A court official in the office of Washtenaw County Trial Court confirmed yesterday that a petition for a personal protection order brought by Michigan Student Assembly President Chris Armstrong against Michigan Assistant Attorney General Andrew Shirvell has been dismissed.

The official, who works in the office of Judge Nancy Francis, the judge assigned to the petition, said the case was dismissed without prejudice by the petitioner, meaning Armstrong is free to re-file a personal protection order against Shirvell in the future.

Earlier this month, Shirvell called for Francis to step down because her sister, who is a public official, had openly criticized Shirvell. Francis ultimately did not remove herself from the case.

A hearing was scheduled for 1:30 p.m. yesterday to consider the petition, after the original Oct. 4 hearing was postponed. Court officials cited a “service issue” as the reason for the re-scheduling.

The request for a personal protection order stems from the controversy surrounding Shirvell’s blog, Chris Armstrong Watch, in which Shirvell accuses Armstrong of promoting a “radical homosexual agenda” and calls Armstrong an “elitist” and “racist.”

The controversy received national media attention from media outlets like CNN, with Shirvell and his boss Michigan Attorney General Mike Cox both appearing on the network. Cox came under scrutiny for employing Shirvell on the public's dime in light of Shirvell's actions. Shirvell later took a voluntary leave of absence and has since closed off his blog from the public. Armstrong has remained relatively quiet on the issue, but did appear on Anderson Cooper 360 to discuss the situation.

In the personal protection order petition filed with the court, Armstrong wrote that Shirvell posed "a threat to my own personal safety" and that Shirvell had protested at events Armstrong attended. Armstrong added that Shirvell had called Speaker of the United States House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi's office during his summer internship to speak with his supervisor about his membership in Order of Angell — a senior honor society on campus with a controversial past.

In a statement released last night, U. Ashwin Patel — Armstrong’s attorney — explained why Armstrong dismissed his petition for a PPO.

“The petition for a personal protection order was dismissed by Chris Armstrong because he received assurance that he will no longer be contacted by Andrew Shirvell,” Patel wrote. “At this time, Chris would like to focus on his classes, finishing his senior year and his work with MSA.”

Philip Thomas, Shirvell’s attorney, said in an interview yesterday that though Armstrong has been portrayed as the victim, he believes Shirvell is the true victim of the story.

“I really believe that my client has turned out to be a victim of the liberal media,” Thomas said. “I looked at all the Anderson Cooper tapes … nobody ever said ‘Oh there should be a hearing, a determination should be made as to whether this is legitimate or not.’”

Thomas continued, “This is the United States of America, we have a right to free speech. If the standard applied in this case were to applied in our society, then President Obama could go and get a PPO against Rush Limbaugh or the Tea Party or against any of the different political action groups and that’s not what PPOs were designed or intended to protect against.”

Thomas added he didn’t feel the circumstances warranted a PPO because Armstrong said in a police report that he was feeling “somewhat harassed” by Shirvell.

“That’s not what PPO law is designed and intended to guard against, not somebody feeling somewhat harassed,” Thomas said.