The Florida Bar this week requested that embattled attorney Jack Thompson be disbarred for ten years based on the 27 misconduct charges he was found guilty of last month. Thompson was reportedly not there to hear said request, as he had walked out during the trial.

According to a GamePolitics report, the attorney (acting as in propria persona) was not allowed by Judge Tunis to read aloud a lengthy objection that he had prepared. Thompson then questioned Judge Tunis' status as a judge and left the court room. Just to clarify: a request for disbarment is not an official punishment – the final decision is left up to Judge Tunis to decide.

In other news, a federal lawsuit filed by Thompson against the Florida Supreme Court has been dismissed with prejudice, meaning that he cannot file it again. Thompson still has two other lawsuits pending related to his ongoing Bar trial.

We're not going to make jokes on this one and save the snark until the final ruling, but the judge presiding over self-proclaimed anti-games activist Jack Thompson's Florida Bar trial has recommended the attorney be found guilty on 27 of the 31 misconduct charges – 21 from the Devin Moore case, 4 when in 2006 he tried to declare Bully a public nuisance, and 2 unrelated to video games.

Game Politics has the full story and a list of some of the charges, including "Engaging in conduct involving dishonesty, fraud, deceit or misrepresentation" and "Making statements that the lawyer knows to be false or with reckless disregard as to the truth or falsity concerning the qualifications or integrity of a judge." A disciplinary hearing is being held June 4. The full report to the Florida Supreme Court is due September 2.
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Adam Sessler, host of G4's X-Play, went mano a mano with video gaming super-villain John Bruce (Jack, to you) Thompson on today's Talk of the Nation to talk about all the great ways video game companies are being responsi ... oh, who are we kidding? They were chatting about violence in video games (again) – this time with a focus on Grand Theft Auto IV.

Thompson comes across as paranoid crusader (go figure!), sticking with his usual mantra that the game is "mentally molesting minors for money" before being rather promptly booted off the air ("I'm done?"). Though Sessler and Thompson never really go at each other (don't you see enough bloodshed in your "video games"?) it's as even-handed a treatment of the controversy as you're likely to see in the mainstream press.

The Florida Supreme Court has sent out an official STFU to controversial attorney Jack Thompson, who is not allowed to contact them directly ever again and will need to hire his own attorney to communicate with the Court on his behalf. This is an entirely separate matter from Thompson's Florida Bar trial we're currently awaiting a ruling on.

GamePolitics has the Court's full ruling regaling the numerous abuses by Thompson like submitting pornographic materials, engaging in a "relentless and frivolous pursuit for vindication of his claim that he is being victimized by The Florida Bar," and "continued inability to maintain a minimum standard of decorum and respect for the judicial system to which all litigants, and especially attorneys, must adhere." That's not all, since the ruling Thompson has filed two new motions with the Court, which would technically put him in contempt at this very moment.

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As Massachusetts legislators meet today to discuss HB1423, a bill that would restrict access of minors to video games deemed too violent by the state, the normally obtuse Boston Herald has weighed in on the issue with a shockingly sane editorial.

The newspaper lays out that the bill is another example of Boston Mayor Menino, who drafted the bill with Jack Thompson, trying to throw a "big idea against the wall in the hope that it might stick." The paper points out that just yesterday a similar, constitutionally murky bill failed, and asks if "lawmakers sponsoring the bill [are] willing to find money in their budgets to fight the inevitable court challenge?" The Boston Herald piece concludes that the mayor needs to make better use of his time than going after "such low-hanging fruit." We don't know about low-hanging, but it's definitely rotten and is going to cause taxpayers financial pain later between court costs and inevitably paying back the ESA for wasting its time.

[Via GamePolitics]

Tomorrow the Massachusetts legislature will discuss a bill that would make it illegal for minors to buy video games deemed too violent by the state (not through ESRB ratings such as M or AO). No similar law exists for movies, music or books. House Bill 1423 is dubbed a "games-as-porn" bill because the rationale used to prevent minors from buying violent video games is the same used on porn. The original bill was drafted by Boston Mayor Thomas Menino (pictured) with assistance from Jack Thompson and legislative sponsor Rep. Linda Dorcena Forry (D).

GamePolitics points out HB1423 is based on a failed Utah bill and, given the history of other similar bills, it seems odd that Massachusetts would potentially be putting itself (and taxpayer dollars) at risk of repaying the ESA for fighting this bill in court.

No thanks, we don't need Jack. So says publisher EA, having rejected Florida's attorney at lawl, Jack Thompson, and his recent offer to assist in the attempted buyout of Grand Theft Auto publisher, Take-Two. In an impassioned letter, the spirited lawyer and friend of Mass Effect threw his support behind EA's (thus far unsuccessful) maneuver, claiming he would be "delighted" to help "evict the [Strauss] Zelnick Trojan Horse from within Take-Two's corporate walls."

Responding via e-mail (posted by GamesIndustry.biz), EA's Mariam Sughayer politely turns down the offer, saying, "In response to your offer to assist in the proposed acquisition of Take-Two, we would strongly prefer that you not get involved in this matter." Sughayer goes on to cite Thompson's past behavior towards gaming, "including false claims about content in [EA's] games," as a source of enmity, rendering any possible collaboration "impossible."

Last week, Electronic Arts CEO John Riccitiello revealed an offer put forward to Take-Two Interactive executive chairman Strauss Zelnick to buyout T2 for nearly $2 billion. Zelnick expediently and publicly shot down the offer, though this battle of the peculiar last names was far from over -- since then we've heard that other companies took interest in T2 after EA was shot down, though certain industry analysts believe EA will eventually win out. Yesterday brought news of a new player on the field that could tip the battle in EA's favor -- Enter: Jack Thompson!

Yes, everyone's favorite Floridian moralist (and T2 shareholder) recently threw his support behind Electronic Arts in an impassioned letter, saying he would help "evict the Zelnick Trojan Horse from within Take-Two's corporate walls". We think that EA and J.T. would be strange bedfellows, given Thompson's denunciation of Sims 2 a few years back -- though his uncustomary defense of Mass Effect might have rebuilt that once-burnt bridge. How about it, EA? Is your raid on Take-Two LFM?

In the wake of the NIU shooting and various pundits finding ways to link violent video games to the tragedy, MSNBC has decided to defend video games, specifically calling out infamous attorney Jack Thompson for his self promotion during school shootings. (They have done this once before during the Virginia Tech massacre.)

In a piece entitled "Playing the blame game: Why search our souls when video games make such an easy scapegoat?" MSNBC's Winda Benedetti writes, "Faster than you can say wild speculation and reckless sensationalism, [Thompson] leapt in front of Fox News cameras and suggested that video games were to blame." Later, Benedetti adds, "The fact is, one would be hard pressed to find a young man of Kazmierczak's age who has not played video games."

Thompson is, unsurprisingly, a bit put out. In an email to MSNBC legal department forwarded to us by Thompson, the Miami attorney asserted his intention to "bring a civil action in state court in Flordia for libel." Thompson further called the two articles "hit pieces" and "crazed and libelous screed" and mentions that NBC did not mind having him on the Today Show / NBC Nightly news about ten times.

"But once my criticism began to inconvenience Bill Gates' NBC partner, Microsoft, (MSNBC.com is a 50/50 partnership) then all of a sudden I'm the Anti-Christ," said Thompson.

The Entertainment Consumers Association on Friday responded to allegations from that day that video games were somehow connected to the shootings at Northern Illinois University, where 27-year old Steven P. Kazmierczak killed five students in a lecture hall. Said the response, "Blaming video games for the behavior of the mentally-challenged is vile on many levels. And, as Generations X and Y mature, it is extremely likely that just about all of us have played at least one video game at some point in our lives."

Perhaps unsurprisingly, the origin of the video game link can be traced to Jack Thompson, who was on Fox News the morning of the incident. The New York Post also quickly joined the chorus in blaming video games -- specifically Counter-Strike -- as a contributing factor to the shooting. Kudos to the ECA for being timely in their response, making a concerted effort to prepare against a chance backlash and sensationalism. Our friends at Game Politics have been covering the story extensively, check out what they have to say:

• What is a 'murder simulator,' exactly?
• NIU Shooting: Why are games even under discussion?
• Illinois legislator on NIU rampage: don't blame guns, blame games

[Our thoughts go out to everyone affected by the NIU tragedy. Image credit: curtaineater]

Like a bear awakening from winter hibernation, you can be assured that after a Grand Theft Auto game is slated for release, a certain attorney in Miami will come stumbling out of his cave, grumbling and growling. Sure enough, Jack Thompson released a statement just after GTA IV's April 29 release date was announced – I won't go as far as to call this statement a "threat," as it seems to lack any credible consequences for gamers or the industry. Jack has made many, similar vague statements in the past, forecasting everything from the destruction of Take-Two to the apocalypse in the wake of game releases, but what can Jack really do?

The answer to that question is 'not much,' from a legal perspective. Of course, there was that oddly short settlement agreement between Jack and Take-Two last year, whose status has been questioned previously, which should theoretically restrict Jack's ability to sue or threaten to sue to block the sale or publication of any Take-Two title. And if you look closely at the latest Thompson statement, it seems he's following those guidelines so far. To quote from his statement, "... contacting state and federal officials to stop the improper sales of Grand Theft Auto IV ..." Specifically, Jack is not suing, per the letter of the settlement, but encouraging government officials to act.

Perhaps the most well-versed individual on gaming controversy (by merit of instigating many of them), Jack Thompson has found a way to make the Mass Effect Fox News report more ridiculous by defending the game. Unfortunately, weather.com has not updated the current temperature in Hell, but we'll let you know when we find out.

Responding to the latest press release, Kotaku's Brian Crecente asked Thompson what he thought about the Mass Effect story. Thompson responded, "The guy who shot his mouth off about it had no idea what the Hell he was talking about." (We assume he meant conservative columnist Kevin McCullough and isn't confusing Fox News guest Cooper Lawrence's gender.) Thompson later added, "This contrived controversy is absolutely ridiculous."

To catch you up to speed: just after McCullough apologized for writing about Mass Effect's "virtual orgasmic rape," Fox News' Live Desk with Martha MacCollum ran a similar, ignorant segment on the "Sexbox" (so clever) title that pitted Geoff Keighley against a child care author who openly admitted she never played the game. Publisher Electronic Arts demanded a correction, Fox countered, and Lawrence apologized after gamers review-bombed her book on Amazon.

We're live at the Philadelphia Convention Center, waiting for the panel discussion between Jack Thompson and Oddworld's Lorne Lanning – and moderated by Newsweek's N'Gai Croal – to begin. After watching Spencer Halpin's Moral Kombat (more on that later), we returned to the same theater eager to hear the debate.

3:55pm - N'Gai lays out the rules (no cameras, sorry folks) and introduces himself and the participants. N'Gai asks Jack how he came to be involved with the film. Jack delivers what appears to be a sincere appreciation for the film and the opportunity to be involved with it. He commends both N'Gai and Lorne, as well as director Halpin, for being will-intentioned, and that's a major reason he was in the film and he's here tonight.

4:00pm - How does Jack feel about Lorne's point in the film saying that it's easier for games to contain violence – canceling something out? Since Lorne's games aren't known for being the most violent on the market (Oddworld, Stranger's Wrath), how does he see himself in the debate? He wanted his games to be more "substantive" in their content, address socio-political issues he saw on the news, for example global warming. He points to the control over science regarding global warming, and how what used to be fact is now a grey area.

Does what Lorne said resonate with Jack at all? "We've lost the idea of the public space, public square, whatever you want to call it." He argues for the common good, and encourages people to see things beyond money. He said a gamer thanked him for uniting gamers the world over (in opposition to him, obviously) and got a hearty laugh. He says the first time he saw the documentary, he wept. He's audibly choked up as he says that the film clearly shows both sides of this issue care about people.

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.