A call by Gov. Doug Ducey to repeal the so-called "legislative immunity''provision of the Arizona Constitution is getting a chilly reception from several senior lawmakers.

A judge in Tucson on Wednesday acquitted a former state lawmaker of misdemeanor domestic violence charges just months after he resigned because a House panel recommended his expulsion for ethics lapses.

Nicholas Fontana, a Tucson criminal defense attorney who will replace former Rep. Daniel Patterson in the Arizona House of Representatives, said he switched his life-long Democratic affiliation to independent, just so he would qualify for the seat.

Southern Arizona Democrats’ hopes to have former Rep. Daniel Patterson replaced by one of their own were dashed today when the Secretary of State said the legislative seat will be filled by an independent.

After two hours of back-and-forth discussion, the House Ethics Committee today voted to recommend Rep. Daniel Patterson’s expulsion from the House of Representatives, and one committee member said to expect a full House vote on the recommendation later this afternoon.

Rep. Daniel Patterson today demanded that the House Ethics Committee give him an opportunity to testify before its members, cross-examine his accusers and address each incident of impropriety anonymously claimed against him.

Patterson said the ethics charges against him result from a group of lobbyists and lawmakers who sought a reason to have him kicked out of office, and one civil rights activist even said the Tucson lawmaker is being treated unfairly because he is white.

Rep. Daniel Patterson, the Tucson lawmaker facing ethics charges and possible expulsion from the House of Representatives, today maintained his innocence and said a scathing ethics report against him was politically motivated.

State Rep. Daniel Patterson says he will file a detailed response to a report in which investigators are recommending he be expelled from the Legislature.

The top Democrat in the House of Representatives, who is leading the charge to have embattled Rep. Daniel Patterson ousted from office, is married to the sister of Patterson’s assistant – and he is seeking to have the woman removed from Patterson’s office out of fear for her safety.

The Arizona House has refused to immediately expel Rep. Daniel Patterson over allegations of inappropriate behavior toward other lawmakers but agreed to speed up the pending ethics case against the newly turned independent from Tucson.