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ASNE joins amicus brief regarding automatic license plate readers

 
ASNE was one of 13 organizations that joined an amicus brief filed with the California Supreme Court in a case involving access to information collected via automatic license plate readers (ALPR) in Los Angeles County. The brief, drafted by the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, does not address the privacy and surveillance issues surrounding the use of ALPRs; it simply argues that the California Supreme Court should overturn the decision of an intermediate Court of Appeals that the law enforcement exemption to the state's Public Records Act can be used to withhold all data collected by ALPRs.
 
ASNE was one of 13 organizations that joined an amicus brief filed with the California Supreme Court in a case involving access to information collected via automatic license plate readers (ALPR) in Los Angeles County. The brief, drafted by the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, does not address the privacy and surveillance issues surrounding the use of ALPRs; it simply argues that the California Supreme Court should overturn the decision of an intermediate Court of Appeals that the law enforcement exemption to the state's Public Records Act can be used to withhold all data collected by ALPRs.

Our main contentions are that the act's law enforcement exemption is being applied too broadly by the law enforcement and the Court of Appeals. This frustrates the intent of California voters who enshrined a broad right of access in the state constitution, which includes narrow interpretation of exemptions. The Court of Appeals decision is also inconsistent with earlier decisions of that court and the California Supreme Court regarding the definition of a law enforcement record, which should only apply to active investigations. 

We also explain how such a broad reading will negatively impact the public's right to know about the activities of law enforcement, not just with regard to collection and use of license plate data but all law enforcement records (perhaps in California and other states). 

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