Jack Thompson: Permanently Disbarred

[General Zod]

Personally I think something pretty funny about this whole thing was how gamers have been reacting to it. Honestly, did anyone really think this guy was going to do any serious damage to anyone's rights? What's the worst he did in his whole career? Annoy Take Two? Stalk the guys at Penny Arcade? Nerds have been treating him like he's Sauron or something when his entire career is made a laughable failure.

You laugh, but there have been several legitimate threats to the videogame industry that people like Thompson simply embody the worst of. Quite frankly Thompson is to the videogame industry what Jack Chick is to religion.

[Cyborg Stan]

Personally I think something pretty funny about this whole thing was how gamers have been reacting to it. Honestly, did anyone really think this guy was going to do any serious damage to anyone's rights? What's the worst he did in his whole career? Annoy Take Two? Stalk the guys at Penny Arcade? Nerds have been treating him like he's Sauron or something when his entire career is made a laughable failure.

Maybe it's because they just wanted some kind of "enemy" for the sake of yet-another melodramatic civil rights movement? :)

Try reading the above article. Or, I'll post the revalent section.

Was there a price to pay for GP's coverage? Yes. Without going into detail, Thompson threatened me with lawsuits on an almost continual basis. While some might write off such threats as bluster, that's easy to say when you're not the one being threatened. He actually did add my name to one of his million dollar lawsuits until a federal judge ruled that he couldn't. But he didn't stop there. He vilified me to the newspaper that I write for and to the company that formerly hosted GamePolitics. He reported me to the FBI at least a half-dozen times. For a guy with a mortgage and kids and (back then) a day job, this was stressful. Frankly, I'm incensed at Doug Lowenstein's implication that GP did it for the traffic. I can't speak for other sites, but GamePolitics covered Thompson because there was a story there, a story that needed to be told.

[Braedley]

More here.

My personal favourite so far:
Jack Thompson is so disbarred even his wife claims he wrongfully discharged.

[bilateralrope]

Personally I think something pretty funny about this whole thing was how gamers have been reacting to it. Honestly, did anyone really think this guy was going to do any serious damage to anyone's rights? What's the worst he did in his whole career? Annoy Take Two? Stalk the guys at Penny Arcade? Nerds have been treating him like he's Sauron or something when his entire career is made a laughable failure.

Maybe it's because they just wanted some kind of "enemy" for the sake of yet-another melodramatic civil rights movement?

Here is a list of the things he did. The first one is probably what pissed a lot of gamers off, or at least made them worry that he might succeed somewhere.

We are talking about someone who was publicly alleging a link between the Virginia Tech shootings and violent video games before the shootings had finished.

November 18, 2005: Thompson is lead attorney in a $600 million dollar lawsuit against Take-Two, Rockstar, Sony, GameStop and Wal-mart which alleges that 18-year-old GTA player Devin Moore was influenced by the games when he killed two police officers and a police dispatcher in Fayette, Alabama. Following a motion by Take-Two's lawyers, Alabama Judge James Moore revokes Thompson's right to practice in Alabama, essentially throwing him off the GTA case. Moore will later file a Bar complaint against Thompson over his conduct and be a key witness at his Bar trial.

October 13, 2006: Miami Judge Ronald Friedman dismisses Thompson's bid to have Bully declared a public nuisance. Friedman will later file a Bar complaint against Thompson over his conduct and will also testify at his Bar trial.

October 22, 2006: Thompson announces he is running for Judge Friedman's seat on the bench. However, he never follows through.

January 23, 2007: Thompson calls for the impeachment of Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff after Shurtleff advises Utah legislators that the Thompson-authored video game law they are considering is unconstitutional.

March 16, 2007: Thompson is sued by Take-Two Interactive. The publisher seeks to block Thompson from damaging future sales of Manhunt 2 and GTA IV. A month later, the parties will reach a settlement.

April 10, 2007: In a harshly-worded ruling, U.S. District Court Judge James Brady declares Louisiana's video game law unconstitutional. Thompson, who wrote the legislation, has blamed Louisiana officials for its failure.

April 16, 2007: While the Virginia Tech shooting rampage is still ongoing, Thompson appears on Fox News to assert a violent video game connection. Later, a blue ribbon panel will find no evidence that the killer played violent games.

June 14, 2007: GamePolitics reveals that Thompson met secretly with Take-Two boss Strauss Zelnick in Manhattan shortly after Zelnick took control of the company.

August 3, 2007: Thompson writes in a court filing that he is experiencing cardiac arrhythmia as well as chest pains due to the stress of his campaign against the Florida Bar.

August 21, 2007: Thompson claims that he underwent a psychological evaluation at his own expense and was pronounced mentally fit.

September 21, 2007: Thompson seeks to have Halo 3 declared a public nuisance in Florida

September 26, 2007: U.S. District Court Judge Adalberto Jordan reprimands Thompson for including gay porn in a court filing.

October 3, 2007: Thompson tries to add Judge Adalberto Jordan as a defendant in a case against the Florida Bar over which Jordan is presiding.

November 3, 2007: Thompson debates game developer Lorne Lanning at vgXpo in Philadelphia.

November 16, 2007: Thompson tries (and fails) to get GamePolitics & the Entertainment Consumers Association added as defedants in one of his numerous federal lawsuits against the Florida Bar.

November 26, 2007: Thompson's Florida Bar ethics trial commences in Miami with Judge Dava Tunis presiding. It will last nine days.

December 18, 2007: Thompson's $600 million New Mexico lawsuit which attempted to draw a link between GTA and a grisly triple murder is thrown out by a judge.

December 28, 2007: Trying to prove a video game connection, Thompson sues the Omaha Police Dept. for records of mall shooter Robert Hawkins.

March 7, 2008: Thompson circulates an e-mail which says that the Florida Bar will look like a bombed-out building if the Florida Supreme Court files an order against him.

March 18, 2008: GamePolitics begins serializing transcripts of testimony from Thompson's November, 2007 Bar trial.

March 19, 2008: Thompson threatens legal action against GamePolitics for publishing the Bar trial transcripts, which are a matter of public record. Despite the threats, the series continues.

March 20, 2008: Florida Supreme Court informs Thompson that, due to submitting porn and other inappropriate filings, the Court will no longer accept any filings from him unless another attorney signs off.

April 9, 2008: Thompson complains in a court filing that the FBI will no longer take his calls.

April 26, 2008: Thompson persuades officials of Miami-Dade Transit to remove GTA IV ads from bus kiosks

May 20, 2008: Judge Tunis finds Thompson guilty of 27 of 31 ethical misconduct charges

May 26, 2008: Thompson tells a Florida radio show host that he has plans to run for the Florida legislature.

May 30, 2008: Thompson swears in a federal court filing that Judge Tunis leaked documents to GamePolitics. Actually, we got the documents from the court via public records request.

June 4, 2008: The Florida Bar recommends to Judge Tunis that Thompson be disbarred for 10 years. Thompson storms out of the hearing after Tunis refuses to let him read a statement in court.

June 16, 2008: Thompson alleges that a pair of U.S. Marshals visited him at his home.

July 2, 2008: Thompson is honored as winner of "America's Freedom Award" at America's Freedom Festival in conservative Provo, Utah.

July 9, 2008: Thompson alleges that he was barred by U.S. Marshals from entering the U.S. District Court building in Miami alone. An officer escorted him to his destination. Thompson sues over the incident.

July 9, 2008: Citing both his ethical misconduct and his behavior during his Florida Bar proceedings, Judge Tunis one-ups the Florida Bar by ignoring its recommendation for 10-year disbarment and instead recommends a permanment disbarment for Thompson.

September 25, 2008: Florida Supreme Court orders Thompson permanently disbarred, effective October 30th, 2008.

[CaptHawkeye]

So what i'm basically looking at here is a list of hilarious failure?

Just look at it, every Judge Thompson ever got within an earshot's distance of hated his ass. Most of them either threw his cases out of court, ignored him, or just told him to fuck off. He never made an inch of ground on any of his claims.

Try reading the above article. Or, I'll post the revalent section.

Oh would ya look at that! Thompson can spam someone with frivolous lawsuits! I'm amazed at the efforts he went to just to attack GP's repuation, but hey, I hear that's a totally new tactic we've never seen Lawyers do before.

[Zixinus]

I have to wonder: How did this guy get a law degree in the first place?

[The Yosemite Bear]

Somewhere I think there's a fundy wack job law degree mill that Thompson and most of Fred Phelp's klan got there's from.

[Davis 51]

Thanks, bilateralrope, for posting an article I posted on page 1.

Hal Haplin still thinks Thompson is a threat:

Entertainment Consumers Association (ECA) president Hal Halpin told The Escapist that, despite his recent disbarment, anti-game activist Jack Thompson will still be on the attack.

I did take some selfish joy in receiving Jack's email announcing his formal disbarment, but you need to understand that Jack and I have a long and quite personal history, and in addition, I must receive a half dozen emails from him a day, so this was one that I appreciated receiving. Let's put it that way.

It's important that gamers, while having every right to rejoice in their karmic victory, should understand that this really doesn't diminish his ability to be a force against us. Jack's not going anywhere... believe me.

Halpin also touched upon the controversy triggered by former ESA boss Doug Lowenstein's criticism of the gaming press over its coverage of Thompson:

I read Doug's reaction statement with a lot of interest, actually. As many who have been around the industry for some time know, Doug was my mentor when he ran the ESA and I the IEMA (Interactive Entertainment Merchants Association).

I believe I've gone on record before saying that one of the single largest mistakes we, collectively, made was ignoring Jack. I was certainly culpable in following Doug's lead, but in doing so we left Jack as the only voice at the microphone; we empowered him, and it was strategically unsound and, in hindsight, altogether wrong.

I know that Doug stands by his decision and instead hoists the blame on the enthusiast press, but I respectfully disagree. It was the endemic media which cast the light on Jack, his misstatements and factual inaccuracies and point-by-point, systematically addressed his assertions… all the while educating their readers, and the mainstream media and public who cared to listen, on the realities of the situation.

I've always felt that the gaming press was the most underutilized weapon in the arsenal when it comes to battling our detractors and it was one of the first things we went about rectifying when we launched the ECA, just under two years ago.

FULL DISCLOSURE DEPT: The ECA is the parent company of GamePolitics.

[Cyborg Stan]

Oh would ya look at that! Thompson can spam someone with frivolous lawsuits! I'm amazed at the efforts he went to just to attack GP's repuation, but hey, I hear that's a totally new tactic we've never seen Lawyers do before.

Man, never thought harrasment wasn't a big deal simply because other people do it.

[CaptHawkeye]

Yeah, I mean, he only used a typical bullshit manuever that attention hungry lawyers use all the time. Of course, Jack Thompson had a reputation for making sweeping changes to important legislation prior to his court-room spam. Right? He was on the verge of the Supreme Court somewhere in there i bet.

Unless you want to use it as yet another example of why the US court system is generally broken, then no, he sure as shit didn't deserve the paticular attention he got from the gaming press. I bet he even wanted it. Which is probably why most of his attacks were directed at journalists.

[Cyborg Stan]

It is unreasonable to answer back to someone that harasses you, tries to get you fired from your job, reports you multiple times to the FBI? Ever had multiple bullshit lawsuits thrown at you? Trust me, it's not something you'll take lightly.

[Hotfoot]

Yeah, I mean, he only used a typical bullshit manuever that attention hungry lawyers use all the time. Of course, Jack Thompson had a reputation for making sweeping changes to important legislation prior to his court-room spam. Right? He was on the verge of the Supreme Court somewhere in there i bet.

Unless you want to use it as yet another example of why the US court system is generally broken, then no, he sure as shit didn't deserve the paticular attention he got from the gaming press. I bet he even wanted it. Which is probably why most of his attacks were directed at journalists.

When's the last time SCOTUS hear civil cases? I don't recall any, to be honest, but I don't follow that stuff much.

Let's remember that he was a sleazeball civil lawyer who was attempting to bankrupt gaming companies. Last I checked, you need only go to one judge to really fuck up the industry that way. Also, are there even appeals for civil matters? I mean, I've never heard of anyone appealing the judgment from a civil suit, even if the award was so punitive it financially ass-raped the defendant.

Also, recall that similar attacks have been made against other forms of entertainment, with sometimes devestating success. Pen and Paper RPGs were attacked in the 80's as satanic and cult-like, and Comic Books were attacked in the 50's as promoting delinquency in juveniles (Seduction of the Innocent, anyone?). The latter resulted in the near-death of comic books as a growing storytelling medium. You had developing companies telling mature and complex stories cut down by little more than a bunch of angry soccer moms. You need not make it criminal to hurt an entertainment industry, you need only make it unpopular with enough people that they vote it down with their wallets. It's much less effective today, but there were plenty of sheep in the 90's who were willing to believe that DOOM led to Columbine.

[A Social Democrat]

When's the last time SCOTUS hear civil cases? I don't recall any, to be honest, but I don't follow that stuff much.

Let's remember that he was a sleazeball civil lawyer who was attempting to bankrupt gaming companies. Last I checked, you need only go to one judge to really fuck up the industry that way. Also, are there even appeals for civil matters? I mean, I've never heard of anyone appealing the judgment from a civil suit, even if the award was so punitive it financially ass-raped the defendant.

Also, recall that similar attacks have been made against other forms of entertainment, with sometimes devestating success. Pen and Paper RPGs were attacked in the 80's as satanic and cult-like, and Comic Books were attacked in the 50's as promoting delinquency in juveniles (Seduction of the Innocent, anyone?). The latter resulted in the near-death of comic books as a growing storytelling medium. You had developing companies telling mature and complex stories cut down by little more than a bunch of angry soccer moms. You need not make it criminal to hurt an entertainment industry, you need only make it unpopular with enough people that they vote it down with their wallets. It's much less effective today, but there were plenty of sheep in the 90's who were willing to believe that DOOM led to Columbine.

I just love how people are stupid enough to destroy free speech and good writing just to protect their children. Isn't it an indication of your bad parenting skills if your children get their hands on GTA 4, Postal, or DOOM? People just love to blame others for their own doing, just like we blame big tobacco and fast food companies for someone's personal choice. It isn't Mcdonald's fault that some idiot ate their food too much and became a gagantuan piece of lard.

[Hotfoot]

I just love how people are stupid enough to destroy free speech and good writing just to protect their children. Isn't it an indication of your bad parenting skills if your children get their hands on GTA 4, Postal, or DOOM? People just love to blame others for their own doing, just like we blame big tobacco and fast food companies for someone's personal choice. It isn't Mcdonald's fault that some idiot ate their food too much and became a gagantuan piece of lard.

You had an argument with fast food, but cigarettes are an addictive, cancer-forming substance. It's not even like fast food, where a little every once in a while won't really hurt, since a little nicotine can be habit-forming, etc.

While some Truth ads might be annoying, tobacco companies HAVE done a lot of really shady shit, and their product, quite simply, kills people, and does measurable harm to people AROUND their users. While fast food is unhealthy, and should never be the core of a given diet, it won't flat out kill you, and it certainly won't do harm to others around you.

I mean, neither of them are particularly great examples, but really, cigarettes and video games? Please.

[A Social Democrat]

I'm just making a comparison between the fact that people are blaming video game companies for parents' lack of common sense, I mean it is like blaming the first amendment for racists being able to spew their crap out. Just because some people do stupid stuff and/or abuse a right/privilege/product it does not mean that everyone else has to suffer.

[AdmiralKanos]

We contacted Jack Thompson asking if we might have an official statement on his disbarment. He answered our request swiftly, but concisely. His statement simply reads:

"Sure. Go to Hell."

I really can't understand why he's not still a lawyer.

Not that he doesn't deserve to be disbarred, but this kind of statement is really childish. One's rudeness when cold-called by a gloating stranger after a major setback is hardly a meaningful reflection of his professional abilities or behaviour.