CHEYENNE - A former Wyoming Highway Patrol trooper accused of kidnapping a Wal-Mart truck driver as part of an aborted plan is due in court to seek dismissal of federal charges.

U.S. District Judge Clarence Brimmer has set a Tuesday afternoon hearing on the dismissal request filed by 41-year-old Franklin Ryle.

Federal prosecutors say Ryle took the truck driver into custody in January with plans to kill the driver and crash the truck into his patrol car to collect damages from Wal-Mart. Ryle aborted the plan and released the truck driver.

Ryle has pleaded not guilty to federal charges alleging he violated the driver's civil rights, carried a firearm in the process of committing a crime and tried to persuade another trooper to help him.

Ryle's attorney says the charges should be dismissed because federal prosecutors have misapplied the law.