SAN ANTONIO — A Houston man and attorneys with the Institute for Justice will hold a press conference today to discuss a federal jury verdict finding that Bexar County violated a driver’s constitutional rights through a surveillance-driven traffic stop program.
Alek Schott, along with Institute for Justice attorneys Christie Hebert and Jeff Rowes, will discuss the verdict and what comes next in the case.
Schott sued after he was stopped on Interstate 35 in March 2022 while returning home from a business trip. According to the Institute for Justice, his truck had been flagged through a network of license plate surveillance cameras before a Bexar County deputy pulled him over.
Schott was detained for 76 minutes and his truck was searched after a drug dog alerted. Nothing illegal was found.
Attorneys argued the stop was part of a broader practice in which drivers were flagged based on travel patterns and deputies then looked for traffic violations to justify stopping and questioning them, according to the Institute for Justice.
A federal jury sided with Schott and awarded him $76, one dollar for each minute he was detained.
The Institute for Justice says it will now ask the court to prevent Bexar County from using what it describes as baseless traffic stops to conduct warrantless searches.