(Mich. asst. AG) Andrew Shirvell fired for attacks on gay U-M student

[Newsjock]

Source: Detroit Free Press

The attorney for Andrew Shirvell, the assistant attorney general under fire for his attacks on a University of Michigan student, says his client has been fired.

A hearing that was supposed to be held Tuesday was moved up to this afternoon. Philip Thomas said he showed up for the meeting and was read one sentence.

“They said essentially that as a result of Andrew’s conduct, it’s become impossible for him to carry out his duties as an attorney general.”

Shirvell had been criticized for his blog in which he calls Chris Armstrong, the president of the Michigan Student Assembly, a radical homosexual, a Nazi and Satan’s representative on the assembly. Thomas had said his client is expressing his free-speech rights.

Read more: http://www.freep.com/article/20101108/NEWS06/101108039/1318/Shirvell-fired-for-attacks-on-gay-U-M-student

[saigon68]

1. What a nice member of Law enforcement-- how tolerant

</sarcasm>

[Blue_Tires]

2. someone inform his lawyer that libel isn't protected speech

[Janice325]

3. Boo fucking hoo.

I hope the jackass gets disbarred, too.

[immoderate]

4. I don't know if he broke any rules, or broke any laws...

but that is one fucking scum-bag!

--imm

[EFerrari]

6. I'd think at very least it's a big violation of the fiduciary relationship

an AG has with the public. :shrug:

[MNBrewer]

24. in his case, it's "douchiary" relationship

[EFerrari]

27. LOL

[immoderate]

32. Fiduciary is a word with a ring. A juicy one.

I love saying it. But I wonder if his actions couldn't come under the umbrella of speech. (You may be a among the ones to notice that my post starts with "I don't know... :P) I also question whether what he did is uhm, anti-fiduciary(?)-stablishmentarianism, I mean, could I look it up, or is it a general meaning?

No one can argue with scumbag! :D

On edit: Down thread someone makes a good case for contractual violations. So, he blew that job. Still a scum bag.

--imm

[EFerrari]

33. Well, if as an attorney, you promise to be an agent for the people

it's bad form to turn around and stalk them. :)

[tblue37]

35. Harassment is not free speech. Showing up at the guy's home several times--

including at 1:30 a.m. is downright scary! And the victim was a college kid. When an adult in a position of power stalks and harasses a kid, that is even worse.

[immoderate]

39. So he did break the rules! He's still a scum bag.

--imm

[Evasporque]

43. It is still a tinny word....nt

[panzerfaust]

38. Oh of Course not: He is a Christian exercising his First Amendment Rights

It is not clear that, as a (self-proclaimed) Christian, he is subject to any law but the (Christian) God's?

"I'm a Christian citizen exercising my First Amendment rights," Shirvell told Cooper. "I have no problem with the fact that Chris is a homosexual. I have a problem with the fact that he's advancing a radical homosexual agenda"... http://www.cnn.com/2010/US/11/08/michigan.asst.attorney.general/index.html?hpt=T1."

Yep. Just justly fighting against the radical non-christian homosexual agenda of ...

"Armstrong, who said he has never spoken with Shirvell, told CNN days later that his principal issues as the school's student body president was {sic} longer cafeteria hours, gender-neutral housing and lower tuition costs... http://www.cnn.com/2010/US/11/08/michigan.asst.attorney.general/index.html?hpt=T1

More of these sickos will be showing up now that the bagnuts are in the limelight.

[immoderate]

40. I know that's what Christians do.

I was curious about how he might cover himself with technicalities. Not too well, it appears.

--imm

[EFerrari]

5. Good. One bully down. n/t

[Rebubula]

7. Good

What a complete douche. People with that sort of attitude do not belong ANYWHERE in our legal system - other than prison.

[The Second Stone]

8. The shoe was on the other foot in the 50s with McCarthyism

and the unemployablability of leftists. What the jerk does in his time off of work is none of the employer's business, particularly a government employer unless it is outright illegal.

[caraher]

16. You might think this if you don't consider the terms of his employment

There's a nice analysis of the issue on a law blog that explores how the conditions of his employment legitimately constrain his "off-duty" exercise of First Amendment rights. In fact, having a government employer means he has more restrictions on this kind of speech.

The terms of his employment allow dismissal for "conduct unbecoming a state employee." If he rants were based on the race, religion or gender of student government president, I don't think we'd even be having this discussion - he'd be long-gone.

[Posteritatis]

19. Considering he also claimed the media fabricated Michigan's harassment laws...

... I'd say he was generically incompetent on the job as well.

Also, he's been seen actively abusing his position in the past.

[MNBrewer]

25. Nice false equivalency!

Really, bravo.

[CreekDog]

30. harassing a member of the public is most certainly not a protected activity of an AG employee

sorry, nice try.

double-points for trying to make it sound like firing him is like employing McCarthyism.

:eyes:

[boppers]

37. "What the jerk does in his time off of work"...

He was doing this from his desk at work, as well.

...and lied about it. Until confronted with phone records.

[Dr.Phool]

9. They did a piece on him on The Daily Show last week.

Looks like it helped.

[travelingtypist]

11. Yeah, it was great.

http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/mon-november-1-2010/look-who-s-stalking

[activa8tr]

18. Worth watching at this link:

http://www.freep.com/article/20101102/BLOG36/101102013/Assistant-AG-Andrew-Shirvell-lampooned-on-Daily-Show

[HillbillyBob]

29. They ran it again this afternoon

What an ugly little troll..He needs a barbed wire prostate massage.

[travelingtypist]

10. Delete.

...

[supernova]

12. Good.

The blog and the constant attacks and checking up on Chris Armstong's whereabouts reeked of stalking. Shirvell is a grown man who had a career and should have had much better things to do with his time than chase after a college student.

[Ian David]

13. Good riddance. n/t

[activa8tr]

14. It's about time! n/t

[Nancy Waterman]

31. Should have happened weeks ago

but better late than never. I am sure The Daily Show helped. He is truly insufferable.

[meegbear]

15. Good riddance!!

[DBoon]

17. How many minutes before he becomes a right wing hero?

Persecuted by the homosexual "PC police"

[activa8tr]

20. I'm sure Glenn Beck is working his way up to cry about this at

5 PM today!

[Posteritatis]

22. How many minutes ago did he first make the news? (nt)

[COLGATE4]

28. About 5 minutes. You can be sure that his boss, the Michigan AG

did his utmost to keep this asshole on until the pressure became too great. I imagine he'll have some bright future with some Rethug organization somewhere soon.

[alp227]

45. There's already a right-wing hero like Shirvell.

Matt Barber, a former Allstate insurance agent who got fired for writing anti-gay blogs on company time.

Barber claimed that in February 2005, Allstate fired him over the article. Barber then hooked up with attorney David Gibbs III -- whom WorldNetDaily lionized for his work on the Terri Schiavo case, making sure in the process to turn a blind eye to where the money to pay him was coming from -- and thus the cause-celebre machine began.

WND jumped on board with a June 2005 article by Ron Strom hyping Barber's lawsuit against Allstate over his dismissal, serving up Barber's side of the case in detail. Not until after 40 paragraphs of Barber's attacks on his former employer did Strom get around to mentioning Allstate's side of the story (which at the point was no comment since it hadn't yet been served with the lawsuit). An August 2005 article, Strom's third on Barber, continued to exclude a response from Allstate, even though the Chicago Tribune had included one in an article a week earlier. It wasn't until the fourth article he wrote on Barber, two weeks later and two months after his first article on the story, that Strom bothered to note Allstate's response -- that he was fired "because he used the company's information technology systems and other resources for his personal journalism activities, many of which took place on company time."

Guess where Barber worked later? "Policy director for cultural issues" for the Concerned Women for America; and now director of cultural affairs at Liberty Counsel and associate dean at Liberty University School of Law. (Source: Sourcewatch article about Barber)

[herbm]

21. This guy needs medication. It almost sounds like a jilted wife.

[proud2BlibKansan]

23. Good

Wise move.

[gvstn]

26. Long overdue.

[donheld]

34. k & R

[Tx4obama]

36. Here's a link below to the video segment Anderson Cooper did today on Shirveill

Assistant Attorney General Fired
Andrew Shirvell is fired after months of leading a one-man crusade against a gay college student in Michigan.
http://cnn.com/video/?/video/bestoftv/2010/11/09/ac.keeping.them.honest.cnn

p.s. Armstrong's attorney is on with Anderson and she says that they are going after Shirvell's law license.
It's a good video to watch.

[alp227]

41. so where can a fired Assistant AG work?

And I wonder if Shirvell will get disbarred? I'll see him at a local McDonald's in a few days. Or maybe he can work as janitor for U of M and clean up after those filthy gay orgies he was whining about.

[MrBig]

42. It's about time

And, as much as the mainstream media can really cause problems, in this case, Anderson Cooper really did everyone a favor by bringing this story to the spotlight and leading the charge to get this piece of crap out of office.

[sarcasmo]

44. Kick to the top. FINALLY!