The day many have been waiting for is here: Jack Thompson has been disbarred by the Florida Supreme Court. The controversial ex-lawyer first came into the public eye as a "defender" against videogame violence. It didn’t take long for people to see through his act and realize that he was just trying to make a name for himself. (Unfortunately, it took most of the mainstream press until today to see through it…) Earlier this year, people began the process of a disbarrment trial, hoping to prevent Jack from practicing law for ten years. Until now, it was entertaining but long-winded.
In a four page final statement, the Court cited numerous examples from the past, drew from many past reports on Thompson, and ultimately listed out why he was being disbarred. For those of you unfamiliar with the American legal system, that means good ol’ Jacko can no longer practice law, and can not reapply to become a lawyer. Hopefully this will also stop his emails and forwards…but somehow I doubt that.
"The Court concludes that the facts, as even more extensively detailed in the referee’s report, support the referee’s numerous recommendations as to guilt," wrote the justices of the Florida court. Some of the report’s reasons for guilt are:
* [Thompson] made false statements of material factto courts and repeatedly violated a court order.
* [Thompson] communicated the subject of representation directly with clients of opposing counsel.
* [Thompson] engaged in prohibited ex parte communications.
* [Thompson] publicized and sent hundreds of pages of vitriolic and disparaging missives, letters, faxes, and press releases, to the affected individuals.
* [Thompson] targeted an individual who was not involved with respondent in any way, merely due to "the position [the individual] holds in state and national politics;".
* [Thompson]falsely, recklessly, and publicly accused a judge as being amenable to the "fixing" of cases.
* [Thompson] sent courts inappropriate and offensive sexual materials.
* [Thompson] falsely and publicly accused various attorneys and their clients of engaging in a conspiracy/enterprise involving "the criminal distribution of sexual materials to minors" and attempted to get prosecuting authorities to charge these attorneys and their clients for racketeering and extortion.
* [Thompson] harassed the former client of an attorney in an effort to get the client to use its influence to persuade the attorney to withdraw a defamation suit filed by the attorney against respondent.
* [Thompson] retaliated against attorneys who filed Bar complaints against him for his unethical conduct by asserting to their clients, government officials, politicians, the media, female lawyers in their law firm, employees, personal friends, acquaintances, and their wives, that the attorneys were criminal pornographers who objectify women.
[via GamePolitics]
