NH Lawmaker Clocked at 107 MPH Claims Constitution Protects Her From Speeding Charges

A New Hampshire state representative accused of tearing down Interstate 93 at triple-digit speeds is making a stunning legal argument: sheriff’s deputies had no right to stop or charge her because she was traveling to or from her work as a lawmaker.

State Rep. Ellen Read, a Newmarket Democrat running for reelection, was clocked driving 107 mph in a 65 mph zone in 2024, according to authorities. She was later accused of driving 92 mph on the same highway in 2025.

But rather than simply fighting the tickets, Read has repeatedly claimed “legislative privilege,” arguing that language in the New Hampshire Constitution shields lawmakers from arrest while traveling to or from the Legislature.

Court records show Read has asked judges to throw out charges connected to both traffic stops because of the office she holds. She even took the fight to the New Hampshire Supreme Court, which declined in June to hear her appeal at this stage of the proceedings.

The first stop happened on the afternoon of Dec. 2, 2024, when a Rockingham County sheriff’s deputy reportedly spotted Read’s Toyota Yaris traveling 107 mph on I-93 in Windham.

Read was not heading to the State House at the time. Authorities say she was driving away from Concord and toward her workplace in Woburn, Massachusetts.

Major Christopher Bashaw of the Rockingham County Sheriff’s Office said Read told the deputy she was traveling from the State House after serving in her legislative capacity.

Driving faster than 100 mph can be used as evidence of reckless operation, an arrestable offense. However, the deputy did not take Read into custody. She was issued a citation and allowed to leave.

Read has nevertheless argued that the traffic stop and resulting charge amounted to an arrest prohibited by the state Constitution.

Her attorney, former state representative Daniel P. Hynes, argued that evidence from the stop was “illegally obtained” and that the case should be dismissed under legislative privilege.

A judge rejected that argument during an August 2025 bench trial.

Read was ultimately found guilty of negligent driving, a noncriminal violation. Court records show she received a $1,240 fine and could have her driver’s license suspended if she commits another moving violation within two years.

A hearing is scheduled for Aug. 12 to review the deferred portion of her sentence.

Read is also facing a separate speeding charge stemming from a second traffic stop in 2025, when she was accused of traveling 92 mph on I-93. That case still needs to be rescheduled for a bench trial after the presiding judge recused himself in April.

In court filings, Read’s legal team compared her situation to a police officer or emergency medical technician who might exceed the speed limit while responding to an urgent call. The filings did not identify any emergency that allegedly required Read to drive at such high speeds.

Her April appeal to the New Hampshire Supreme Court addressed issues connected to both cases. The court declined in June to hear the matter before the lower-court proceedings are completed.

The traffic stops and the lawmaker’s extraordinary constitutional defense had not previously been publicly reported.