When Kris Sakelaris finally gets her day in federal court later this month, it might feel like a rerun from an earlier episode of her life.

Sakelaris already succeeded in convincing a group of judicial peers that her former boss, the late Lake Superior Judge James Danikolas, fired her in 2003 because she refused to lie under oath to cover up his misconduct.

The Indiana Judicial Qualifications Commission issued a stinging rebuke of Danikolas in early 2005, saying the long-serving local judge clearly "abused the power of his office" when he fired Sakelaris from her job as his magistrate.

Danikolas died in December 2005, the same week the state Supreme Court ordered him to serve a 60-day suspension after the commission concluded Danikolas abused his power and lied during an investigation of the matter.

But Sakelaris' lawsuit in the matter still is grinding on, federal court records show. She is suing in U.S. District Court in Hammond, arguing she is entitled to back pay and reinstatement of her job because Danikolas violated her First Amendment free speech rights.

Barring a settlement, the four-day trial is set to begin July 30. If Sakelaris wins, the state will pay any damages because superior judges are state employees.

Many of the defenses contained in a statement of facts filed this month are nearly identical to the arguments that Danikolas made in 2005 in front of the state panel that concluded he had abused his authority.

Chiefly, the defense argues that Danikolas was justified in losing faith in Sakelaris and eventually firing her because she did not understand one of the most basic concepts in Indiana family law -- that a husband cannot be jailed for skipping child support.

The issue began in 2001 when Danikolas ordered that a man named Joseph Davis be released from the jail cell where Sakelaris had sent Davis five days earlier because of nonpayment of child support.

Danikolas was disciplined by the state in 2003 for improperly handling the Davis order. During the investigation of that matter, Sakelaris argued that Danikolas wanted her to lie and testify that her order was "wrong" or "illegal."

But Danikolas' defense lawyers say the judge had every right to fire Sakelaris, an at-will employee, because her comments during the deposition destroyed his faith in her knowledge of the law.

"The statements during the deposition had the effect of creating an untenable working relationship between Judge Danikolas and Magistrate Sakelaris because of the loss of confidence in her," defense attorneys claimed in recent court filings.