A federal civil rights lawsuit over the death of a Tulia man shot by a then-state trooper during a high-speed pursuit along Interstate 27 could be headed back to Amarillo's federal court.

The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has denied a summary judgment motion filed by attorneys for Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott's office. The appeal court's decision upheld an earlier ruling by U.S. District Judge Mary Lou Robinson, who ruled that "multiple genuine disputes of material fact" existed as to whether former Texas Department of Public Safety Trooper Chad Mullenix was entitled to qualified immunity in the case.

Under qualified immunity, government officials acting within their discretionary authority can be immune from civil damages if their conduct does not violate clearly established legal or constitutional rights.

Paul Holloway, an attorney representing Leija's family, said the case could return to Amarillo federal court or even the U.S. Supreme Court if Abbott's office appeals the ruling and the U.S. Supreme Court agrees to take up the case. Abbott's office did not return a phone call seeking comment on the next move in the case.

In 2010, Beatrice Luna, the mother of 24-year-old Israel Leija Jr., sued the DPS, Mullenix and Trooper Gabriel Rodriguez, alleging Mullenix used excessive force and violated Leija's Fourth Amendment rights when Mullenix shot Leija on March 23, 2010, on I-27 near Amarillo. The agency and Rodriguez later were dismissed from the suit, which seeks unspecified damages for Leija's minor children.

A DPS shooting review team and a Randall County grand jury found that Mullenix's actions were justified, but the Office of the Inspector General concluded the evidence did not justify Mullenix's actions and that his use of a firearm was "reckless."

"The evidence in the record raises the issue of whether Mullenix was justified in his decision to fire six times upon Israel Leija Jr., or whether a reasonable officer would not have fired at all given Mullenix's lack of relevant training and the caliber of weapon he utilized for this attempted stop," Robinson wrote.

"There are genuine issues of material fact as to whether Mullenix did or did not hear, and should have obeyed, the instructions from his superior officer to let the other officers responding to the situation first try the planned nonlethal or less-

dangerous methods being utilized to end the high-speed pursuit," Robinson wrote.

A Tulia police officer was trying to arrest Leija for a probation violation when the chase began in Tulia, reaching 100 mph at times, according to previous testimony and incident reports.

Mullenix fired six shots from a .223-caliber M4 rifle while on the Cemetery Road overpass and claimed later that he was trying to shoot out Leija's engine block, but bullets struck the man and killed him, according to court records. At the time, a Canyon police officer was setting up a spike strip beneath the Cemetery Road overpass.

"I was using deadly force to stop the actions and the threat that I saw present, and to protect the people ahead or further and right underneath me," Mullenix testified during a court hearing.

Then-DPS Sgt. Robert Byrd told Mullenix to "stand down" because other officers had set up a road block and spikes along Leija's route before the overpass, the suit said. Mullenix testified during a preliminary hearing he fired at Leija's vehicle to disable it and thought at least one other officer's life was in jeopardy. Mullenix also denied he aimed at Leija or heard an order to stand down.

According to DPS reports, Leija called a police dispatcher twice, told her he had a firearm and planned to shoot the officers who were following him or any other officer he saw on the road.

After the shooting, Leija's car rolled several times near the intersection of I-27 and Cemetery Road in Randall County, where he was pronounced dead.

Lab reports showed Leija had alcohol and cocaine in his system when he died. The DPS took no formal action against Mullenix, who later left the DPS.