ALPRs update: Norfolk Virginia, National Policing Institute, and the 4th Amendment

Schmidt v. City of Norfolk (Currently on Appeal)

Here's an interesting case to watch that's currently in process. I have no connections with the sources cited, rather gathering them for examination and consideration. I've checked the links to ensure they're valid.

Background:

"In January 2026, a federal judge upheld Norfolk, Virginia’s 176-camera network against a Fourth Amendment challenge, finding that the system could not capture the whole of a person’s movements. The same opinion warned that ALPR surveillance could become intrusive enough to cross the line as the technology expands (Courthouse News Service, 2026). Discovery showed the cameras logged the plaintiffs’ vehicle 475 and 325 times in roughly four months.

However, on June 29, 2026, the Supreme Court decided Chatrie v. United States, holding 6-3 that obtaining a person’s location history through a geofence warrant is a Fourth Amendment search. The Court rejected the argument that a short window of data falls outside Fourth Amendment protection and narrowed the third-party doctrine along the way (Chatrie v. United States, 2026). That reasoning runs against the limited-scope rationale the district court used to uphold Norfolk’s network." https://www.policinginstitute.org/infocus/alpr-backlash-what-agencies-need-to-know/

Update:

"In April 2026, the ACLU filed an amicus brief in a Fourth Circuit case arguing that the use of ALPR systems gave the government unprecedented powers of surveillance that upset traditional expectations of privacy in violation of the Fourth Amendment. And in May 2026, the ACLU supported a bipartisan amendment to the federal highway funding bill that would have prevented cities and states from using ALPR cameras, except for tolling purposes." https://www.aclu.org/campaigns-initiatives/get-the-flock-out

City of Norfolk, Virginia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norfolk%2C_Virginia

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