Fired as Asst. Mich. AG, Andrew Shirvell Now Faces Privacy Suit Trial re Former U of Michigan Leader
Jury selection has begun in the Detroit federal civil trial of a former assistant Michigan attorney general who lost his job because of his treatment of a gay man who was then a student government president at the University of Michigan.
If Andrew Shirvell would apologize, says a lawyer for plaintiff Chris Armstrong, the defamation and privacy lawsuit would be dropped, according to the Associated Press.
The plaintiff’s lawyer, Deborah Gordon, said in the complaint against Shirvell that he stalked Armstrong on campus and near his home and demonstrated a “bizarre personal obsession” in Facebook and blog posts in which he criticized Armstrong for having a “radical homosexual agenda.”
Shirvell has said his statements were true and he had a right to express his opinion about Armstrong, who is a public figure, notes CBS Detroit.
Originally filed by Armstrong in Washtenaw Circuit Court, the suit was removed to federal court by Shirvell shortly afterward, according to a case docket published on Scribd.
Earlier coverage:
ABAJournal.com: “Fired Ex-Prosecutor Andrew Shirvell Sues Lawyer Who Sued Him”
ABAJournal.com: “Hearing Officer Upholds Firing of Assistant AG Who ‘Made a Media Spectacle of Himself’”
