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Monday, November 9, 2015

High Court Won't Hear Appeal in Anti-Gay Defamation Lawsuit

High Court Won't Hear Appeal in Anti-Gay Defamation Lawsuit

Monday Nov 2, 2015
The Supreme Court has rejected an appeal from a former lawyer for the state of Michigan who lost a defamation lawsuit filed by a gay student at the University of Michigan.

The justices on Monday let stand a lower court ruling that upheld a $3.5 million jury award to Chris Armstrong, a former student government president.

Andrew Shirvell was fired as assistant attorney general in 2010 for waging an anti-gay campaign against Armstrong, who accused him of stalking and defaming him on an anti-gay blog and elsewhere.

A federal appeals court rejected Shirvell's request for a new trial, but reduced the jury's award by $1 million, making it $3.5 million.

Shirvell says he was exercising free speech rights and claimed his comments were protected because Armstrong is a public figure.
 

 

  • Anonymous, 2015-11-02 10:41:45
    From an earlier EDGE article on this guy: "n his interview with Shirvell, Anderson Cooper addressed the issue of cyber-bullying, and asked Shirvell whether he fit the description of a cyber-bully, given the accusations he had posted online against Armstrong. "No, I’m totally not--and that’s a totally mischaracterization," Shirvell responded. "Do you consider yourself a bigot?" Cooper asked. "Absolutely not," Shirvell replied. "I’m a Christian citizen exercising my First Amendment rights." "First Amendment Rights" seems to cover a whole banquet of sins these days.


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