VIDALIA — The civil suit against Concordia Parish Sheriff Randy Maxwell by a former sheriff’s candidate turned arrestee is headed back to district court.

The Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals affirmed Dec. 22 a lower court judgment stating that Maxwell was not entitled to qualified immunity from the lawsuit filed by 2003 sheriff’s candidate James “Jim” Whittington.

Qualified immunity is a legal protection for government officials that serves to shield them from legal damages for actions that do not violate clearly established laws that should be reasonably known by that official.

The judgment also states that Maxwell will have to pay the legal fees associated with the appeal.

This judgment does not, in and of itself, make a final determination about the facts of the case.

“Basically, our position is it is an open file, it is going to trial and we don’t make any comment until the judicial system play outs,” said Timothy Richardson, Maxwell’s lead counsel. “(The courts) are saying, ‘Let’s put it to the jury and see what they find.’”

Whittington’s case has its origins in the 2003 race for Concordia Parish Sheriff, in which he was defeated in the primary.

Whittington has alleged that six months after the election, as part of a conspiratorial vendetta against him, he was arrested and detained for 50 days — some of that time in an out-of-parish prison — on charges he harassed and forcibly took two rings from a former romantic partner.

The vendetta was formed against him in retaliation for campaign ads that were embarrassing to Maxwell, Whittington claims.

The charges against Whittington were quashed in September 2007 because two years had passed and prosecution had not moved forward.

The circuit court’s opinion states that — if Whittington’s factual claims are viewed as true — his Fourth Amendment rights were violated.

“No reasonable police officer could have thought that it was objectively reasonable in the light of clearly established Fourth Amendment law to detain an individual in jail for over 50 days, pursuant to the officer’s fabricated charges, so that the officer could fulfill his own personal vendetta against that individual,” the opinion stated.

Initially, the suit included Maxwell, former District Attorney John Johnson, Judge Leo Boothe and Sheriff’s Deputy Jimmy Darden. Since then, the courts have dismissed the claims against Boothe and Darden.

The courts have also dismissed a claim against Johnson as an individual, but the claim against him in his former capacity as district attorney still stands.

Whittington said Tuesday he looks forward to taking the case before the jury.

“(Maxwell) has put all his stuff on the table, and I have put all my stuff on the table, and it is going to be me on top,” Whittington said. “I always said I was right from the get-go, and I will stay with this and prove my point to the people of the parish.”

No filing schedule for the case has yet been set.

Maxwell declined to comment personally in favor of letting Richardson speak.