A federal jury in San Antonio awarded Texas driver Alek Schott exactly $76 after finding Bexar County liable for violating his Fourth Amendment rights. The sum represents one dollar for each minute he was detained during a surveillance-triggered traffic stop in March 2022, with the verdict reported on September 28, 2026.
The case cuts to a question every driver whose plates pass through a license-plate-reader network should understand: does a surveillance alert give law enforcement legal grounds to pull you over?
Schott, an oilfield-equipment salesman and father of two, was driving back to Houston from a work trip near Carrizo Springs. His vehicle was flagged based on data tracking his travel pattern into South Texas and back, a route tied to ordinary work travel.
Deputy Joel Babb stopped him on Interstate 35, reportedly citing a fog-line violation. Dashcam footage presented at trial indicated Schott had remained within his lane.
Babb detained Schott for 76 minutes, questioned him inside a patrol vehicle, and conducted a drug-dog search of his truck. No contraband was found.
Surveillance information reached officers through a WhatsApp group called the “Northwest Highway Group.” Reporting links that group to a fusion-center network. Published accounts inconsistently name the camera system as either Flock or Vigilant; the vendor remains unresolved in verified reporting. Pending confirmation through court records or official filings, the system should be described only as a license-plate-reader network.
The jury found Bexar County responsible at a policy or custom level, not merely as a single deputy’s independent mistake. Under the Fourth Amendment, a traffic stop constitutes a seizure, and officers must have an objective legal basis to initiate or extend one.
The Institute for Justice, which represented Schott, characterized the alleged practice as operating for approximately four years and affecting thousands of drivers. Those figures reflect the attorneys’ litigation claims and are not findings established by the jury’s verdict.
“Today is vindication, not just for me, but for every driver they ran through this.” , Alek Schott, plaintiff
The Institute for Justice said it plans to seek a court order from U.S. District Judge Orlando Garcia restricting similar unsupported stops and warrantless vehicle searches. The scope of any injunction will determine whether this case reshapes Bexar County’s practices beyond the damages award.
The Bexar County Sheriff’s Office did not respond to requests for comment before publication, and no verified county position was available in reporting on the verdict.
For any driver whose plates are scanned by a license-plate-reader network, this verdict draws a legal line specific to the stop, search, and alleged county policy proven at trial: a surveillance alert noting your travel route was not, in these circumstances, a lawful reason to pull you over. Whether the case’s reach extends beyond Bexar County depends on what Judge Garcia orders next.
