ALEXANDRIA, La. — A federal judge has set the date for former sheriff candidate James Whittington’s civil rights lawsuit against Concordia Parish Sheriff Randy Maxwell.

Tuesday, federal Judge Dee Drell scheduled the case to be heard by a jury in the Western District Court of Louisiana in Alexandria, starting at 9 a.m. April 23.

Whittington’s suit alleges he was the victim of a law enforcement vendetta following the 2003 election for sheriff, in which he was a candidate. The suit claims he was arrested on trumped up robbery, stalking and harassment charges for running campaign ads that were embarrassing to the incumbent sheriff. Whittington was detained for more than 50 days before his bond was reduced from $175,000 to $30,000.

In 2007, the charges against Whittington were dropped.

Though the case has been working its way through the court system for some time, the jury trial will be the first trial of evidence. When the suit was filed in 2008, Maxwell said he welcomed the opportunity to see Whittington on the witness stand.

The suit originally named Maxwell, former District Attorney John Johnson, sheriff’s deputy Jimmy Darden and Judge Leo Boothe. The courts have dismissed the claims against Boothe and Darden, and a claim against Johnson as an individual was also dropped. However, a claim against him in his capacity as district attorney was allowed to stand.

Johnson died Jan. 10 after a lengthy battle with cancer.