The Political Game: The Public Nuisance
Each week Dennis McCauley contributes The Political Game, a column on the collision of politics and video games:
Once again, Miami attorney Jack Thompson is attempting to have a video game -- Halo 3 this time -- declared a public nuisance. He failed badly in such an attempt in 2006 with Rockstar's Bully.
Under Florida law the term "public nuisance" is generally applied to the likes of brothels and illegal gambling operations, things which, as the law states:
"...tend to annoy the community, injure the health of the citizens in general, or corrupt the public morals..."
It's difficult to imagine anyone but Thompson trying to shoehorn a video game into that legal definition. But this isn't really about public nuisances, or even Halo 3.
It's video game legislation -- through the backdoor.
As Joystiq and GamePolitics readers know, laws designed to restrict video game sales to minors have failed on constitutional grounds in nine states, most recently California and Oklahoma. Thompson knows this too. The controversial attorney has been down the legislative road before, and not successfully.
A 2006 video game law he authored for Louisiana turned into an embarrassing fiasco for the state government and was later declared unconstitutional by a federal court judge. Earlier this year the Utah legislature flirted with yet another Thompson-authored bill but ultimately backed off over First Amendment concerns as well as Thompson's unwarranted trashing of the state's respected attorney general.
But how does Thompson's public nuisance gambit equate to a backdoor attempt to legislate video game sales? Look at what he is seeking from Florida's 11th Circuit Court:
"...a permanent injunction, prohibiting both [Microsoft & Best Buy] from selling this Mature-rated video game [Halo 3], directly or indirectly, to anyone under 17 years of age..."
If approved by the court, the highlighted section would essentially give the ESRB's voluntary compliance rating the force of law. And that has been the effective intent of most of the video game legislation passed (and ultimately overturned) in the United States. Should Thompson's gambit succeed, the state of Florida would have, de facto, a video game content law.
What's more, it would be a law that never underwent legislative scrutiny and was never signed by the Governor.
The good news is that Thompson's strategy is very much a long shot. The merits of the case are completely lacking and the legal travesty that was last October's Bully trial has not likely been forgotten in the corridors of Florida's 11th Circuit.
The bad news is that unless the video game industry pushes the issue, we'll be going through this again the next time a game launches that Thompson decides he would like to censor.
Dennis McCauley is the Political Editor for the Entertainment Consumers Association (www.theeca.com), tracks the political side of video games at GamePolitics.com and writes about games for the Philadelphia Inquirer. Opinions expressed in The Political Game are his own. Reach him at
Once again, Miami attorney Jack Thompson is attempting to have a video game -- Halo 3 this time -- declared a public nuisance. He failed badly in such an attempt in 2006 with Rockstar's Bully. Under Florida law the term "public nuisance" is generally applied to the likes of brothels and illegal gambling operations, things which, as the law states:
"...tend to annoy the community, injure the health of the citizens in general, or corrupt the public morals..."
It's difficult to imagine anyone but Thompson trying to shoehorn a video game into that legal definition. But this isn't really about public nuisances, or even Halo 3.
It's video game legislation -- through the backdoor.
As Joystiq and GamePolitics readers know, laws designed to restrict video game sales to minors have failed on constitutional grounds in nine states, most recently California and Oklahoma. Thompson knows this too. The controversial attorney has been down the legislative road before, and not successfully.
A 2006 video game law he authored for Louisiana turned into an embarrassing fiasco for the state government and was later declared unconstitutional by a federal court judge. Earlier this year the Utah legislature flirted with yet another Thompson-authored bill but ultimately backed off over First Amendment concerns as well as Thompson's unwarranted trashing of the state's respected attorney general.
But how does Thompson's public nuisance gambit equate to a backdoor attempt to legislate video game sales? Look at what he is seeking from Florida's 11th Circuit Court:
"...a permanent injunction, prohibiting both [Microsoft & Best Buy] from selling this Mature-rated video game [Halo 3], directly or indirectly, to anyone under 17 years of age..."
If approved by the court, the highlighted section would essentially give the ESRB's voluntary compliance rating the force of law. And that has been the effective intent of most of the video game legislation passed (and ultimately overturned) in the United States. Should Thompson's gambit succeed, the state of Florida would have, de facto, a video game content law.
What's more, it would be a law that never underwent legislative scrutiny and was never signed by the Governor.
The good news is that Thompson's strategy is very much a long shot. The merits of the case are completely lacking and the legal travesty that was last October's Bully trial has not likely been forgotten in the corridors of Florida's 11th Circuit.
The bad news is that unless the video game industry pushes the issue, we'll be going through this again the next time a game launches that Thompson decides he would like to censor.
Dennis McCauley is the Political Editor for the Entertainment Consumers Association (www.theeca.com), tracks the political side of video games at GamePolitics.com and writes about games for the Philadelphia Inquirer. Opinions expressed in The Political Game are his own. Reach him at
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
kostaki @ Sep 27th 2007 10:34AM
this guy is a big bag of pirate douche....
DarthDavid @ Sep 27th 2007 10:34AM
Can someone please KILL this man......please!!!!
Fernando Rocker (NDF - Water Ring) @ Sep 27th 2007 10:38AM
Unfortunely, bad grass never dies =(
dxprog @ Sep 27th 2007 12:53PM
The only person who can kill him is somebody who's never touched a video game in his life.
Rubang B (NDF - Heart) @ Sep 27th 2007 1:56PM
We are all waiting for the chosen one. He'll be over 40. He will also be a Republican lawyer. He'll have no games. It will be "an accident."
BPM (FDF - Hypno-Toad) @ Sep 27th 2007 10:41AM
Dear Jack the Hack,
DO quit your day job. It just isn't working out, okay?
Love... Well, nooone loves you.
point09micron @ Sep 27th 2007 10:43AM
"It's video game legislation -- through the backdoor."
I see what you did there.
Poisoned Al @ Sep 27th 2007 11:20AM
That would only be funny if he was caught with gay porn...
OH WAIT...
NaeemTHM @ Sep 27th 2007 10:44AM
Is it me or does he look like Emperor Palpatine?
FOXHOUND @ Sep 27th 2007 10:50AM
He does kind of resemble him. Not as much as the current Pope, but they're both full of Dooku.
Fernando Rocker (NDF - Water Ring) @ Sep 27th 2007 10:52AM
"... Not as much as the current Pope... "
jaja, funny.
JL @ Sep 27th 2007 10:54AM
I think he looks more like a crazy ass Willy Wonka.
Poisoned Al @ Sep 27th 2007 11:21AM
Emperor Palpatine after a stoke maybe.
Jor @ Sep 27th 2007 12:58PM
Personally I think he looks more like a wanker.
HineyWipe @ Sep 27th 2007 10:52AM
Looks like someone punched him in the nose when he was a freshman.
wiseguy @ Sep 27th 2007 10:52AM
Time for the three minute hate...
Poisoned Al @ Sep 27th 2007 12:02PM
I wonder how many heads that went over.
Rubang B (NDF - Heart) @ Sep 27th 2007 2:02PM
Please make that the first comment in every thread that mentions "his eternal nuisance."
T.H. @ Sep 27th 2007 10:53AM
Look, can someone please file a public nuisance claim on this retard?
"...tend to annoy the community" - Check. This guy and his insane crusade against video games is really annoying.
"...injure the health of the citizens in general, or corrupt the public morals..." - Check. Massive amounts of people getting a headache from his antics. Not to mention the mental health of young children due to his distribution of gay porn. After all, court dockets can be researched by anyone. And his poor son...
FOXHOUND @ Sep 27th 2007 10:55AM
"...a permanent injunction, prohibiting both [Microsoft & Best Buy] from selling this Mature-rated video game [Halo 3], directly or indirectly, to anyone under 17 years of age..."
...I thought they couldn't do it anyway? :p Not that people don't buy cigarettes or booze for minors anyhow, but still. I'm in Florida, and they do card people who are buying "M"/adult-rated stuff that don't look of age(and some that do).
I swear, that assclown doesn't speak for the rest of us.
CV_Otaku @ Sep 27th 2007 11:40AM
At the moment, any store that does this does it on a voluntary basis. Like R-rated movies, there is no law, and therefore, no consequences for selling a minor an M-rated game.
Booze and cigarettes on the other hand? You can get fined tons of money for selling those to a minor. I've seen bars lose their liquor license and then close for selling booze to a minor.
NATO_Duke @ Sep 27th 2007 10:57AM
Just curious Jack - the elements to an injunction include the feasibility of enforcement by the Court. Do you really think the Courts want to police how old kids are buying Halo?
Stop wasting the time and money of our government - there are more important things to do with your law license. When was the last time you aided a battered woman’s center or a child welfare office? You care so much about saving the world – why don’t you start with the real problems.
Twist @ Sep 27th 2007 9:30PM
THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU.
I have been saying this for years just with a bit more swearing ;)
If people like JT would put this kind of effort into something that actually matters then this world might not be as jacked up as it is. The current administration of this nation is a much bigger source of danger to the children of this nation than video games could ever be.
DP @ Sep 27th 2007 10:58AM
this guy really needs to get a hobby, maybe collect rocks, farm ants, jump off things, including but not limited to cliffs and bridges...
TheWarden @ Sep 27th 2007 11:04AM
Jack Thompson IS a public nuisance.
rask @ Sep 27th 2007 11:16AM
Thompson knows a thing or two about backdoors, what with putting gay porn in his legal filings..
Chuma @ Sep 27th 2007 11:20AM
"The bad news is that unless the video game industry pushes the issue, we'll be going through this again the next time a game launches that Thompson decides he would like to censor."
This assumes ofcourse that he has a legal career left by the time that happens, something that looks less and less likely by the day.
Shagittarius @ Sep 27th 2007 11:29AM
Jack Thompson looks like the debil.
baby sea tuna @ Sep 27th 2007 11:31AM
So, does this guy just wake up and go "Gee, what can I do to get my name in the paper today? Oh, I see that this game Halo seems pretty popular..."?
What a living, breathing, joke this guy is.
Jonah Falcon @ Sep 27th 2007 11:43AM
I'm waiting for the gay adult video of LaRouche and Thompson fondling each other on a bed with a Pac-Man comforter.
octoberasian @ Sep 27th 2007 11:44AM
If the US were one, gigantic village, would Jack Thompson be considered the village idiot? Or, would Bush be in that spot?
That's a toughy...
AstroZombie @ Sep 27th 2007 1:00PM
Bush would be the village idiot, Thompson would be the gay porn hunter/gatherer and they're both complete dickwads.
Jonah Falcon @ Sep 27th 2007 11:49AM
In a "Cheers" world:
Jack Thompson would be Carla Tortelli
Lyndon LaRouche would be Cliff Clavin
George W Bush would be Paul
Al Gore would be Frasier Crane
Hilary Clinton would be Lilith Crane
Arnold Schwarzenner would be Sam Malone
Tipper Gore would be Diane Chambers
The American Public would be Norm Peterson
The British Public would be Vera
ZapDash (NDF-Janitor) @ Sep 27th 2007 3:29PM
Good Analogy, but in Cheers, people still liked Carla after all was said and done.
P.S. Who would be Diane?
ZapDash (NDF-Janitor) @ Sep 27th 2007 3:32PM
Wow, I can't read apparently.
MMurdock @ Sep 27th 2007 11:50AM
I just love reading things about this guy. It never gets old, because he never gets anywhere, and only makes a fool of himself over and over again.
On a side note I wish some game retailers would get behind something like a Jack Thompson day sale. This is a day where all M rated games are discounted, and the more violent the more the discount. Do that and watch this guy blow is top.
clo1_2000 @ Sep 27th 2007 11:50AM
You guys are all missing the point. We need Jack Thompson to continue doing what he does. If he quits, someone competant might replace him.
blooh (CDF - Ass Ring) @ Sep 27th 2007 12:03PM
it's not like he's holding some exclusive anti-gaming job or anything. the other assclowns can already work alongside him or whatnot
maybe we don't hear about others (other than larouche) because most people aren't as retarded as jack
T3H WICKERMAN @ Sep 27th 2007 12:00PM
One of u in florida should file claiming he annoys the public. He is virtually harrassing me and insulting my intelligence.
Sean @ Sep 27th 2007 12:06PM
Haha, what a loon.
fluffbox @ Sep 27th 2007 12:11PM
He looks just like an old John Stewart. Why has no one pointed this out?
Crono (NDF - French Taunting from Holy Grail Ring) @ Sep 27th 2007 12:18PM
I've always thought so too.
SimonBelmont7 @ Sep 27th 2007 12:34PM
Seriously, people are dying, starving and poor. Instead of doing something to actually help humanity this guy decides to pick on the video games industry? To paraphrase Ron Weasly:"This guy needs to sort out his priorities!"
LlamaFarmer @ Sep 27th 2007 12:55PM
The statute is clear and unambiguous - that being the case, the courts will apply its plain meaning. His attempt to manipulate the law once again is an abuse of process. The bottom line is he is the public nuisance.
dave @ Sep 27th 2007 1:02PM
GO TO HELL AND DIE JACK TOMPSON!!!
Fanboy @ Sep 27th 2007 1:06PM
im going to find him and choke old boy out
The Roebuc @ Sep 27th 2007 1:25PM
This guy must have really sucked at the first Halo. ;)
Miguel @ Sep 27th 2007 1:29PM
Under the definition of public nuisance I think Jack Thompson can be labeled as such. We should ban him from the United States.
Raikage (NDF - PK THUNDER RING) @ Sep 27th 2007 8:36PM
The question is... Where would we send him?
Rubang B (NDF - Heart) @ Sep 27th 2007 1:58PM
Please make that the first comment in every thread that mentions "his eternal nuisance."