基思·门科尼/圣何塞聚焦一名法官驳回了一项挑战圣何塞车牌阅读器摄像头网络的诉讼，这给一项用于打击犯罪的技术的反对者带来了法律挫折，该技术因担心拉网监视而分裂了该市居民。
KEITH MENCONI/San José Spotlight A judge has dismissed a lawsuit challenging San Jose’s network of license plate reader cameras, dealing a legal setback to opponents of a technology used to fight crime that has divided the city’s residents over fears of dragnet surveillance.
圣克拉拉县高等法院法官杰弗里·哈吉（Jeffrey El-Hajj）在周五做出的一项裁决中驳回了该市允许警察无证搜查其自动车牌阅读器（ALPR）数据的做法--来自分散在城镇各地的500多个设备组成的网络--违反了加州宪法对隐私权的保障和禁止不合理搜查的规定。该裁决遵循加州上诉法院早些时候的一项裁决，该裁决发现司机在穿过公共街道时没有合理的隐私期望。
In a ruling delivered Friday, Santa Clara County Superior Court Judge Jeffrey El-Hajj rejected arguments that the city’s practice of allowing warrantless police searches of its automated license plate reader (ALPR) data — derived from a network of more than 500 devices scattered across town — violates the California Constitution’s guarantee of privacy rights and prohibition on unreasonable searches. The ruling follows the lead of an earlier decision from a California Appellate Court that found drivers have no reasonable expectation of privacy when traveling through public streets.
原告可以选择对裁决提出上诉，并表示他们正在审查自己的法律选择。该市还面临另一起针对ALPR系统的民事案件，目前正在联邦法院审理中。市检察官苏珊娜·阿尔卡拉·伍德对这一消息表示欢迎。
Plaintiffs have the option to appeal the ruling and said they are reviewing their legal options. The city also faces a separate civil case targeting its ALPR system now working its way through federal court. City Attorney Susana Alcala Wood welcomed the news.
阿尔卡拉·伍德（Alcala Wood）告诉《圣何塞聚焦》：“法院驳回投诉证明，该市的ALPR系统符合宪法审查，并且只收集公共通行权已经观察到的信息。”
“The court’s dismissal of the complaint is testament to the fact that the city’s ALPR system meets constitutional scrutiny and only gathers information that is already observed from the public rights-of-way,” Alcala Wood told San José Spotlight.
该技术的支持者认为，它已成为一种重要的打击犯罪工具，帮助圣何塞不堪重负的警察部队解决大量犯罪。
Backers of the technology contend it has emerged as a vital crime fighting tool, helping San Jose’s overstretched police force solve numerous crimes.
但这起于2025年11月提起的诉讼警告称，摄像头网络生成的大量数据可用于跟踪司机在整个城市行驶时的行踪。公民自由组织代表两个倡导南湾移民的非营利组织--服务、移民权利和教育网络（SIREN）和美国伊斯兰关系委员会。
But the lawsuit, filed in November 2025, warns the vast trove of data generated by the camera network can be used to track drivers’ whereabouts as they travel throughout the city. The civil liberties organizations are representing two nonprofits that advocate for South Bay immigrants — Services, Immigrant Rights and Education Network (SIREN) and the Council on American-Islamic Relations.
“我们坚信该判决在法律上是错误的，所有后续步骤的选项都在桌上,” EFF 监控诉讼主管安德鲁·克罗克尔告诉圣何塞透视新闻。
“We believe strongly that the ruling is wrong on the law, and all options for next steps are on the table,” Andrew Crocker, surveillance litigation director at EFF, told San José Spotlight.
原告要求法院限制对数据的访问权限，要求执法机构在进行搜查之前首先获取搜查令。
Plaintiffs had asked the court to restrict access to the data by requiring law enforcement agencies to first obtain a warrant before conducting a search.
在解释他的判决时，埃尔哈吉引述了 2024 年加利福尼亚州第四审区上诉法院的一项决定，该决定认为使用圣地亚哥运营的街灯摄像头获取的视频证据可用于谋杀起诉。法院在判决中指出，人们知道他们可能会在城市街道上被安保摄像头拍摄。
In explaining his ruling, El-Hajj cited a 2024 decision from California’s 4th District Court of Appeals, which determined that video evidence obtained using streetlight cameras operated by San Diego could be used in a murder prosecution. In the ruling, the court noted that people are aware they may be filmed by security cameras on city streets.
埃尔哈吉驳回了原告的论点，即圣何塞摄像头的庞大数量使得该市的摄像头网络成为一种更加侵入性的执法工具。
El-Hajj rejected plaintiffs’ arguments that the sheer quantity of cameras in San Jose makes the city’s network a far more invasive law enforcement tool.
去年上个月，当圣何塞警察局长保罗·约瑟夫透露该市警察局因涉嫌与其表兄分享位置数据而解雇一名警官时，圣何塞使用 ALPR 摄像头的争议更加激烈。
The controversy surrounding San Jose’s use of ALPR cameras became even more intense last month when Police Chief Paul Joseph revealed the San Jose Police Department fired an officer in April for allegedly sharing location data with his cousin.
面对公众的强烈不满，一群议员提出了针对该技术的新安全措施，包括旨在让城市员工更难以使用个人设备访问敏感执法数据的提案。
Amid the public outcry, a group of councilmembers unveiled new safeguards for the technology, including proposals aimed at making it harder for city employees to use personal devices to access sensitive law enforcement data.
市议会在 3 月份已经通过了一项早期协议，将城市可以保留数据的时间从一年缩短至 30 天。
The City Council already passed an earlier package in March that has reduced the amount of time the city can hold onto the data from one year to 30 days.
然而，到目前为止，这些限制措施仍然远远不足以满足许多批评人的要求，他们呼吁圣何塞的领导人效仿其他湾区辖区——如圣克拉拉县、洛斯阿尔塔希尔斯和山景城——完全切断与 Flock Safety 的关系，该公司是圣何塞市委托提供 ALPR 技术的有争议的供应商。
However, so far the guardrails have still fallen well short of demands from many critics , who are calling on San Jose’s leaders to follow the lead of other Bay Area jurisdictions — such as Santa Clara County , Los Altos Hills and Mountain View — and cut ties entirely with Flock Safety, the controversial vendor contracted to provide the ALPR technology to the city.
“这些摄像头已经被用来瞄准移民，但事实上，我们所有人都将受到它们广泛影响的影响,”SIREN的执行董事胡伊特朗告诉圣何塞视界。
“These cameras have been used to target immigrants already, but the reality is that we all will be subject to their far-reaching impact,” Huy Tran, executive director of SIREN, told San José Spotlight.
这篇报道最初由圣何塞视界发布，并通过与美联社的合作伙伴关系进行分发。
This story was originally published by San José Spotlight and distributed through a partnership with The Associated Press.