| Jack Thompson (attorney) |
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John Bruce “Jack” Thompson (born , 2004 . After an initial foray into politics, Thompson concentrated his efforts on activism against obscenity in Rap Music . More recently, he has focused on violence as well, particularly in the content of Computer And Video Games and their effect on children. This includes lobbying for legislation restricting distribution of these games and filing lawsuits on behalf of the victims of crimes committed by juveniles allegedly inspired by violent video games. BACKGROUND Thompson grew up in , 1990 They moved to Florida, where Patricia had a job offer, in 1976. Jack began attending the Key Biscayne Presbyterian Church and became a born-again Christian, working as a lawyer and then a fundraiser for a Christian ministry, while she practiced corporate law. Thompson admits to having a “colorful disciplinary history” as an attorney.Linn, Mike. “‘Grand Theft Auto’ comes under fire.” ''Knight Ridder Tribune Business News'', November 22 , 2005 . CAMPAIGN AGAINST JANET RENO Thompson first met and Reno had declined his request to prosecute Rogers.Evans, Christine. “Challenger attacks Reno as too liberal.” ''The Miami Herald'', 1B, November 6 1988 . Thompson was instrumental in getting the FCC to fine Miami radio station WIOD $10,000 for airing such parody songs as “Boys Want to Have Sex in the Morning” on Rogers’ show. Thompson also sued the station for violating a December 1987 agreement to end on-air harassment against him. Thompson had complained to the station after Rogers solicited homosexuals to join him on his vacation; Rogers aired Thompson’s address and phone number. Thompson claimed one of the terms of his agreement with the station was that it would pay him $5,000 each time his name was mentioned. For the next eight months he recorded all of Rogers’ broadcasts and documented 40,000 mentionings of his name, so he asked for $200 million in the suit.Blodgett, Nancy. “Say ‘Jack’ 40,000 Times.” ''ABA Journal'', October 1 1988 . Thompson’s campaign for prosecutor was reportedly also prompted by rumors that Reno was lesbian. He gave Reno a letter at a campaign event requesting that she check a box to indicate whether she was homosexual, bisexual, or heterosexual. Thompson said that Reno then put her hand on his shoulder and responded, “I’m only interested in virile men. That’s why I’m not attracted to you.”Vick, Karl and David Dahl. “Stigma of a middle-aged, single woman.” ''St. Petersburg Times'', February 17 , 1993 . He filed a police report accusing Reno of Battery for touching him, so she asked Florida governor Bob Martinez to appoint a special prosecutor to investigate.“Opponent accuses Reno of battery.” ''The Miami Herald'', 2D, September 9 1988 . The special prosecutor rejected the charge and concluded that Thompson did it as “a political ploy.” Reno was ultimately re-elected with 69% of the vote. Thompson repeated allegations that Reno was lesbian when she was nominated as U.S. Attorney General , leading one of her supporters, lieutenant governor Buddy MacKay , to dismiss him as a “kook.” In 1990, after his election loss, Thompson began a campaign against the efforts of Switchboard of Miami, a social services group of which Reno was a board member. Thompson charged that the group was placing “homosexual-education tapes” in public schools. Switchboard responded by getting the Florida Supreme Court to order that he submit to a psychiatric examination. Thompson did so and passed, and since has stated on more than one occasion that he is “the only officially certified sane lawyer in the entire state of Florida.”Timmerman, Kenneth R. “Reno Redux in Florida.” ''Insight'', October 5 , 2001 . RAP MUSIC Thompson came to national prominence in the controversy over , 1990 . In his campaign, Thompson cast himself as a Batman -like character, a solitary figure helping law enforcement when it was unable to protect the public on its own. He portrayed 2 Live Crew frontman Luther Campbell not as Luke Skyywalker (his stage name), but as the Joker “peddling obscenity to children.” Thompson said, “I understand as well as anybody that the First Amendment is a cornerstone of a free society—but there is a responsibility to people who can be harmed by words and thoughts, one of which is the message from Campbell that women can be sexually abused.” The members of 2 Live Crew responded to these efforts by suing the Broward County sheriff in federal district court. While they were granted an injunction because law enforcement actions were an unconstitutional Prior Restraint on free speech, the court ruled that the album was in fact obscene. An appellate court reversed the obscenity ruling, however, because simply playing the tape was insufficient evidence of the constitutional requirement that it have no artistic value.''Luke Records Inc. v. Navarro'', 960 F.2d 134 (11th Cir. 1992). As the debate continued, Thompson wrote, “An industry that says a line cannot be drawn will be drawn and quartered.”Thompson, Jack. “Clean Up Record Lyrics—Or Else.” ''Billboard'', , 1990 . Thompson responded by noting, “Law enforcement and I put 2 Live Crew’s career back into the toilet where it began.”Thompson, Jack. “Morals Are Slipping.” ''Billboard'', January 12 , 1991 . Thompson wrote another letter in 1991, this time to Minnesota attorney general , 1991 . In 1992, Thompson was hired by the , 1992 . Thompson’s push to label various musical performances obscene was not entirely limited to rap. In addition to taking on 2 Live Crew, Thompson campaigned against sales of the racy music video for , 1991 . Then in 1996, he took on MTV broadcasts for “objectification of women” by writing to the station’s corporate parent, Viacom , demanding a stop to what he called “corporate pollution.”Sandler, Adam. “CLEAN UP MY MTV?” ''Daily Variety'', December 24 , 1996 . He also went after MTV’s advertisers and urged the U.S. Army to pull recruiting commercials, citing the Army’s recruitment of women and problems with sexual harrasment scandals.Sandler, Adam. “Activist demands MTV pull Army ads.” ''Daily Variety'', February 19 , 1997 . VIDEO GAMES AND JUVENILES More recently, Thompson has heavily criticized a number of video games and campaigned against their producers and distributors. His basic argument is that violent video games have repeatedly been used by teenagers as “simulators”to rehearse their own violent plans. He has pointed to connections between such games and a number of school massacres. According to Thompson, “In every school shooting, we find that kids who pull the trigger are video gamers.”“Excerpt from ‘20/20’ on the Debate Whether Violent Video Games Desensitize Children.” ''World News Now'', ABC, , 2004 . Thompson has described the proliferation of games by Sony , a Japanese company, as “ Pearl Harbor 2.”Lasker, John. “MURDER SIMULATORS? Railing against video game violence isn’t just for Jack Thompson anymore.” ''Dayton City Paper'', January 4 , 2006 . According to Thompson, “Many parents think that stores won’t sell an M-rated game to someone under 17. We know that’s not true, and, in fact, kids roughly 50 percent of that time, all the studies show, are able to walk into any store and get any game regardless of the rating, no questions asked.”Cooper, Anderson. ''Anderson Cooper 360''. CNN, October 8 , 2005 . Thompson has rejected arguments that such video games are protected by Freedom Of Expression , saying, “Murder simulators are not constitutionally protected speech. They’re not even speech. They’re dangerous physical appliances that teach a kid how to kill efficiently and to love it.” In addition, he has attributed part of the impetus for violent games to the military, saying that it was looking “for a way to disconnect in the soldier’s mind the physical act of pulling the trigger from the awful reality that a life may end.”Thompson, Jack. “Bloodlust video games put kids in the crosshairs.” ''Denver Post'', May 30 , 1999 . Thompson further claims that some of these games are based on military training and Simulation technologies, such as those being developed at the Institute For Creative Technologies , which, he suggests, were created by the Department Of Defense to help overcome soldiers’ inhibition to kill.Worthy, Kym. “Why violent video games may be worse than other media violence.” ''Michigan Chronicle'', October 5 , 2005 . Litigation Thompson filed a lawsuit on behalf of the parents of three children killed in a Paducah, Kentucky school shooting in 1997. Investigations showed that the perpetrator, 14-year-old Michael Carneal, had regularly played various computer games (including '' Doom '', '' Quake '', '' Castle Wolfenstein '', '' Redneck Rampage '', '' Nightmare Creatures '', '' Mech Warrior '', '' Resident Evil '', and '' Final Fantasy '') and accessed some pornographic websites. Carneal had also owned a videotape of '' The Basketball Diaries '', which includes a high school student dreaming about killing his teacher and some classmates. The suit sought $33 million in damages, alleging that the producers of the games, the movie, and the operators of the internet sites were Negligent in distributing this material to a minor because it would desensitize him and make him more prone to violence. Additional claims included Product Liability for making defective products (the defect alleged was the violent features and lack of warnings) and a violation of the Racketeer Influenced And Corrupt Organizations Act for distributing this material to minors'' James V. Meow Media '', 90 F. Supp. 2d 798 (W.D. Ky. 2000).. Said Thompson, “We intend to hurt Hollywood. We intend to hurt the video game industry. We intend to hurt the sex porn sites.”Prichard, James. “Parents of slain students sue entertainment industry companies.” ''The Associated Press State & Local Wire'', April 12 , 1999 . The suit was filed in federal district court and was dismissed for failing to present a legally recognizable claim. The court concluded that Carneal’s actions were not reasonably foreseeable by the defendants and that in any case, his actions superseded those of the defendants, so that the latter could not be the Proximate Cause of the harm. In addition, the judge determined that “thoughts, ideas and images” in the defendants’ materials did not constitute “products” that could be considered defective. The ruling was upheld on appeal.''James v. Meow Media'', 300 F.3d 683 (6th Cir. 2002) In February 2003, Thompson asked permission to file an '' Amicus Curiae '' (or “friend of the court”) brief in the Ohio case of Dustin Lynch, 16, who was charged with aggravated murder in the slaying of JoLynn Mishne; Lynch was obsessed with '' Grand Theft Auto III ''.Hudak, Stephen. “Should video game share blame? Father of slain Medina girl says manufacturer is accomplice.” '' Cleveland Plain Dealer '', February 21 , 2003 . When Judge John Lohn ruled that Lynch would be tried as an adult, Thompson passed a message from Mishne’s father to the judge, asserting that “the attorneys had better tell the jury about the violent video game that trained this kid {Link without Title} showed him how to kill our daughter, JoLynn. If they don’t, I will.”Hudak, Stephen. “State gets; OK to try teenager as adult 16-year-old accused of killing Medina girl.” ''Cleveland Plain Dealer'', May 13 , 2003 . In a motion sent to the prosecutor, the boy’s court-appointed lawyer, and to reporters, Thompson asked to be recognized as the boy’s lawyer in the case. However, Medina County Prosecutor Dean Holman said Thompson would be faced with deeply conflicting interests if he were to represent Dustin Lynch because he also advised Mishne’s parents.Hudak, Stephen. “Lawyer’s motive in teen murder trial debated.” ''Cleveland Plain Dealer'', June 7 , 2003 . Claiming that delays had weakened his case, Jack Thompson asked Medina County Common Pleas Judge Christopher Collier to disqualify himself from presiding over the case because the judge had not ruled on Thompson’s request for two months.Hudak, Stephen. “Lawyer wants in, wants judge out in murder case of Medina teen.” ''Cleveland Plain Dealer'', August 19 , 2003 . Lynch himself eventually rejected Thompson’s offer, withdrawing his insanity plea. Lynch’s mother, Jerrilyn Thomas, who previously demanded that Judge Christopher Collier appoint Thompson to defend her son, said she changed her mind after visiting with her boy in jail, saying, “It has nothing to do with video games or Paxil , and my son’s no murderer.”Hudak, Stephen. “Teen can stand trial in girl’s murder; Father of slain Medina High pupil upset that video game critic won’t be in court.” ''Cleveland Plain Dealer'', September 16 , 2003 . Thompson returned to file a lawsuit in Tennessee state court in October 2003 on behalf of the victims of two teenage stepbrothers who had pled guilty to reckless homicide, endangerment, and assault. Since the boys told investigators they were inspired by ''Grand Theft Auto III'', Thompson sought $246 million in damages from the publisher, , 2003 . Thompson was involved another similar suit in Alabama in 2005 on behalf of the families of police personnel killed by , 2005 . The judge added that Thompson had violated his gag order during Moore’s criminal trial. Thompson tried to withdraw from the case, but his request was denied by the judge, who went ahead and revoked Thompson’s temporary admission to the state bar. For his part, Thompson said he thought the judge was trying to protect Moore’s criminal conviction at any cost.DeWitt, Robert. “Judge denies attorney’s request to withdraw from Devin Moore case.” ''Tuscaloosa News'', November 19 , 2005 . He also complained about the judge’s ethics, saying a local attorney who claimed to have influence on the judge had assured him the case would be dismissed unless the attorney was on Thompson’s team,DeWitt, Robert. “Judge stands by Fayette decision.” ''Tuscaloosa News'', November 22 , 2005 . and also claimed that Rockstar Entertainment and Take Two Interactive posted slanderous comments about him on their website.Station 7 WVU. Birmingham, Alabama. ''Noon News'', November 3 , 2005 . In the aftermath of this lawsuit, Thompson lobbied Alabama attorney general , 2006 . Thompson once reported that he had videotaped a Miami , 2003 . He eventually sued the company in the Florida courts, arguing that it had violated a law against sale of sexual materials deemed harmful to minors. In January 2005, Best Buy agreed that it would enforce an existing policy to check the identification of anyone who appeared to be 21 or under and tried to purchase games rated “M” (for mature audiences).Baldas, Tresa. “Video Game Industry Explodes With Legal, Regulatory Issues.” ''The National Law Journal'', January 11 , 2005 . Activism and lobbying In addition to lawsuits, Thompson has pushed for measures against similar games in a variety of public settings. He wrote a joint article in the '' Christian Science Monitor '' with Eugene F. Provenzo , a University of Miami professor who studies the effects of video games on children. Originally brought together to provide opposing viewpoints on '' 60 Minutes '' in the aftermath of the Columbine High School Massacre , they said they had become friends and were collaborating on a book. They described themselves as having “a shared belief that first-person shooter video games are bad for our children, teaching them to act aggressively and providing them with efficient killing skills and romanticized and trivialized scenarios for killing in the real world”. Thompson incorrectly predicted that the perpetrator of the Beltway Sniper Attacks would be “a teenaged boy, who plays video games” and “may indeed ride a bicycle to and from his shooting locations, his gun broken down and placed in a backpack while he pedals.”Milloy, Courtland. “The Need To Put a Face on This Killer”. ''Washington Post'', October 23 , 2002 . However, Thompson claimed that he was correct, saying on NBC ’s '' The Today Show '', “I predicted that the beltway sniper would be a teen-aged boy that trained on a game switched to sniper mode. And three months later, NBC reported that that’s exactly what Malvo did. And Mohammed had him train on the game to suppress his inhibition to kill.”Lauer, Matt. “Attorney Jack Thompson and Michael Miller, PC magazine, discuss war video games and their impact.” ''Today'', April 17 , 2003 . Later, Thompson claimed that “indeed, Lee Boyd Malvo trained on the game ''Halo'' made by Microsoft to break down his inhibition to kill. The prosecutor in the Beltway sniper case has not admitted that.”Gibson, John. “Interview with Jack Thompson”. ''The Big Story with John Gibson'', October 22 , 2003 . Thompson has supported legislation in a number of states that would ban sales of violent and sexually explicit video games to minors. In response to , 2005 . However, he rejected as “completely unconstitutional” Hillary Clinton ’s proposed legislation to ban sales to minors of games rated “M” for Mature by the Entertainment Software Rating Board . Thompson contended that the government could not enforce a private-sector standard but had to depend on a Community Standards Test . He charged that Clinton was simply positioning herself politically, with the support of the gaming industry, by proposing a bill she knew would be unconstitutional.Thompson, Jack. “What kind of game is Hillary Clinton playing?” ''Fort Worth Star-Telegram'', December 11 , 2005 . In July 2005, Thompson sent a letter to several politicians urging them to investigate '', 2005 . Beginning in 2005, Thompson supported a campaign to discourage Take-Two’s subsidiary, , 2006 . Thompson also criticized Bill Gates and Microsoft for contracting with Rockstar to release the game on the Xbox . Thompson has also criticized a Christian video game based on the '', 2006 . At one point, Thompson was asked by the National Institute On Media And The Family to stop invoking the organization’s name in his campaigns. NIMF president David Walsh felt Thompson cast the organization in a bad light whenever he brought up their name. “Your commentary has included extreme hyperbole and your tactics have included personally attacking individuals for whom I have a great deal of respect,” Walsh said in an open letter to Thompson.Tilley, Steve. “Spielberg Grabs the Controller.” ''Toronto Sun'', October 23 , 2005 . Relationship with industry and gamers On occasion, Thompson has sparred directly with the gaming industry, and its fans. In 2005, he wrote an open letter to , 2005 . Other Webcomic s have regularly incorporated references to Thompson, alluding to this incident as well as others (for examples, see: [http://www.ctrlaltdel-online.com/comic.php?d=20051012 [http://www.gucomics.com/archives/view.php?cdate=20051018 [http://www.punksandnerds.com/d/20051021.html ). In 2006, two Michigan gamers began a project dubbed Flowers For Jack , soliciting donations to deliver a massive floral arrangement to Thompson’s office. The flowers were delivered in February 2006, accompanied by a letter aimed at opening a dialogue between Thompson and the video gaming community. Thompson responded by forwarding the flowers to some of his industry foes, with such comments as “Discard them along with the decency you discarded long ago. I really don’t care. Grind them up and smoke them if you like.”Tilley, Steve. “New Windows Will Be Open to Halo 2.” ''Toronto Sun'', February 12 , 2006 . THE FLORIDA BAR In 1992, Thompson asked a Florida judge to declare , 1993 . In January 2006, Thompson asked the , 2006 . In April 2006, Thompson filed a second suit, this time in federal court, against the Florida Bar, alleging it is harassing him by investigating what he calls baseless complaints made by disgruntled opponents in previous disputes. His five-count complaint asks for more than $1 million in damages. The lawsuit alleges the Bar is pursuing baseless ethics complaints brought against Thompson by Tew Cardenas attorneys Lawrence Kellogg and Al Cardenas of Miami, and by two lawyers from the Philadelphia office of Blank Rome , in violation of Thompson’s constitutional rights. According to the lawsuit, the Bar is looking at Thompson for violations of a bar rule that prohibits attorneys from making disparaging remarks about judges, other attorneys, or court personnel. Thompson has also filed a motion with the court to order the mediation of his dispute with the Bar. Thompson commented, “I enjoy doing what I do and I think I’ve got a First Amendment right to annoy people and participate in the public square in the cultural war.” Thompson also said he is optimistic his federal lawsuit will be successful. “I’m 100 percent certain that it will effect change, otherwise I would not have filed it.” OTHER ACTIVITIES In 1992, a complaint from Thompson led Florida Secretary of State Jim Smith to withhold a $25,000 grant to the Miami Film Festival; Thompson claimed that festival was using state money to show pornographic films.Cosford, Bill. “Film Fest Vs Porno-Police: It’s Your Choice.” ''Miami Herald'', March 19 , 1992 . In response, Thompson was named an “Art Censor of the Year” by the ACLU .“Arts Censors of the Year.” ''Miami Herald'', October 2 , 1992 . The next month, Thompson faced disbarment over allegations that he lied while making accusation against prominent Dade County lawyer Stuart Z Grossman.Wallace, Richard. “Anti-porn Crusader May Be Facing Disbarment.” ''Miami Herald'', April 17 , 1992 . Thompson ultimately admitted violating bar rules of professional conduct, including charges that he contacted people represented by an attorney without first contacting their attorneys, and agreed to pay $3,000 in fines and receive a public reprimand.“Lawyer Faces Fines, Reprimand to Resolve Case.” ''Miami Herald'', August 4 , 1992 . In 1999, Thompson represented the parents of Bryce Kilduff, an 11-year old boy who committed suicide, hanging himself allegedly to imitate Kenny , a character from the Comedy Central series '' South Park '', which Bryce, according to his parents, had never watched. Thompson called for Comedy Central to stop marketing the show and toys based on the series to children. “You see, the whole show—thrust of the show is it’s—it’s cool for kids to act like the characters in ''South Park''.” “Antoinette Kilduff and Her Lawyer, John Thompson, Discuss Her Son Imitating the Cartoon Character Kenny From Popular Comedy Central’s ''South Park'' and Hanging Himself.” ''Today'', NBC, October 11 , 1999 . Although his efforts dealing with video games have focused on juveniles, Thompson got involved in a case involving an adult on one occasion in 2004. This was an Aggravated Murder case against 29-year-old Charles McCoy, Jr., the defendant in a series of highway shootings the previous year around Columbus, Ohio . McCoy had been captured with a game console and a copy of '' The Getaway '' in his motel room. Although not representing McCoy and over the objections of McCoy’s lawyers, Thompson succeeded in getting the court to unseal a Search Warrant for McCoy’s residence. This showed, among other things, the discovery of additional games '' State Of Emergency '', '' Max Payne '', and '' Dead To Rights ''. However, he was not allowed to present the evidence to McCoy, whose defense team was relying on an Insanity Defense based on Paranoid Schizophrenia . In Thompson’s estimation, McCoy was the “functional equivalent of a 15-year-old,” and “the only thing insane about this case is the (insanity) defense.” “Nancy Grace for April 21, 2005, CNNHN.” ''Nancy Grace'', CNN, April 21 , 2005 . In 2004, Thompson helped get '' off the air.’ Or you know what? '' Everybody Loves Raymond '' was about, you know, sex last week or about a 70-year-old man—you know, we dealt with Peter Boyle having sex with Doris Roberts . ‘Take that off the air.’ That’s something we can’t let happen.”Brown, Tina. “Leslie Moonves discusses his work at Viacom and CBS.” ''Topic A with Tina Brown'' CNBC, November 21 , 2004 . SEE ALSO
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