Judge Recommends Guilty Verdict for Jack Thompson

GamePolitics is reporting that a Florida Judge has recommended that Jack Thompson be found guilty on 27 of 31 counts of misconduct and is awaiting a Florida Supreme Court verdict to back him up. Thompson is striking back with allegations against the Judge and others, complaining that loyalty oaths were never signed. "Tunis made 21 recommendations of guilt in relation to Thompson's participation in Strickland vs. Sony, an Alabama case in which the anti-game attorney represented the families of two police officers and a police dispatcher slain by 18-year-old Grand Theft Auto player Devin Moore. Tunis also recommended that Thompson be found guilty on four out of five counts relating to his 2006 attempt to have Rockstar's Bully declared a public nuisance in a case before Miami Judge Ronald Friedman. An additional two guilty counts stemmed from a non-video game matter."

GTA Lawyers

[dj245]

GTA4 has sold over 3.6 million copies [wikipedia.org]. Even if lawyers didn't like to brutally advance their careers through any means necessary, I would expect at least some of these sales to be to lawyers.

As a Lawyer Friend Of Mine Once Said...

[macs4all]

If you have the facts on your side, then argue the facts. If the facts aren't on your side, then argue the law. If neither the facts nor the law is on your side, then argue procedure.

Methinks that challenging the Oaths of Office of the Judge falls under the "procedure" category...

"loyalty oaths were never signed"

[scorp1us]

What is the law, if not semantics? While I don't agree with Thompson, I do agree that until a loyalty oath is signed, no judge can ever issue a binding ruling.

We as citizens must demand that our government dot it's 'i's and cross its 't's. Without these oaths, the judges are unaccountable. How hard is it to get a signature? How hard is it to take an oath? These oaths are required by the people and in them, the person taking the oath states they will follow whatever constitutions are relevant to the position.

See http://www.jail4judges.org/ [jail4judges.org]

Re:"loyalty oaths were never signed"

[nuzak]

The judges did sign their oaths. Jack alleges that Tunis forged her own signature, which is certainly a pretty novel theory, but if we decide to be more generous than the law even allows and take him at his intended meaning, that she had someone else sign for her, he doesn't have a single iota of supporting evidence, other than the worthless opinion of an utterly discredited "handwriting analyst" who made his opinion based on a whopping two samples.

Accusing judges of malfeasance is just standard behavior for Jack Thompson. And his probable disbarment is just the start of his troubles -- there's one Cletus Junkin in Alabama (yeah I know ... I couldn't make these great names up) who may be going after him for libel next.

Watch out violent video games!

[Yogiz]

If he gets locked up, someone might emerge who can actually argument and make the public belive that the cause might be worth fighting. Somebody who has only stayed in the shadows because Jack Thomson has made all video game opponents look like a big bag of crazy. Someone who is actually mentally stable and sees, that such lamenting has only made the public side up with the game makers.

Beware!

Re:Just two counts?

[cowscows]

Well what'd you expect? There is no body of video game related laws that for someone to violate. Much of the nonsense that he's perpetrated has been as a result of the bizarre war he's trying to wage against games.

The issue isn't just that some guy doesn't like video games, it's that he's not only embarked on some sort of loony campaign against them, but he's also abused the legal system to harass video game developers and publishers. And he's also made sweeping, negative, and sometimes offensive generalizations about an entire branch of media and the millions of people who consume said media.

Whether this guy is unethical enough to purposely crap all over the legal system over something like video games, or whether he's just plain insane, either way he should not be practicing law. And he certainly shouldn't be wasting tax dollars on his bizarre personal crusade against a bunch of gamers. The legal system is better off without him, regardless of his views on video games or anything else. He's pretty much proven that he has no respect for the proper functioning of the courts/etc.

And third, this guy has managed to convince various media outlets that he is a credible expert on video games. Having an opinion on something does not make you a credible voice. We can only hope that whatever the end result of all this is, news programs will stop asking him to share his thoughts on video games or anything else.

Wow. Just... wow.

[sm62704]

I always suspected that "Thompson" was the Russian word for "Golf" ("...you thought Golf was inwented in Scotland? No, it was a Russian inwention!" -Ensign Checkov) but the Ars story had me giggling.

Thompson has included gay pornography in his court filings, causing the Judge presiding over the case to note that "Mr. Thompson made available for unlimited public viewing, on the court's docketing system, these graphic images." In this most recent case, Thompson created a picture book in reaction to "the court's inability to comprehend" what he was saying. The book contained pictures of swastikas, a copied dollar bill, monkeys, and, in a surreal touch, a handprint with the word "slap" written under it. That's leaving out the cartoon squirrels. Earlier this year, Thompson asked why another gaming writer doesn't "just molest children directly rather than through Rockstar. It would be more personal that way."

Before the release of Grand Theft Auto IV, Jack Thompson wrote Ars Technica a letter that compared the game to polio.

Re:Bogosity resistance

[overshoot]

SCO will pay their due punishment, either in cash or in company assets. If any lawyers get sanctioned, it is only because they were sloppy.

Well, they haven't any cash and they haven't any company assets; they're in bankruptcy right now and are burning their remaining assets fast enough to make sure that there's nothing left before the creditors (including Novell and IBM) get a dime.

As for the lawyers, they have been incredibly sloppy. A number of attorneys have opined that in their whole careers they've never seen such flagrant violations of the FRCP, Rule 11 not least of all. The same lawyers are also very doubtful about any sanctions being assessed against the lawyers involved.

So, by all means, let's see what happens when the counterclaims and any possible motions for sanctions are wrapped up.

Re:Not trying to defend Jack

[UnknowingFool]

If you read his response, it's typical Jack Thompson. He doesn't argue the merits of the charges (probably because he was guilty of everything that he is being accused). He argues that the judge should be removed because she has a grudge against him.

One of the charges is improperly practicing law outside of Florida. This one was simple to prove. Every lawyer is licensed to practice law in the state where he passes his bar. To practice law in another state, you either have to (1) take the bar in that state or (2) apply for hac pro vice status if the lawyer needs to work a case. Every lawyer should know this. Jack Thompson (licensed in Florida) did not do either before representing families in the Devin Moore case in Alabama. Eventually he applied for status but had it revoked when he violated the gag order in the case.

Re:Ummm...

[morgan_greywolf]

Yep. And that's the reason why Jack Thompson and Tyndale are no longer on speaking terms.