Lorenzano-Nunez v. Roestenberg — FR wrongful arrest (2026)
Lorenzano-Nunez v. Roestenberg — §1983 Suit over Facial-Recognition Wrongful Arrest (D. Ariz.)
Arizona · Lorenzano-Nunez v. Roestenberg, No. 2:26-cv-04153 (D. Ariz. filed June 11, 2026)
- Status
- Blocked / in litigation
- Took effect
- June 11, 2026
- Applies to
- The City of Phoenix and the individual defendants, if liability is established.
Javier Lorenzano-Nunez sued Phoenix cold-case detective Dominick Roestenberg, the City of Phoenix, and two further individual defendants in the U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona on 2026-06-11 in a civil rights action under 42 U.S.C. §1983. Press accounts state he was arrested in 2024 for a 1998 Phoenix killing after investigators used facial recognition to identify him, spent roughly a year in jail, and had all charges dismissed on 2025-08-05 after DNA and fingerprint evidence excluded him, and that the suit alleges police knew his fingerprints did not match and that a detective misled the grand jury. The docket records the cause as 42:1983 Prisoner Civil Rights, Nature of Suit 550.
Who is protected: Individuals subjected to arrest based on facial-recognition identification, if the suit establishes liability.
Legal detail
Docket 2:26-cv-04153, Senior Judge Roslyn O. Silver, referred to Magistrate Judge Deborah M. Fine; plaintiff represented by Daniel R. Ortega Jr. Two individual defendants moved to dismiss for failure to state a claim on 2026-07-14; the City of Phoenix defendants' response deadline was extended to 2026-08-13.
Key facts
| Jurisdiction | Arizona |
|---|---|
| Level | State |
| Citation | Lorenzano-Nunez v. Roestenberg, No. 2:26-cv-04153 (D. Ariz. filed June 11, 2026) |
| Topics | facial recognition · police and surveillance AI |
| Court record | Lorenzano-Nunez v. Roestenberg, No. 2:26-cv-04153 (D. Ariz.) — docket |
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- Arizona HB 2311 AI chatbot safety for minors — vetoed 2026 · Vetoed
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Related facial recognition rules elsewhere
- Virginia § 15.2-1723.2 (facial recognition by local law enforcement, eff. July 1, 2026) · In effect
- Bristol VA PD facial recognition program (first VA local agency) · In effect
- Dallas PD Clearview AI facial recognition policy · In effect
- Ban biometric recognition in public accommodations (Ban The Scan) · Proposed / pending
- Limit facial recognition in residential buildings (Ban The Scan) · Proposed / pending
- Texas v. Google · In effect
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