MADISONCENTER FOR AMERICAN LEADERSHIP
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The Constitution,
connected.

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The constitutional text

Article I · Section 6

Select any highlighted phrase to understand what it means.

The Senators and Representatives shall receive a Compensation for their Services, to be ascertained by Law, and paid out of the Treasury of the United States. They shall in all Cases, except Treason, Felony and Breach of the Peace, be privileged from Arrest during their Attendance at the Session of their respective Houses, and in going to and returning from the same; and for any Speech or Debate in either House, they shall not be questioned in any other Place.

No Senator or Representative shall, during the Time for which he was elected, be appointed to any civil Office under the Authority of the United States, which shall have been created, or the Emoluments whereof shall have been encreased during such time; and no Person holding any Office under the United States, shall be a Member of either House during his Continuance in Office.

Source: National Constitution Center edition. Original wording is preserved; commentary explains historical and superseded provisions.

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Article I, Section 6, Clause 1 — arrest privilege

Arrest privilege and its broad exceptions

Current text
They shall in all Cases, except Treason, Felony and Breach of the Peace, be privileged from Arrest during their Attendance at the Session of their respective Houses, and in going to and returning from the same;

What it means

The clause protects attendance and travel against arrest except for treason, felony, and breach of the peace. Historically, this privilege concerned civil arrest and was not a general immunity from criminal law.

Historical setting

The Articles contained closely related protection for congressional delegates. In a system where arrest could prevent attendance, personal legal pressure could also be used to alter legislative outcomes.

What it does

The privilege protects legislative functioning rather than making legislators a privileged criminal class. The broad criminal exceptions are essential to understanding why the dramatic opening language does not excuse ordinary criminal misconduct.

Debate & interpretation

The structural problem is how to protect representatives from harassment without insulating them from lawful accountability. The adjacent Speech or Debate Clause protects a different interest and should be analyzed separately.

A common misreading

A member of Congress does not become immune from criminal arrest merely by traveling to a vote.

Think it through

How could legal process be abused to influence legislative decisions, and how could immunity itself be abused?

Follow the connection

Sources & further reading

Original Madison Center commentary. Explanations distinguish the text, historical context, and interpretive disagreements.

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