Flock ALPR searches can require warrant, judge rules
A federal judge in Oklahoma has thrown out evidence gathered through Flock automatic license plate recognition (ALPR) cameras in a methamphetamine trafficking case. Legal experts say the decision is the clearest example so far of how the Supreme Court's June ruling on geofencing, known as Chatrie, is reshaping disputes over digital evidence.
Judge Sara Hill ruled on October 1 that a sheriff's deputy improperly relied on Flock data to build a case against Melisa Kyle. According to experts, it is one of the first times a federal judge has found that police searches of historical ALPR data can violate the Fourth Amendment, the part of the US Constitution that protects people against unreasonable searches and seizures.