Roadman

Wed, Nov 17, 2010 : 7:05 p.m.

Thanks for mentioning County Prosecutor Brian Mackie. While I believe and have stated that his office's failure to bring stalking charges against Shirvell was legally defensible, it has not stopped his office in the past from using its prosecutorial discretion to institute criminal charges against civil rights activists whose beliefs do not toe the conservative line. Firstly, remember when the City of Ann Arbor rolled out the proverbial red carpet to the Ku Klux Klan in 1998 and furnished them with dozens of police officers to supplement State Police troopers for their security for a total of 273 law enforcment officers providing armed protection to these Klansmen. The Klansmen fulminated derogatory and offensive epithets toward blacks and Jews through bullhorns at counter-demonstrators. One suspects there may have been more than a twinge of admiration by these officers toward the Klan and its philosophies. Indeed, not one arrest of a Klansman was made nor any criminal charges filed against any organizers of the rally, despite the fact the white supemacists were at least arguably attemping to incite a riot wth their behavior. One could infer that the County Prosecutor had encountered a grey area and chose to err on the side of caution and decline to charge the Klansmen due to concerns that their insolent conduct may be protected by the Free Speech Clause of the First Amendment. While giving the Klansmen a free pass may have given them the benefit of the doubt, Mackie and his henchman gave no such leeway when considering charges against counter-demonstrators. Dozens of hours of detective manpower was spent in examining photographs taken of the counter-demonstrators by law enforcement and the Washtenaw County Prosecutor's Office authorized issuance of arrest warrants against 35 counter-demonstrating suspects on various felony and misdemeanor charges, including rioting, felonious assault, and various other infractions. Many of those charged were members of the civil rights activist group By Any Means Necessary, who took their name from the Malcom X quotation. Only 21 of the 35 charged were arraigned in court. Engler appointee and noted GOP donor Judge Timothy Connors bound over all felony suspects, finding that the groups title "By Any Means Necessary" was itself evidence of the intent to riot. BAMN's executive director Shanta Driver, a Harvard-educated black woman, was one of those charged, albeit with a misdemeanor. National Lawyer's Guild attorneys George Washington and Miranda Massie defended the criminal cases. Judge Connors' wife, Assistant Prosecutor Margaret Connors, prosecuted all nine misdemeanor cases. District Court Judge Ann Mattson later dismissed charges against all nine misdemeanor defendants for lack of evidence, noting that her ruling was being made upon the rule of law and not politics. Circuit Judge Donald Shelton later dismissed all rioting charges; other cases resulted in jury acquittals. One defendant was convicted of felonious assault for allegedly tossing a rock at a police officer, but he received only nine months of probation by Judge Shelton. Brian Mackie later appealed the dismissals of rioting charges and won reversals in the Michigan Court of Appeals. These cases, however ended quietly as the remaining rioting defendants negotiated "pleas under advisement" with Mackie's office, allowing those defendants to have the charges dismissed if they stayed clean for a period of time following the taking of their respective pleas. One of the most massive criminal prosecutions of Mackie's tenure ended with not a bang but a whimper. Klansmen had to be LOL knowing that morally upright counter-demonstrators had been facing criminal prosecution while their own obnoxious and racist conduct was given "wink-and-a-nod" First Amendment interpretaion by Brian Mackie's office. Next came Brian Mackie's public statement that he was declining to prosecute deputies suspected of criminal misconduct in connection with the death of West Willow residents Clifton Lee, Jr. and the alleged assault upon his brother Bruce Lee. This was met with disaproval by members of the black community in Ypsilanti. While not a First Amendment case it clearly showed where Mackie's loyaties were in civil rights matters. The FBI obtained civil rights indictments in the case and one deputy was convicted. In December of 2007, Margaret Connors, one of Mackie's assistants tried an attempted obstruction of justice charge against Dr. Catherine Wilkerson, a noted civil rights activist, who attempted to warn an officer that an arrestee could not breathe. The case generated national attention and Wilkerson was found not guilty by a jury. Connors, less than two months after the acquittal, announced she was running for district court judge; she finished a distant third place in the August of 2008 primary. The Washtenaw County Prosecutor's Office's general reluctance to prosecute those whom conservatives typically give preferential treatment to has again manifested itself in the Andrew Shirvell case. Shirvell, it should be noted, represented the Department of Attorney General in criminal appeal matters. He has been a heavy donor to Republican causes. One suspects that those in the County Prosecutor's Office may have thought "There, but for the grace of God, goes I" when contemplating possible criminal stalking charges against Shirvell. Surely, Prosecuting Attorney Brian Mackie could have directed the filing of criminal stalking charges against Shirvell and let a judge and jury decide whether such charges are warranted by the facts and law, as he did with those of a left-wing political persuasion, as described above. But that would be bad politics. Right, Brian?

David Briegel

Tue, Nov 16, 2010 : 10:51 p.m.

mike, Sorry, but there is an extreme and unstable individual formerly in a position of authority and a young man attempting to lead a normal life bothering nary a soul. Personally, I served to ensure our citizens would be free. Free isn't free when you are being stalked by an extremist with a badge! Brian Mackie should be ashamed that Mike Cox had to take care of the problem Cox created! Tony L, excellent observation!

My2bits

Tue, Nov 16, 2010 : 1:05 p.m.

I have met three people affiliated with Ave Maria. (Not Shirvell) Two out of three were complete nut cases. Small sample size, but scary. It is not about the particular religion and its beliefs. It is about extremists of any kind, any religion, and the effort to promote an agenda by any means.

Michigan Reader

Mon, Nov 15, 2010 : 8:01 p.m.

@DFSmith--Shirvell went beyond Catholic teaching in his behavior. Catholics are to love the sinner and hate the sin. Shirvell seems to have engaged in a zealous campaign against the sinner. @Matt Cooper--The Ave Maria School of Law's curriculum as I understand, is aligned with the teaching of the Catholic Church. The Church isn't ultra-conservative. It depends on the particular issue. The Michigan Conference of Catholic Bishops endorsed the rejection of the affirmative action ballot ban a couple of years ago, for example. As I've posted before on this forum, "conservatives" are "liberal" when it comes to issues like right to life, charity to the needy, dignity of the person, the "good" of society as a whole. Their mission isn't to turn out Andrew Shirvells; he's not representative of what the school wants, he's one deviation from the Church and Law School by his own disordered psychological makeup.

mike from saline

Mon, Nov 15, 2010 : 4:58 p.m.

I mean hero's.

mike from saline

Mon, Nov 15, 2010 : 4:03 p.m.

I'm an old Teamster Union Steward. What Andrew Shirvell was fired for, was what is basicaly considered, in the private sector as "theft and dishonesty" [stealing time]. Translation: He's taking care of personel buisness, while he's being paid [by the Tax-payers of the State of Michigan, in this case] to do his job. He was not fired for being a bully! On the other hand, Chris Armstrong is a Student body President of one of the largest Public Universities in the Country. He is not a 12 year old student Council President at Scarlett Middle School. He is not a child. he is a full grown man. When I was his age, I was in the United States Army. I was in Vietnam. I'm getting a little tired of everyone talking about Armstrong, as if he were a little boy. Both these characters need to "man up"! There are no hereo's, or martyr's to be found here. No "profile's in courage" of any sort.

Matt Cooper

Mon, Nov 15, 2010 : 2:03 p.m.

@dfsmith: Let's not be confused here. Simply because the prosecutor declined to press cnharges does not in any way, shape or form indicate innocence on the part of Shirvell, nor should innocense be inferred. Secondly, freedom of religion and/or freedom of speech do NOT include camping out in front of someones house several times in the middle of the night and videotaping the activites inside their residence. It also DOES NOT include gay bashing and publicly accusing people of being gay who are not. It also DOES NOT include calling someone's supervisor and trying to get them fired such as Shirvell did when he called Nancy Pelosi's office to try to have Mr. Armstrong removed from his internship. Finally, it DOES NOT include using state resources in the pursuance of these endevours regardless of one's own personal or political beliefs. Finally, the Ave Maria school of law, which is also a partner of the Thomas Moore Law Center is widely known to be a serious advocate of ultra conservative teaching, education, law studies and public policy. To state these facts is not Catholic bashing, as you put it. If religious people cannot stand to hear the truth, let them not read the words of others.

DFSmith

Mon, Nov 15, 2010 : 9:52 a.m.

@gild- Remember, despite all talk about alleged stalking/bullying etc, the local Prosecutors decided to not authorize charges, and Armstrong voluntarily withdrew his PPO request. This is a tempest in a teapot,and looks like people not involved in the situation are still trying to make an issue out of it. And My2Bits's comment is a clear example of bigoted Catholic bashing if there was one.

My2bits

Mon, Nov 15, 2010 : 8:04 a.m.

I miss Emily Litella. Thanks for the reminder Peg. Shirvell was a graduate of Tom Monahan's Ave Maria Law School. That school (moved from Ann Arbor to Florida - whew) was created for the purpose of launching Shirvells into the world. Beware the dangers of the religious extremists in our own midst.

gild

Sun, Nov 14, 2010 : 11:52 p.m.

Really, DFSmith? A state employee developing a creepy obsession with a college student, then campaigning for that student's destruction and using state resources in the process is "freedom of religion" in your book?

DFSmith

Sun, Nov 14, 2010 : 9:10 p.m.

I get the feeling that a lot of people dont understand the uniquely American concept of freedom of religion. Especially the letter writer, who with her years of experience ought to know better.

Tony Livingston

Sun, Nov 14, 2010 : 7:28 p.m.

Great article. It doesn't surprise me that people like Shirvell exist, there are thousands just like him. The shocking part is that he was hired and retained by the office of the state attorney general and given a legal platform for his bullying.

peg dash fab

Sun, Nov 14, 2010 : 1:49 p.m.

this is an emily litella moment

Jody Durkacs

Sun, Nov 14, 2010 : 9:32 a.m.

Uhh, not to defend him, but he did get fired. How is that not feeling consequences?