traveling to, or returning from the General Court. She cited the provision that says, “No member of the House of Representatives, or Senate shall be arrested, or held to bail, on mesne pro” and said it covers the stop itself.
In her response, she said, “The plain reading of the Constitution says that legislators cannot be stopped on their way to or from their duties.” She added, “It says nothing of being ticketed or arrested at the end of the commute, and nothing about prosecution.”
Windham stop and Londonderry case
Read said she was traveling in a vehicle bearing a New Hampshire State Representative license plate when officers stopped her. She also said she was returning from a legislative session. One motion says she was unlawfully detained, seized, and arrested in violation of her legislative privilege, and asks that evidence obtained from the stop be suppressed and the charge dismissed.
The two cases give the court a narrow question: whether the constitutional protection Read cites blocks a traffic stop during travel tied to legislative work, or only limits arrest or bail after the fact. Her argument does not deny the speeding allegations; it asks the court to throw out the cases because the stops themselves were improper under the constitutional language she quoted.
General Court travel defense
The next step is the court’s ruling on whether the charges are dismissed or allowed to proceed. If the court accepts Read’s reading of the New Hampshire Constitution, the dispute could shape how future stops involving legislators are handled during travel to and from the General Court.
