Game Over For Jack Thompson
September 25, 2008
The day that plenty of armchair legal analyst gamers have been awaiting is here. Anti-gaming attorney Jack Thompson has been officially disbarred by Supreme Court of Florida. Kombo has the story, while Kotaku has a response from the former lawyer, and I'd love to link to GamePolitics which has been following the Thompson saga for a very long time, but their server seems to have imploded at the moment with what are undoubtedly the responses of plenty of overjoyed gamers.
The Court approves the corrected referee's report and John Bruce Thompson is permanently disbarred, effective thirty days from the date of this order so that respondent can close out his practice and protect the interests of existing clients. If respondent notifies the Court in writing that he is no longer practicing and does not need the thirty days to protect existing clients, this Court will enter an order making the permanent disbarment effective immediately. Respondent shall accept no new business from the date this order is filed.
It's tempting to raise the specter of Nelson Muntz and his familiar "Haw-haw!" laugh, but the more I think about it, the more I remember that Thompson's ongoing tilting at windmills slid from semi-legitimate concern into crazy humor territory down to pitiful, unbalanced rambling long ago. Maybe now that he has some extra time off he'll get the kind of help he seems to need.