San Jose judge weighs privacy case on license plate cameras

7 August 2026.

A Santa Clara County judge is considering whether drivers have a reasonable expectation of privacy regarding their vehicle locations on public roads, in a case challenging San Jose's use of automated license plate reader cameras. The lawsuit, filed by the Council on American-Islamic Relations and the Electronic Frontier Foundation, argues that San Jose violated California law governing police collection and retention of license plate data, as well as constitutional privacy protections. The plaintiffs seek to require police to obtain a warrant before searching camera databases, drawing a parallel to U.S. Supreme Court precedent requiring warrants for cellphone location tracking. San Jose counters that no reasonable privacy expectation exists on public roads, citing a California appeals court decision permitting warrantless access to traffic camera footage.

San Jose operates approximately 500 license plate reader cameras throughout the city. The police department has reduced its data retention period from one year to 30 days and stated that any data sharing must meet defined policy requirements and comply with applicable laws. The judge requested additional briefing from both sides before ruling and signaled tentative support for the city's position, though legal analysts noted this does not guarantee the outcome. The case marks the first major legal test of the technology in the Bay Area. The judge is expected to issue a decision within several months, and whichever party loses will likely appeal to a higher court.

Readers can track similar ALPR cases and camera deployments in their own jurisdictions through public records requests to local police departments and city council meeting minutes.

Read the original reporting: CBS News.

Related record: Santa Clara County, California in the jurisdictions directory.