The Alabama Supreme Court today declined to hear the case of Huntsville police officer William “Ben” Darby, who is seeking immunity from prosecution on a murder charge.

The state’s highest court denied Darby’s request for a hearing. Darby asked the court to hear his case after two lower courts denied his requests for immunity.

Darby is arguing he acted in defense of himself and others when he killed a man in an on-duty shooting on April 3, 2018. If granted immunity, Darby’s murder charge would be dismissed.

Jeffrey Parker, 49, died at the scene of the shooting after he called police, saying he was suicidal and armed. Months later, a Madison County grand jury indicted Darby on a murder charge.

After a hearing earlier this year, Madison County Circuit Judge Donna Pate declined to grant immunity.

Darby appealed Pate’s decision to the Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals. The appeals court denied Darby’s request without hearing evidence in the case. The denial was based on a technicality — that Darby’s attorney Robert Tuten didn’t include with the petition a transcript of the immunity hearing that happened in Pate’s courtroom.

The Supreme Court didn’t hear arguments in the case, either. It denied Darby’s request for hearing — known as a petition for writ of certiorari — without commenting on the case.

Now that Darby’s appeals have been denied, the murder case could be scheduled for trial in Madison County.