By Vanessa E. Curry

A civil rights lawsuit filed by former death row inmate Kerry Max Cook is back on track after a federal judge agreed to return his amended complaint to the active docket.

Judge Jeremy Kernodle signed the order Jan. 22. Cook filed an amended version of a lawsuit that had been dismissed in 2019 because he had yet to be exonerated. The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals declared Cook actually innocent in June, paving the way for him to refile the federal lawsuit.

Cook, who was exonerated in connection with 1977 murder of Linda Jo Edwards in Tyler, filed suit against the City of Tyler, Smith County and a list of officials he contends conspired to frame him for the murder. Among his specific allegations, he claims law officer concealed and fabricated evidence, coerced false statements and testimony, violated his due process rights, and failed to properly investigate viable suspects.

He is seeking compensation for permanent injuries and damages caused by his wrongful conviction.

Earlier this month, attorneys for defendants J.B. Smith and Smith County filed separate motions requesting they be dismissed as parties to the lawsuit because neither Smith, the former county sheriff, nor Smith County officers were involved in the investigation or Cook’s arrest.

Kernodle has yet to rule on those motions.