Former chief deputy fired by Sheriff Scott Miller has appeal dismissed in state court.

An appeal by Eduardo Lorenzana, who sued the county for wrongful termination from his job at the Sheriff's Office, has been dismissed by a judge in the state’s Sixth District Court of Appeals in San Jose.

Lorenzana was a chief deputy under former Sheriff Mike Kanalakis who was fired by Sheriff Scott Miller when he took office in 2011. In his original complaint of wrongful termination, Lorenzana contended that Kanalakis—right before the former sheriff left office—had demoted him from chief deputy, an at-will position, to the rank of commander.

Commanders cannot be fired without cause and an opportunity to appeal.

Miller contended at the time that Lorenzana was a chief deputy when he took office, and the court agreed, dismissing the complaint.

Lorenzana’s appeal, however, changed tact, agreeing that he was an at-will chief deputy at the time of his termination, and that he was entitled to a hearing under POBRA (Police Officers Procedural Bill of Rights Act) because he was a high-ranking peace officer.

That change was central to the ruling filed today by Judge P.J. Rushing.

“As a general rule, theories not raised in the trial court cannot be asserted for the first time on appeal,” Rushing writes. “Appealing parties must adhere to the theory or theories on which their cases were tried.

“Mr. Lorenzana did not raise the issue concerning whether he was entitled to a full evidentiary hearing despite his at-will status in the trial court,” he continues. “As a result, we will not consider it for the first time on appeal.”

Lorenzana's attorney Christopher Miller, who is based out of Sacramento, did not respond to an immediate request for comment.