Court summons pending for AZ state senator clocked going 71 mph in a 35-mph zone

State Sen. Justine Wadsack refused to sign a criminal citation for excessive speeding , triggering a pending court summons to have her acknowledge the alleged violation, Tucson police say.

Police radar captured the Marana Republican driving 71 mph in a 35-mph zone in central Tucson in mid-March. Wadsack said she was "racing home" because the charge on her electric vehicle was about to run out.

She was not immediately ticketed because she was a state lawmaker, and the Arizona Constitution gives legislators immunity from civil prosecution during the session. The session ended in mid-June.

On Monday, a Tucson police spokesperson said Wadsack refused to sign the citation when officers contacted her for a meeting.

"(The) summons process started several weeks ago," the department wrote in an email to The Arizona Republic. "The summons maybe still in process through the court system."

The news comes a week before the July 30 primary, where Wadsack and former state Sen. Vince Leach are locked in a tense battle for the GOP nomination for Senate in Legislative District 17. Leach is making a comeback bid after losing to Wadsack in 2022.

Wadsack did not immediately return a request for comment. But in a Facebook post over the weekend, she denied she was speeding, said she had never received a ticket or a summons, and critiqued other aspects of the March encounter, which was first reported by the Tucson Sentinel.

She also wrote she was investigating the Tucson Police Department.

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Traffic stop revives residency questions

Body camera footage of the March 15 encounter posted to YouTube also rekindled questions about Wadsack's residence. State law requires lawmakers to live in the district they represent.

She was stopped traveling east on Speedway Boulevard in Tucson and told the police officer she was "racing home" before the battery power on her electric vehicle ran out.

The traffic stop was near a central Tucson home Wadsack owns with her husband in Legislative District 20, outside the boundaries of the district she represents. Wadsack lists a Marana address in LD17 as her official residence. That home is miles to the northwest of the location where she was stopped.

Her residence was the subject of scrutiny two years ago , triggering a legal complaint from Leach. A judge ultimately sided with Wadsack, saying Leach had failed to prove that she had no intent of remaining in the rented room she was living in within LD17.

In December, Wadsack updated her voter registration to reflect a home in the Dove Mountain community in Marana, also in the LD17.

In her Facebook post, Wadsack expressed exasperation at the continued focus on her residence. She wrote she and her husband were prepping the home in LD20 for sale but were not living in it.

"We meet there after work, and then go back home to Dove Mountain," she said, referring to a luxury home community in Marana.

Limited EV battery charge spurs speeding

Police body camera footage shows Wadsack introducing herself to the Tucson patrolman as "Senator Justine Wadsack."

"I'm racing to get home because I have four miles left on my charger before it's about to go down," she said.

Wadsack disputed the officer's assertion that she was driving over 70 mph. But when he told her he had his radar on, she simply replied: "OK."

On Facebook, Wadsack said the claim of 71 mph was implausible.

"There’s no way, as there is traffic and i would have had to mow down the other drivers in order to do so," she wrote. "They (police) are welcome to download my Tesla app for that days data."

The encounter also showed that she did not have proof of car insurance to show the officer. She added she had recently switched carriers to Progressive Insurance but did not yet have its app on her phone.

In her Facebook post, Wadsack acknowledged she was contacted by Tucson police earlier this month but thought it was about her request to meet with the chief of police on behalf of a constituent who was alleging police harassment.

Instead, she wrote, "the officer told me to come sign for a ticket they’re giving me based on a body cam footage from 4-months prior.

"As a new legislator, I had never heard of ticketing me months later as it’s not in the language of the law. I still get mixed messages as to how this should have been handled by police.. and have talked to different legal advisors in the know.

"This is highly irregular, and when I asked if they’ve ever done this to other legislators, her response was 'no… just you.'"

The Tucson Municipal Court on Monday said it had no documents regarding a summons on file, which police said might still be in process. The court said a public records request would be needed to access any such documents.

The Arizona Republic made a public records request on Friday.

Republic reporter Sarah Lapidus contributed to this article.

Reach the reporter at maryjo.pitzl@arizonarepublic.com or at 602-228-7566 and follow her on Threads as well as on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, @maryjpitzl .

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Court summons pending for AZ state senator clocked going 71 mph in a 35-mph zone