San Jose Faces Federal Lawsuit Over Vast License Plate Tracking Network

Residents argue city's 474 ALPR cameras violate Fourth Amendment rights through warrantless surveillance.

Apr. 16, 2026 at 7:11pm

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A dynamic, abstract painting of a car license plate repeated in overlapping, fractured geometric shapes in shades of blue, conceptually representing the legal battle over warrantless vehicle surveillance.A class-action lawsuit challenges San Jose's vast network of license plate readers as an unconstitutional violation of privacy rights.San Jose Today

Three San Jose residents have filed a federal class-action lawsuit against the city, alleging its sprawling network of 474 automatic license plate reader (ALPR) cameras violates the Fourth Amendment by tracking every passing vehicle without a warrant. The plaintiffs are seeking to force the city to delete all captured data within 24 hours unless police have a warrant or other legal justification.

Why it matters

This case highlights growing concerns over the unchecked expansion of ALPR surveillance systems in cities across the U.S. and the potential for abuse, as well as the legal questions around whether such broad, warrantless tracking of citizens' movements violates constitutional privacy rights.

The details

The lawsuit claims San Jose's ALPR network logs not just license plates, but also vehicle makes, models, colors, and other distinctive details, storing that information for 30 days and making it searchable by thousands of government employees across California. The plaintiffs say the system was searched nearly 2.5 million times in the second half of 2025, averaging over 15,000 searches per day.

  • The lawsuit was filed on Wednesday, April 16, 2026.
  • The plaintiffs are seeking to force the city to delete all ALPR data within 24 hours unless a warrant is obtained.

The players

Tony Tan

One of the three San Jose residents who filed the federal class-action lawsuit against the city.

Scott West

One of the three San Jose residents who filed the federal class-action lawsuit against the city.

Colin Wolfson

One of the three San Jose residents who filed the federal class-action lawsuit against the city.

Susana Alcala Wood

San Jose city attorney who stated the ALPR camera system has been designed to follow the law and protect privacy rights.

Institute for Justice

The law firm representing the plaintiffs in the federal class-action lawsuit against San Jose.

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What they’re saying

“The city's ALPR cameras are only mounted in public areas and take pictures of vehicles as they drive on public streets and pass in view of the camera. The San Jose Police Department has robust, transparent policies in place to ensure that the information is not misused in any way, including policies that prohibit direct access to the data to private entities, out-of-state law enforcement agencies, or federal agencies.”

— Susana Alcala Wood, San Jose City Attorney

“Access to our ALPR system is tightly controlled and limited to authorized SJPD personnel only. These policies are routinely reviewed and updated as was the case recently when the City amended its retention schedule reducing the length of time the ALPR data is kept from 365 days to 30 days. In all cases, access to ALPR data by SJPD employees is logged and auditable.”

— Susana Alcala Wood, San Jose City Attorney

What’s next

The federal judge will decide whether to force San Jose to delete all ALPR data within 24 hours unless a warrant is obtained.

The takeaway

This lawsuit highlights the growing tensions between public safety and privacy rights as cities rapidly expand their use of ALPR surveillance technology. The outcome could set an important precedent for the constitutional limits on warrantless vehicle tracking by law enforcement.