October 22, 2006
Game-bashing attorney Jack Thompson claims to throwing his hat into the political ring.In a lengthy press release issued on Thursday, the controversial attorney says that he plans to run for a judgeship on the Eleventh Judicial Circuit in Miami. If that court sounds familiar to GamePolitics readers, it's because the Bully court case has been playing out there in recent weeks before Judge Ronald Friedman.
In fact, it's Friedman's seat which Thompson hopes to claim in the 2008 election. Thompson has been harshly critical of Judge Friedman in the wake of the jurist's decision not to block the release of Bully. Thompson had sought to have the game declared a "public nuisance."
Circuit court judges in Florida are elected for six-year terms. The outspoken attorney says he is announcing his candidacy early in order to raise sufficient campaign money.
However, a source familiar with the Miami judiciary speculated that Thompson's announced candidacy could also be a tactic designed to force Judge Friedman to recuse himself from the Bully case, for which additional motions are pending - including, apparently, one filed by opposing counsel which seeks to hold Thompson in contempt.
Will we be calling Jack Thompson "Your Honor?"
Only time will tell.
Comments
But before we even get to that. Does he even stand a chance? He has a clear and obvious bias. His professional attitude offline is starting to fall apart. And his entire reason for running for judge is narrow-minded and selfish. In short, he has nothing.
So he can't win, and if he could the higher courts would prevent him from doing what he wants anyway. A waste of effort.
[/comic book guy]
Jack: Your honor! These porn-peddlers are corrupting our youth and if that coloumbine sim...
Judge: Call it a "Coloumbine Simulator" again and I will hold you in comtempt...
Jack: ...Sir, if Bully is not put out as a 'public nuisance' soon, an epidemic will occur that will be worse than the hurricanes here in Florida.
Judge: Mr. Thompson, I have made my final verdict and I am sticking to...
Jack: FINE! You know what! If things aren't done in the name of the lord and myself, I will make damn sure you are thrown out of your seat by 2008!
Judge: ...2008?
Jack: When I beat you in the race for your seat! Brain-dead pixelantes will know me as the honorable 'Judge Dredd'!
Phoenix Wright: OBJECTION!
Judge: Hey...how did you...
Wright: 'Judge Dredd' is a trademark name protected by the copyright of John Wagner. In no way, shape, or form, can Mr. Thompson use it as his alter ego...
Thompson: No, you idiot. My alter-ego is Batman. Duh.
I swear to gods, this guy is truly a megalomaniac. Now there's no hiding it. I've said it before and I'll say it again: he must be stopped. If not through the legal system, then by any means necessary.
@ beemoh
Hopefully you're right. And if that's the case, his career will implose right then and there.
BTW, I am serious about the class-action lawsuit. If my friend's dad gets back to me and says it has merit, we'll be defintiely be going forward with it.
What a petulant crybaby.
Cripes, if only this were "Starship Trooper" reality where the next line would be "Would you like to hear more?" I'd break my rollerball's left button jabbing at the "Yes" button on the screen. :)
nightwng2000
NW2K Software
anyways, I don't believe he'll even be seen, because even if he becomes a judge, he will have to resign to just torturing florida residents.
Tell us when it's out :) (or when you get sued)
__________
Jack.. Thompson.. As.. A.. Judge..
*long pause
ROFL!!!!!!
There is at least one other (sinister) motive that I can come up with for Jack's new-found desire to sit on the bench. Fla. Bar Reg. R. 4-8.2(a) states: "A lawyer shall not make a statement that the lawyer knows to be false or with reckless disregard as to its truth or falsity concerning the qualifications or integrity of a judge...or candidate for election or appointment to judicial or legal office."
Jack could be trying to make an end-run around other attorneys' ability to criticize him (legitimately or otherwise) by cloaking himself with "I'm running for judge, you can't attack me!"
Of course, there's Fla. Bar Reg. R. 4-8.2(b): "A lawyer who is a candidate for judicial office shall comply with the applicable provisions of Florida's Code of Judicial Conduct." Based on his past performance, I'm guessing Jack might have a problem with this one.
I wonder if he intends to try and make Friedman fill in a checkbox form on his sexual orientation.
if that extends down to district courts, then he won't last thirty seconds on any game case. That, of course, depends on who decides if the affidavit is timely and sufficient...
/b
The ease at which you could produce something stupid this guy has said...actually come to think about it let him run it would take away any credibility he has in the press.
Not to mention, even if he did pass some anti-game law, it'd just get appealed all the way up.
I think we should consider it a public service to inform any panel for the election of judges of his behaviour online. It really wouldn't be fair of them to make such a decision without all of the facts :)
If this is confirmed, I think it would be the crux of the matter. After all, if theres still Bar compaints outstanding against him, that _really_ isn't going to help him, and he knows it.
You DO realize that it is now "Open Season" , to abuse a phrase, on him. We have so much stuff on him, its pathetic.
Have at, folks! I can see the Op-Ed pieces now. Start sending them...
Wouldn't Jack have to recuse himself from this case as well, since he alledges to be running for Friedman's seat on the bench?
SEriously, if anyone runs against him, he won't have a chance. After all the trouble he gave Janet Reno when she ran for office, he should know that every bit of dirty laundry, whether it is even true or not, will be aired in the run up to the election. Hell, all an opponent has to do is go to wikipedia and he or she will have more than enough dirt to smear Jack's name behound repair. Actually this could work well for us. If an opponent actually does air Jacks crazy antics, perhaps the mainstream media will get the hint and stop paying attention to him!
I wonder how far he'll take it? He might chicken out, but we'll just see.
More to the point, Jack seriously has no hope in hell of winning a judge's seat. Patent inability to be unbiased or even civil when it comes to gaming issues, especially online, but even in discussions in the real world and courts of law, his composure is starting to unravel, reflexively spewing vitriol at Rockstar/Take-Two, stuff like that. He'll never get that seat, and I would encourage all the gamers who are of age to vote in 2008 make sure that he doesn't get that seat (assuming the general public does indeed vote on that.)
And there's a motion to hold him in contempt? Someone down there finally got sick of him being unable to hold his tongue, I guess.
I hope he drags himself into the crossfire. he might end up becoming a threat the ESA can't ignore.
I encourage everyone who is going to be living in Miami around that time to try and bring it all out. Ruin his chances of coming out into politics.
*snigger*
Sorry, but this has got to be the funniest thing I've heard all week. Jack is the complete antithesis of the ideal judge - biased, temperamental, and doesn't exactly have a solid grasp of law. Even without the dirt we might supply, I can't imagine him winning an election against any minimally qualified opponent.
And of course, even if he were to win, it might actually be even better for gaming, since there's no way in hell he'd ever get to try a game-related case with his proven bias.
This reminds me of the end of Disgaea.
Jack: So what did you do?
Boy: I beat up my friend in self defense...
Jack: Ok, so you say you played Bully and murdered everyone at your school.
Boy: What? NO!
Jack: Too late, I'm the judge and what I say goes. Guards, take him to the tower. DEATH PENALTY! DEATH PENALTY!