In 1976, Waggonner was arrested for soliciting an undercover police decoy in [[Washington, D.C.]], for purposes of [[prostitution]]. He was released because at that time lawmakers enjoyed immunity from prosecution for [[misdemeanor]] offenses. After the Waggonner case, the law was changed to allow congressional members to face misdemeanor charges with the exception of parking violations.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ppIIbWkftv4C&pg=PA194&lpg=PA194&dq=Joe+D.+Waggonner+arrest&source=bl&ots=WgR2ondm8i&sig=bD9XbjT4DrFQF3ut8Yby-bzeNco&hl=en&sa=X&ei=Y8VCT7aBNISq2QWg6qjdBg&sqi=2&ved=0CEcQ6AEwAw#v=onepage&q=Joe%20D.%20Waggonner%20arrest&f=false|author=Jeffrey M. Eliot et al|title=The Congressional-Presidential Political Dictionary (1984), p. 194|publisher=|accessdate=September 21, 2012}}</ref> | In 1976, Waggonner was arrested for soliciting an undercover police decoy in [[Washington, D.C.]], for purposes of [[prostitution]]. He was released because at that time lawmakers enjoyed immunity from prosecution for [[misdemeanor]] offenses. After the Waggonner case, the law was changed to allow congressional members to face misdemeanor charges with the exception of parking violations.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ppIIbWkftv4C&pg=PA194&lpg=PA194&dq=Joe+D.+Waggonner+arrest&source=bl&ots=WgR2ondm8i&sig=bD9XbjT4DrFQF3ut8Yby-bzeNco&hl=en&sa=X&ei=Y8VCT7aBNISq2QWg6qjdBg&sqi=2&ved=0CEcQ6AEwAw#v=onepage&q=Joe%20D.%20Waggonner%20arrest&f=false|author=Jeffrey M. Eliot et al|title=The Congressional-Presidential Political Dictionary (1984), p. 194|publisher=|accessdate=September 21, 2012}}</ref> |