Attorney Christine Herbert: 'Fort Bend County does not get to pick and choose who will cover their activities'

The Institute for Justice (IJ) has announced that Justin Pulliam, a citizen journalist In Fort Bend County, TX, won his first court battle in a First-Amendment lawsuit against county Sheriff Eric Fagan, as a federal district court ruled against Fagan’s request to dismiss the suit.

“The court recognized the gravity of Justin’s allegations — that Fort Bend County Sheriff’s Office officials suppressed his free-speech rights — in rejecting the county’s assertion that its chief and deputies were immune to suit in federal court,” plaintiff's attorney Christine Hebert said in a release by the institute. “The heart of the First Amendment is the right to speak out about government, and Fort Bend County does not get to pick and choose who will cover their activities.”

Pulliam filed a lawsuit against Fagan after two separate incidents. In the first, Pulliam alleged that in July 2021, Fagan ordered deputies to remove Pulliam from a crime scene where a body was found, saying Pulliam wasn't a member of the media, the release said. About six months later, Pulliam was arrested for interfering with law enforcement at another crime scene, despite Pulliam's claim that he had the property owner's permission to be there.

Pulliam also argued he was far away from the active scene and had been asked by the property owner to record a welfare check on the premises. A Fort Bend County jury, however, didn't convict Justin on a misdemeanor charge of interfering with police and the case was declared a mistrial. Five members of the jury voted to acquit him, with only one voting to convict him.

The county has not indicated whether it would attempt to retry him, the release stated. The court also dismissed a Fourth Amendment search claim against Pulliam.

“Local politicians might find it convenient to eliminate their critics in the new media, but the federal court apparently respects the legitimacy of my investigative journalism,” Pulliam said in the statement. “Thank you to the top-notch attorneys at IJ for this important victory in the fight to protect individual liberty.”