Federal Court Says Flock ALPR Database Searches Require A Warrant

On one hand, it’s great to see a ruling like this. On the other hand, it’s not going to set any precedent, not even in its own jurisdiction. But it does push this conversation forward, judicially speaking, which means other cases reliant on ALPR tech have some new reference material to add to challenges of searches. But that’s the bad news up front. Let’s get to the good stuff. And that stuff is a court recognizing that a license plate reader search doesn’t occur in a vacuum. The government will always argue — as it did here — that there’s no expectation of privacy on public roads. Therefore, any plate read (and any subsequent search of an ALPR database) is no different than a cop physically...

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