Schmitz, et al. v. Permit Sonoma, et al.

The ACLU Foundation of Northern California filed a lawsuit to block Sonoma County code inspectors from using drones to conduct surveillance of people's homes without a warrant.

Six years ago, Sonoma County code enforcement (CES) launched a warrantless drone surveillance program that officials said would address unpermitted cannabis grows in hard to access rural areas. But it has since become a runaway spying operation with no accountability, trampling residents’ right to privacy in and around their homes and targeting people for a wide array of unrelated code violations that have resulted in millions of dollars in excessive fines.

The ACLU Foundation of Northern California and co-counsel O’Melveny & Myers LLP sued Sonoma County on behalf of three longtime residents. The lawsuit called on the Sonoma County Superior Court to block code enforcement from conducting aerial surveillance on someone’s home and private life without first getting a warrant – as is required by the California Constitution.

In September 2026, the Plaintiffs reached a settlement with Sonoma County and its Code Enforcement division. Under the settlement, Sonoma County agreed to stop using drones to surveil people’s homes unless they first obtain a warrant or consent from the property owner. Sonoma County also agreed to several important transparency measures, such as publishing a revised drone policy, informing residents when they have been surveilled by drone, and providing drone flight logs for a period of two years.