Imprisoned for the murder of his wife, suspended attorney Claud “Tex” McIver is asking the Georgia Court of Appeals to overturn a DeKalb County State Court judge and dismiss a wrongful death lawsuit brought by his wife's estate.

The Georgia Court of Appeals is slated to hear oral arguments Thursday on McIver's appeal. McIver counsel James Scarbrough of Atlanta firm Mabry & McClelland has asked the appellate court to reverse a ruling by Judge Mike Jacobs allowing the case to go forward. McIver sought to have the case dismissed, claiming that, as the surviving spouse of his wife, Diane, only he has the legal authority to make a wrongful death claim.

McIver fatally shot his wife in September 2016 while he was sitting in the back seat of the couple's SUV as Diane McIver's close friend, Dani Jo Carter, drove them home from a weekend at their 85-acre ranch southeast of Atlanta. McIver fired a single shot through the front passenger seat where his wife sat while the SUV was stopped at a traffic light across from Atlanta's Piedmont Park.