Chief Petty Officer Timothy R. McVeigh, the sailor whom the Navy sought to discharge on the strength of an America Online user profile that described him as gay, won another court round today in his fight to stay in the service.
US District Court Judge Stanley Sporkin issued a permanent injunction barring the Navy from expelling McVeigh. The ruling merely confirms a ruling Sporkin made Monday that the Navy had violated the Defense Department's "don't ask, don't tell" policy regulating behavior for gays and lesbians in the armed forces.
The judge also ruled the Navy had violated the federal Electronic Communications Privacy Act by soliciting confidential information from America Online without a warrant or court order.
Government attorneys promised an appeal. But already, McVeigh's case against the Navy is widening.
His attorney, Christopher Wolf, told Sporkin in court today that the Navy has assigned his highly decorated client to demeaning jobs, that his reassignment from sea duty is depriving him of US$745 a month in pay, and that fellow sailors have been openly hostile to him. Wolf said McVeigh is seeking early retirement or reassignment.
Sporkin said he could not intervene to affect McVeigh's assignment, but told government attorneys that it should be understood that he will be restored to his former job or its equivalent should he continue in the Navy. Before the AOL flap, McVeigh - no relation to the Oklahoma City bomber - was senior enlisted man on the submarine USS Chicago.
