American Civil Liberties Union Foundation of Southern California, Petitioners v. the Superior Court of Los…

Summary

The court held that bulk automated license plate reader scans are not records of investigations exempt from disclosure under the California Public Records Act because the scans are collected indiscriminately rather than through a targeted inquiry into particular crimes. It further held that the public interest clearly supports withholding unaltered scan data under the catchall exemption, but remanded for a new determination whether anonymization or redaction could permit disclosure. The court affirmed in part, reversed in part, and remanded for further proceedings.