A lawsuit alleging false arrest and malicious prosecution against Clayton County Sheriff Victor Hill can proceed to trial, the federal appeals court in Atlanta has ruled.

The suit was filed by George Mark Tuggle, the brother of former Clayton Sheriff Stanley Tuggle. He was arrested and jailed after making two phone calls to Hill and leaving angry messages when Hill fired 27 sheriff's employees shortly after taking office in early 2005.

The charges against Tuggle were later dismissed, but he was jailed for about 30 hours before being released on bond, his lawsuit said.

On Wednesday, the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said no reasonable police officer could have believed that Tuggle's phone calls violated Georgia's harassing phone calls statute. For that reason, Hill is not shielded by immunity from the litigation, the court said.