A federal lawsuit filed by independent journalist and Big Bend Reporter publisher David Flash against Jeff Davis County and several county officials was featured Monday in The Volokh Conspiracy, a nationally read legal blog published by Reason.
The post was written by Eugene Volokh, one of the country’s most prominent First Amendment scholars. Volokh is the Thomas M. Siebel Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution at Stanford and a professor emeritus at UCLA School of Law. He is also the founder and co-author of The Volokh Conspiracy, a long-running legal blog focused on constitutional law, free speech, civil liberties and related legal issues.
Volokh’s June 22 article highlighted a report and recommendation issued by U.S. Magistrate Judge David Fannin in Flash v. Jeff Davis County, a federal civil rights lawsuit pending in the Western District of Texas. The lawsuit alleges retaliation against Flash’s journalism, restrictions on photography at public meetings and county buildings, false arrest, excessive force, prior restraint and a broader effort by county officials to suppress coverage by Big Bend Times, now Big Bend Reporter.
At this stage, the court has not made final factual findings. Fannin’s recommendation evaluates whether Flash’s allegations are sufficient to proceed past motions to dismiss. Volokh specifically noted that the court recommended allowing First Amendment, Fourth Amendment and conspiracy claims to move forward against several defendants.
The case stems from a series of events that began after Big Bend Times published investigative coverage about Jeff Davis County officials in 2023. According to the court’s summary, Flash later became the target of multiple criminal investigations, a courthouse-access ban, public criticism by county officials and a June 2025 arrest after he returned to photograph a public county budget meeting.
Volokh’s post also highlighted one of the more unusual allegations in the case: that county officials discussed playing copyrighted Disney music during public meetings as a way to interfere with Flash’s ability to monetize recordings of public proceedings.
The article noted that Flash’s lawsuit alleges county officials discussed policies that would restrict photography of county employees while allowing access to favored media outlets. It also noted allegations that Flash was banned from coming within 300 feet of county buildings or employees before that ban was later struck down by a court.
Big Bend Times has since been rebranded as Big Bend Reporter. The name change followed the creation of an unaffiliated domain-squatting website using the Big Bend Times name. Flash has said the rebrand was necessary to avoid confusion with that site, which has published attacks on him and his reporting. The lawsuit and Volokh’s summary also describe county officials engaging with the unaffiliated anti-Flash site, including allegations that officials provided body camera footage to the site and participated in an interview with it.
The rebrand did not change the publication’s mission. Big Bend Reporter continues to cover public affairs, government accountability, law enforcement, courts, development, tourism and community news across Far West Texas.
Volokh’s attention to the case is notable because of his national reputation in First Amendment law. His official Hoover Institution biography describes him as a constitutional law scholar who taught First Amendment law, copyright law, criminal law, tort law and firearms regulation policy at UCLA for 30 years. His work has been cited in hundreds of court opinions, including U.S. Supreme Court cases.
For Big Bend Reporter, the national attention underscores the broader stakes of the lawsuit: whether local government officials can use criminal investigations, courthouse restrictions, selective access rules and arrests to retaliate against unfavorable journalism.
The defendants have denied wrongdoing, and the case remains pending. If adopted by the district judge, Fannin’s recommendation would allow several of Flash’s central constitutional claims to continue toward discovery and further litigation.
Texas Reporter 