License plate tracking and guns
Porter v. United States
In brief
- Where it stands
- Petition Pending
Awaiting an order on the petition
- What it’s about
- Elijah Porter asks the Supreme Court to review whether an officer’s retrospective access to a database of stored license-plate location records counts as a search under the Fourth Amendment, and whether a firearm capable of automatic fire is an “Arm” under the Second Amendment.
- What's at stake
- Porter’s request for Supreme Court review of both constitutional questions remains unresolved.
Summary: written with AI from the case record.
What it's about
The petition comes from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit and raises questions under two constitutional amendments.
Question presented
1. Whether an officer’s access of an automatic license plate reader database, which indiscriminately collects and stores personally identifying information and location history and allows for the access of such information retrospectively, constitutes a search for purposes of the Fourth Amendment. 2. Whether a firearm that is capable of automatic fire is an “Arm[]” within the meaning of the Second Amendment.
What happens next
The petition was distributed for the Court’s September 28, 2026, conference. That does not mean the Court has agreed to hear it or guarantee when it will act.
Documents
Docket activity
New analysis added
AI analysis generated: Case Briefing
Case data updated: summary, question_presented, generation_metadata
Case data updated: question_presented, extraction_metadata
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Court Order added: Lower Court Orders/Opinions
Sources
Primary materials plus reporting. Best-effort analysis: this explainer relies on a mix of primary materials and trusted secondary sources. Official filings and opinions remain authoritative.