New Civil Liberties Alliance Submits Amicus Brief in Fourth Circuit Case on Norfolk's License Plate Tracking System

The New Civil Liberties Alliance filed an amicus curiae brief on April 20, 2026, in Schmidt v. U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. Benzinga reported that the brief urges the court to reverse the district court's decision upholding Norfolk's automated license plate recognition (ALPR) system.

The system tracks the movements of everyone who drives through the city and stores all tracked data in a searchable database. Norfolk, Virginia, operates the ALPR system, which the New Civil Liberties Alliance stated defies Fourth Amendment protections.

The district court upheld Norfolk's ALPR regime, according to the filing. The brief asks the Fourth Circuit to place guardrails on the system, which stores data potentially indefinitely.

The brief references the Supreme Court's 2018 ruling in Carpenter v. United States. That decision ruled that people have a legitimate expectation of privacy in the whole of their movements over time. Carpenter v. United States stated that an individual 'does not surrender all Fourth Amendment protection' by going out in public.

Carpenter v. United States further held that the government violates Fourth Amendment protections regarding movements over time. The New Civil Liberties Alliance argues that the district court misinterpreted this ruling in upholding the ALPR system.

Benzinga reported that NCLA seeks reversal to align with these privacy expectations.