John Stegner is an Idaho lawyer and former justice of the Idaho Supreme Court. Raised in Grangeville, he graduated from Whitman College in 1977 and the University of Idaho College of Law in 1982. He clerked for U.S. District Judge Harold L. Ryan and practiced civil litigation in Lewiston before becoming a district judge in Latah County in 1997. As a district judge, he established the county's drug court in 2002 and mental health court in 2012. He joined the Idaho Supreme Court in 2018 and left the court in 2023. Stegner is an independent candidate for governor in 2026.
Case
Networked automated license-plate cameras can assemble searchable records of vehicle movements. Candidates and officials disagree over whether to ban the systems, keep them with limits, or defend them as investigative tools. This tracker separates outright bans from narrower restrictions.
Role at the time: Independent candidate for governor of Idaho, writing in his campaign platform.
Statement summary
John Stegner's campaign platform supports an Idaho law providing warrant protections for access to Flock camera data. The independent gubernatorial candidate criticizes warrantless tracking while calling for police tools that preserve privacy. The platform is undated; September 30 is the date this passage was observed.
“The mass surveillance and warrantless tracking enabled by Flock cameras raises serious and legitimate concerns.”
Stegner criticizes warrantless Flock surveillance and supports an Idaho law modeled on proposed federal warrant requirements. He also calls for a balance between policing tools and privacy.
Statement dates: September 30, 2026
Statement dates: September 30, 2026
Statement dates: September 30, 2026
Statement dates: September 30, 2026
