By BTL staff
DETROIT –
Former Michigan Assistant Attorney General Andrew Shirvell was reprimanded by a federal judge last week for attempting to find a shortcut to end a lawsuit against him for allegedly harassing an openly gay University of Michigan college student.
Beginning in 2010, Shirvell waged an online campaign against the former student body president, Christopher Armstrong. Shirvell also stalked Armstrong on campus, protesting his public appearances with harassing signage and shouting out insults. In April of this year, Armstrong, 21, filed a lawsuit against Shirvell, seeking more than $25,000 in damages.
For most of the 2010 school year, Shirvell used his blog to harass and attack Armstrong, describing him as a "racist, elitist and liar," and "Satan's representative on the student assembly." .
"You're basically at the beginning of the lawsuit trying to get to the end," said U.S. District Judge Arthur Tarnow. "You're wasting a lot of energy."
The lawsuit alleges Shirvell "developed a bizarre personal obsession" with him in early 2010 after claiming the student was a radical homosexual activist. The suit also claims that Shirvell accused him of getting minors to drink alcohol and Armstorng was trying recruit others to become homosexuals.
Shirvell, who is representing himself, filed several motions to throw out the majority of a lawsuit. He claimed he was just exercising his First Amendment rights. He also stated that Armstrong pursued a "course of action" against him "to make an example out of (me) in order to deter others from criticizing (Armstrong's) homosexual activist agenda."
Shirvell argued that he was not trying to inflict intentional emotional harm on Armstrong and that none of his criticisms of him were over the line of acceptable criticism.
Shirvell was fired by the state Attorney General's Office in November 2010 for using his state computer to update his blog and then lying to investigators about it. In court, he continued to argue he's the victim and that Armstrong is responsible for his professional troubles, including being fired.
Tarnow dismissed the motions saying that a jury would decide on the merits of the suit and that after his review of its allegations, and that in his opinion there was more than enough to move it forward to a jury trail.
"They are so many allegations that even if one of these are (true) you'll be going to trial," the judge told Shirvell. Tarnow repeatedly denied motions to knock out parts of Armstrong's suit.
Tarnow told Shirvell he had proven the adage that it's "not wise" to represent oneself in court.
Shirvell told the Detroit Free Press that "he plans to keep fighting and will file more motions to try to get the suit tossed before it gets to the jury trial phase." Shirvell has asked Tarnow to compel Armstrong to answer questions about his sex life and religious beliefs.
