DETROIT (AP) – A former lawyer with the state of Michigan who had intense hostility for a gay college student has lost an appeal to keep his law license.
Andrew Shirvell’s 2017 disbarment was affirmed Tuesday by the Attorney Discipline Board.
READ MORE: ACLU Sues Michigan State Police, Claims Racial Profiling, Black Drivers Pulled Over MoreShirvell was an assistant attorney general. He was fired in 2010 after criticizing Christopher Armstrong on an anti-gay blog, on Facebook and during visits to the University of Michigan. The controversy made headlines.
READ MORE: Woman Finds 95-Year-Old Message In A Bottle In MichiganShirvell says he was exercising free-speech rights. But the Attorney Discipline Board says the attacks against Armstrong were “hostile and vindictive.” The board says Shirvell “demonstrated an egregious failure of professional judgment and character.”
In a separate matter, a jury in 2012 ordered Shirvell to pay $4.5 million to Armstrong, who was a student government leader.
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