Flock and license plate readersSept 9, 2026Norfolk, VA
Norfolk points the Fourth Circuit to a pending Supreme Court petition on plate-reader searches
On Sept 8, 2026 the Clerk's Office asked both sides whether any similar case is pending in the Fourth Circuit or the Supreme Court. Plaintiffs-Appellants answered "NO". Defendants-Appellees answered "YES" on Sept 9 and named Porter v. United States, No. 26-5121: Elijah Porter's petition from the Fifth Circuit's March 17, 2026 decision (No. 25-60163), which held that accessing plate-reader data was not a Fourth Amendment search. The petition was distributed for the Supreme Court's Sept 28, 2026 conference. If the Court takes it, the Supreme Court will decide the question at the center of Schmidt.
How we know: Norfolk's filing read directly (Doc. 63, obtained Sept 28, 2026); Supreme Court docket fetched directly. Our earlier working guess, Chatrie v. United States, was wrong.
“A pending petition for certiorari in Porter v. United States, No. 26-5121, presents the question whether a police officer violates the Fourth Amendment by accessing a database containing automatic license plate reader data. The petition also raises an unrelated Second Amendment question. The Supreme Court has not acted on the petition.”
Source chain
- 01Fourth Circuit docket, No. 26-1227primarydocket 26-1227link being reconstructed
- 02Response - Similar Cases, Defendants-Appellees (Doc. 63)primarydocket 26-1227document (PDF)
- 03Supreme Court docket, No. 26-5121primarydocket 26-5121
Tracked case: Schmidt v. Norfolk
What changed on this claim