Ad Hominem Argument
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An Ad Hominem argument is (1) against the opponent rather than his/her argument(s); and (2) irrelevant to the matter being argued.
e.g. You can't even keep to the speed limit driving your car — why should I listen to you talking about the origin of the universe?
Questioning a person's authority to make claims or statements of fact, is not an ad hominem argument. Similarly, questioning a person's expertise may legitimately reduce their authority but is not an ad hominem argument.
See Dr Gary N. Curtis's comments on Ad Hominem arguments at his Fallacy Files web site: argumentum ad hominem
