With Subpoenas for Strauss Zelnick, Jeb Bush, Bully Judge & 30 Others Denied, Jack Thompson Will Boycott Sanctions Hearing
With Subpoenas for Strauss Zelnick, Jeb Bush, Bully Judge & 30 Others Denied, Jack Thompson Will Boycott Sanctions Hearing
May 28, 2008
Much has happened on the Jack Thompson front Since GamePolitics broke the news last week that Judge Dava Tunis had recommended to the Florida Supreme Court that the controversial attorney be found guilty on 27 counts of professional misconduct.
With a sanctions hearing scheduled before Judge Tunis on June 4th in Miami, Thompson has been tirelessly pushing his position that Tunis has no legal authority due to an issue with a forged loyalty oath (but not forged by Tunis - more on that below).
Thompson also tried to subpoena 33 people for next week's hearing, including Take Two Interactive Chairman Strauss Zelnick, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush and Judge Ronald Friedman, who presided over the notorious Bully case in 2006. Judge Tunis denied that motion, however, citing procedural errors made by Thompson's side.
And, with federal lawsuits already pending against the Florida Bar and Florida Supreme Court, Thompson has filed yet another suit in U.S. District Court, this time naming the State of Florida as defendant. In the new case, Thompson yet again invokes the loyalty oath issue and seeks to block the Bar from proceeding against him.
In a separate federal court filing, Thompson refers to the June 4th hearing as a kangaroo court and vows not to attend unless U.S. District Judge Joan Lenard strikes down a Florida Supreme Court order which bars Thompson from filing anything with the Florida Supreme Court unless signed by another attorney.
Finally, in a just-issued filing with Judge Tunis, Thompson seeks a stay of next week's sanctions hearing while demanding a mental health exam. Thompson complains in the document that he "has put up with this 'Jacky is whacky' charade long enough."
So that's the recap... What follows are some details regarding the loyalty oath issue.
While Thompson has sought to cast Judge Tunis in a highly negative light by saying that she was the "beneficiary" of a forged loyalty oath, an investigation by the Miami-Dade State Attorney's office indicated that a clerk apparently signed the oath without the knowledge of Tunis and two other judges. GamePolitics has received these comments from Eunice Sigler, a spokeswoman for the Miami-Dade Courts:
There are two separate and distinct documents being addressed. One is called the Oath of Office and the other is called the Oath of Loyalty. The Oath of Office is a document which, when properly executed, allows a judge or any other constitutional officer in the State of Florida to act in their official capacity in office.
First and most significantly, when Judge Tunis was appointed to the County Court bench in 2000, re-elected for a term beginning in 2003, and elevated to the Circuit Court bench in 2005, she properly executed the Oath of Office each time, as required by section 5, Article II of the Florida Constitution, before beginning her duties as a judge. These documents, provided by the Governor’s Office, were found to be in order by the Department of State as well as the Division of Elections for the State of Florida, and are not required to be notarized. That Oath of Office includes the promise to “support, protect, and defend the Constitution of the Government of the United States and of the State of Florida,” which incorporates the less specific Oath of Loyalty specified in section 876.05, Florida Statutes.
The second document, called the Oath of Loyalty, applies to all public employees and elected officials of the State of Florida and has no effect whatsoever on any judge’s authority or jurisdiction to act and therefore has no legal consequence as to the decisions made by any judge while serving on the bench.
When new judges as well as all new state employees begin their employment, they are given certain documents to sign. If those individuals are employed within the court system, the Administrative Office of the Courts (AOC) provides them with a packet of documents to sign. When Judge Tunis received this packet at the beginning of her service on the bench in 2000, the Oath of Loyalty, required by section 876.05, Florida Statutes, was not provided to her for her signature. However, it appears that several days later, this Oath of Loyalty was completed with a forged signature and improperly notarized by a former AOC employee, then placed in the judge’s file without her knowledge.
When Judge Tunis first became aware of this on January 31st, 2008, she immediately executed the Oath of Loyalty, which has been properly filed.
As stated before, the Oath of Loyalty has no effect whatsoever on any judge’s authority or jurisdiction to act and therefore has no legal consequence as to the decisions made by any judge while serving on the bench.
The Eleventh Judicial Circuit takes any prohibited act by a court employee very seriously. Accordingly, a request has been made that the State Attorney and Inspector General investigate the forgery and the actions of the former AOC employee, which have unfortunately victimized Judge Tunis and other judges.
Indeed, the State Attorney's investigation into the loyalty oath issue found that Judge Tunis committed no wrongdoing whatsoever.
GP: While Thompson is pulling out all the stops to either remove Judge Tunis or postpone next week's sanctions hearing, neither appears likely to occur. Thus, the wheels of justice are moving inexorably toward the June 4th court date. At that time, it is expected that Judge Tunis will recommend penalties against Thompson that could include disbarment. From that point, it will be up to the Florida Supreme Court to issue a final ruling.
Comments
My damn comment didn't show up the first time...god I hate dial up...anyway, BURNED!!!! -GRIZZAM PRIME(c)is property of the U.S. Marine Corp. Wetworks Dept., and also The Incredible Hulk-GRIZZAM PRIME is not to be associated with GRIZZAM 512 or any other GRIZZAM entity under penalty of law, so sayith ZARATHOS.
Oh come on! Stop being such a crybaby and take it like a man, Jack.
Honestly though, you can't blame the guy for trying. I mean, it's his job on the line.
Speaking as someone who has been fired before, I checked over the rules, the papers, etc... very carefully searching for any loophole. That was from a part time job at Best Buy, I can only imagine what it'd be like to lose the opportunity for lawyerin!
I'm not a lawyer, but isn't this the worst possible thing that he could do at this point? I mean, he does want to keep his license, right? Is there any logic reason for this or is it His unique brand over paranoia and self rightouesness with a zesty madness sauce?
Eugh, typos abound. sorry
I think at this point he realizes he's got no chance of winning so he's going on a kamikaze rampage, either that or he's just pulling off his usual stunts while he can, kinda hard to tell the difference.
Kind of hard when your bomb is nothing more but a sparkler next to mining explosives.
If I needed to bomb a somewhere next time mining explosives than do I really need much more than a sparkler.
Right tool for the job. ;)
Actually, you're correct. When a lawyer is facing disciplinary action, the best possible course of action is to be open and honest with the authorities and cooperate fully. If the lawyer does that, the level of discipline could be lowered (it might mean the difference between being suspended and disbarred).
In this case, though, I'm not sure it makes much of a difference.
It's a pity that filing didn't go through, actually. A LOT of those 33 people have reason to dislike Jack, and the rest aren't likely to give a damn.
These are the last seconds of an aircraft on flames approaching dangerously towards the ground. And it´s gonna be beautiful...
-----------------------------------------------------------------
This is in spanish :lol http://thelostlevel.blogspot.com/
"At that time, it is expected that Judge Tunis will recommend penalties against Thompson that could include disbarment. From that point, it will be up to the Florida Supreme Court to issue a final ruling."
Fortunately Jack has been careful and respectful in his dealings with the Florida Supreme Court so they should be respectful of his non-defense.
I wonder what he will try next?
The games made me do it defence followed by the wookie defence.
-Loudspeaker
"Volume helps to get a point across but sharp teeth are better."
which makes me wonder...
Jack Thompson isn't hairy... how come he only talks in Wookie?
You win the Internet.
I AM A LOST SOUL, CONDEMNED TO HAUNT THE DREAMS OF JOHN BRUCE "JACK" THOMPSON UNTIL HIS CRUSADE AGAINST VIDEO GAMES ENDS. SOMEONE, PLEASE! END MY SUFFERING!
FTW
So he's demanded a psych test eh? Little late for that Jacko. That would have been a brilliant defence in the courtroom during your trial, HOWEVER since we're well past that it's irrelevant.
Jack I have one bit of advice for you. Now that you're FINALLY learning in your life that actions have consequence I do hope you'll pass this along to your son so he understands long before he reaches your age.
As for all the attention you quest for on a daily basis take heart. There will be MILLIONS of gamers rejoicing and partying once your final punishment has been cast down. I will be one of those and taking said judgement as a fine birthday present.
Now would be a good time to focus on your family and forget the world of gaming ever existed. Good luck on your future endeavors. You're going to need it.
-Loudspeaker
"Volume helps to get a point across but sharp teeth are better."
Actually, he's already had one. He was declared sane, and thus the wacky jacky thing has been put to rest.
I dunno about that... I think anyone who signed a document declaring JBT sane should probably have their head examined as well...
You can be sane and be stupid at the same time.
Are you speaking of a rather recent one or something? Cause, the last one I know of, HE chose the shrink, and she was also a former priest or pastor or something like that.
Actually, the guy he hired was a shrink who went to HIS church. Conflict of interest much, Jack?
i've had to sign an oath of loyalty before for the state of California, it's actually rather humourous to read, as it tends to come off as "when the commies invade i will be on the beaches ready to fight them off"
I had to do the same in Arizona when I was a grad student.
My first thought was, "WTF! I'm a freaking grad student. Why do I need to preserve, protect and defend (or whatever it was) the Constitution of the USofA?"
Not that I wouldn't do this normally, as it is a most excellent document, but as a lowly grad student I have to sign an oath?
Sadly, I grew up in San Diego a couple miles from Moonlight Beach, we have no beaches here, but we do have a lot of sand :D. But it did ring the same way, which only makes it funnier for the lack of commies.
That was me above. Darn this new-fangled system.
Jacky is whacky? Can anyone say 'understatement?' You're a fucking insane idiotic moron Thompson. Anyone with eyes, ears, and a brain can figure that one out. It's about time all your bullshit comes back to bite you in the ass. I agree with Klokwurk, just shut up and take it like a man. Best take something to bite on to court on the 4th, because I bet Judge Tunis is gonna be aiming for penatration without any lube. Figuratively speaking of course.
So where's the party going to be held when Thompson gets his ass disbarred?
"Can anyone say 'understatement?'"
Understatement. Yes, why yes I can.
I AM A LOST SOUL, CONDEMNED TO HAUNT THE DREAMS OF JOHN BRUCE "JACK" THOMPSON UNTIL HIS CRUSADE AGAINST VIDEO GAMES ENDS. SOMEONE, PLEASE! END MY SUFFERING!
"So where's the party going to be held when Thompson gets his ass disbarred?"
Try my place on June 9, the Monday after my school gets out for summer. I'd do it the Saturday after, but my school does Graduation that day and we can't afford to screw that up.
As for where my place is, I wish I could tell you, but I'm not allowed to.
I AM A LOST SOUL, CONDEMNED TO HAUNT THE DREAMS OF JOHN BRUCE "JACK" THOMPSON UNTIL HIS CRUSADE AGAINST VIDEO GAMES ENDS. SOMEONE, PLEASE! END MY SUFFERING!
Jack's like the man who fell in the quicksand pit and struggles violently against his inevitable fate. Which only serves to more fully ensure the inevitable fate.
That being said, I'd feel a whole lot more confidence in Eunice Sigler's assertion that the "Oath of Loyalty, applies to all public employees and elected officials of the State of Florida and has no effect whatsoever on any judge’s authority or jurisdiction to act and therefore has no legal consequence as to the decisions made by any judge while serving on the bench" if she'd provided some sort of statutory or case law citation in support of the assertion. If nothing else, the failure to satisfy Section 876.05, calls into question the right of the putative office holder to hold their office. Plainly put, they are without authority to hold office. And Sections subsequent thereto require that steps be taken to remove from office the putative office holder if indeed they are without a valid Loyalty Oath. I can't see, based on anything Ms. Sigler says and nothing more, how we arrive at the conclusion that this doesn't effect the acts of the office holder with no authority to hold office. I'm not saying it does. I'm just saying that nothing Ms. Siegler has said fully connects the dots between "no authority to hold office," which the Statute says, and "full authority to render binding decisions," as Ms. Siegler asserts.
Wishes it read: "At that time, it is expected that Judge Tunis will recommend penalties against Thompson that could include imprisonment."
Seriously, there should be criminal charges taken against this bozo for wasting taxpayer money and time that courts could be doing something productive.
actually isn'y it possible for them to press charges against him for "interferring" with things?
seeing as he is rather abrupt in pushing himself out against these judges, faxing, e-mailing, calling and all that, evidence post court hearing....
any normal person would've been sent a cease and desist, then thrown in jail.... seems to me he's already been given some special treatment.
i love how he still thinks he's "in the clear" and claims to be unphased, when clearly he's panicking like a raving lunatic.
he's lost and he sees it, so he's scared and trying any to inflict as much damage on his way out as he can.
From what I understand, that's still in the cards. Somebody correct me if I'm wrong.
He was specifically told not to submit documents not signed by another lawyer, or else he could be "be subjected to contempt proceedings or other appropriate sanctions". And then he did, repeatedly. The last time he was threatened by that (after the Bully fiasco), it was noted that it could lead to imprisonement, although that was only the maximum penalty for it and chances were he could only get fined.
Still, I would love to see him being the only one to lose his job and go to prison in his insane crusade, after he's threatened/tried to do the same to so many others.
Why is he not accused of comptempt already?
I was asking myself that as well and the only thing I can think of is that someone in good standing with the Bar actually IS co-signing these fillings. ( I'm not sure I'd want one of Jackie's Lackeys in my court if I was a judge.) Either that or the contempt procedings are going to be announced after the hearing on the 27 counts.
Hunting the shadows of the troubled dreams.
So Jack basically wasted all this time trying to screw Dava Tunis on a Loyalty Oath that has absolutely NO bearing on her ability to perform her duties as a judge? Typical. Jack's such a blunder factory, and somehow he always manages to top himself. And now he's saying, "Ooooh, you guys better do what I say, or...or...I won't attend your stupid hearing!!!" Good one, dummy. I'm sure that'll fly like the Hindenburg. Although I will say, his pouty vow to not show up may actually be a good strategic move...I mean, he can't shoot himself in the foot if he's not there, right?
Did anyone read his mental health filing? Don't waste your time like I did, it's just like anything else he ever files. Unprofessional and full of insults, irrelevant references to his past "accomplishments", and blatant self-aggrandization, including a laughable comparison to Job from the Bible. It just baffles me how he thinks that when everyone thinks you're a dick, the solution is to be an even bigger one.
Well, it's beginning to look like Jack's days of stalling are finally coming to an end. Man, I feel like I've been waiting forever and a day for this. I hope doesn't take too long for the Florida SC to render the punishment whatever it is.
Oh, and Jack, because I know you're reading this, I just read through the Memorial Day comments, and may I say that whatever punishment the FSC lays on you, it won't be anywhere close to what you truly deserve. Hey, considering you're such an upstanding Christian, here's a quote for you: "His judgement cometh and that right soon..."
"seek not monsters, lest ye become one." it describes jack quite well heres why.
basically dont go looking for monsters or thats what you will become. Jack has a lot of "monsters" that he's trying to chase regardless of his actions in trying to "catch/destroy" his "monsters" the problem is that for the most part the monsters, the victorys, and the glory exists only in his head.
I also liked his you better agree with me and allow me to flood the court or im not going to show up forgive my lack of legal savy but not showing up isnt that contempt of court? something else? but overall its probably a very poor and ill advised idea
Wow! Does Jack really think that he can stave-off his sentencing if he refuses to show up at his own hearing? I mean, I knew the guy was crazy and he doesn't understand the law as well as he thinks he does. But still...
And he has the gall to issue summons to 33 people, many of whom are unlikely to show up, then turn around and demand a mental exam after years of trying to avoid one?
Sorry Jack, but this kind of behavior isn't helping your case at all. Better get used to people saying, "Jacky is whacky" for a long, long time.
also, wasn't his last exam done by a family friend no less?
problem is, as i see it anyways, most shrinks would prob side with jack since many are religious, and base much of their stuff either on religion or what the drug companies sell'em.
so most shrinks prob would side with jack either way as long as he quotes a few bible verses and whatnot and can convince them he's doing something that "god would want him to do"
its why seperation of church and state needs to be upheld, state employed shrinks and such shouldn't have any obligation to any religion that could "persuade" their analysis of things.
"god" has no place in the court of law (U.S. anyways) and anything said to be under "gods will" should be cast out immediatly, otherwise almost any crime could be summed up as such despite how serious or pitiful it could be.
not to say religion is bad, not to bash it either, but it can't mix with politics and law, as the past has shown, its a dangerous mix that leads to serious disaster and false accusations.
And it is that very thing that Jack has repeatedly failed to understand as a lawyer, as he has stated on more than one occasion that all of his actions have been religously motivated, which is also the reason why he claims he is being persecuted as he is a Christian (funny how all Christians of his stripe love to play the martyr card, isn't it?)
As far as I understand the legal profession, you are not allowed to use your faith as jusitifaction to wield the law like a blunt instrument to smack down those things you don't like as Jack so often has done. That goes for just about any profession, as they all tell you from day one that your personal faith is forbidden to interfere with your professional conduct. It amazes he that he does not or refuses to understand this. And in fact has gone to great lengths to do the very opposite. It's amazing that he's been allowed to get away with it for as long as he has.
sad thing is many use the "god made me do it" defense and still get away clean without even so much as a slap on the hand.
like the parents of one girl who died (reason i forget) because her parents decided to let "god handle it" and never once even considered hospitalization or even talking to a doctor.
they were let off clean since their religion was the reason for it, as in almost any other case the parents would've been hammered with negligence charges and endagerment of human life or something to the extent of. i think it was only a few monthes ago, but i forget where exactly it happened. somewhere in the mideastern states i think... lest more happened post news report (as often happens) but last i heard they weren't having charges placed
IIRC, jacks last phsyc evail ended with the shrink speaking of how religion has determined his (jacks) moves, and even had mention somewhere of the shrinks own religion being the same and finding jacks "crusades" perfectly proper (not exact words, not even close, but something to the extent)
i don't recall to well, and i'm to lazy to look it all back up :p
And that report should have been dismissed out of hand, as Jack saw a shrink of his choosing (Dr. Wunderman) and not one selected by the court as was mandated. I think they were about to when Jack did an end-run around them and beat them to it.
Still, considering Jack and Wunderman went to the same chruch should have made the report automatically suspect. Of course a religious zealot is not going to find anything wrong with the behavior of another religous zealot.
As for that case you mentioned, which I think applies to Christian Scientists, that's something a bit different I think. This is a case of a man who has clearly abused his privelage to practice law by allowing his personal and religious beliefs to influence his professional behavior. IIRC, that is a big no-no, especially when it comes to the practice of law where you are supposed to be impartial.
Wunderman's report was in fact dismissed. No order was made for a psychological evaluation, except perhaps as part of privately negotiated arrangements before this came to a tribunal. The bar is perfectly fine with calling him sane, because that makes him perfectly cognizant of his actions. To that degree, I believe JT is perfectly sane as well. He's quite probably narcissistic with persecution complexes, but he's still quite functional, and frankly he's the same old Jack he's always been.
Now for a tangent:
For a short time, I was a Buddhist, and one of the overarching themes of Buddhism and Christianity both is compassion. While both traditions have typically stressed the pathos angle of compassion -- feeding the hungry, caring for the sick, and so on -- there's also the community aspects of it that get a little more elaboration in Buddhism, namely the whole "inviting the tax collectors to dinner" sort of thing. The reasons given are different ("We're all sons and daughters of God" vs "Their suffering is their worldview that causes them to treat others poorly") but the dictum is the same: people like Jack Thompson deserve compassion.
I gotta tell you though, it's hard to feel the compassion. And I don't really count myself as either a Christian or a Buddhist anymore, so while I don't feel particularly _commanded_ to feel compassion for the guy, I have to catch myself whenever I start really reveling in the Schadenfreude surrounding his meteoric burnout. When he's disbarred -- and I truly hope he is -- I really hope for that to be the end of it. He's still going to be a wonk, he's still going to make noise, and he'll still need to be fought, but I'm also fairly confident he's going to marginalize himself within five years. Another Buddhist tenant is to not hold on to destructive attachments, after all. I don't have a lot of faith in JT taking that tenant to heart, but perhaps we all can.
I've never understood this, "I'm a Christian!" Defense in the US. Sure, in Saudi Arabia, or Indonesia, or maybe 2nd C Rome, it would work. But saying that in the US is like saying, "I'm an American!" (not that all Americans are Christians, of course, but it IS the religion of the majority, and the Founding Fathers were all Christians, in one form or another).
You just can't pull the martyr card when "everyone else" is just like you. When he uses it, the judge(s) should respond, "Well, so am I. Your point?"
"The only time anyone's admitted they were a Christian before was when they were busy telling me why they're better than me."
--Something Positive
Hey Grim. I know a cool Zen Bhuddist shrink that may be able to administer the evaluation. GOOD luck trying to pull "God wants me to do this." with him.
Hunting the shadows of the troubled dreams.
Yeah, see, If you win a game that you wrote the rules for, no one cares.
Things don't quite work that way in the real world... maybe that's how they do things in Thompsonburg, but here on earth? nuh-uh.
What's annoying, and a little sad, is that even after all this is over and Mr. Thompson has lost his licence, he'll still believe that he's done nothing wrong. He will continue to think that every action he has taken was the right thing to do and that he has been mercilessly persecuted by gaming companies, judges, lawyers and anyone else that has disagreed with him.
I wish there were a way to open his eyes to how he's gone about his crusade completely the wrong way...
There's a quip about a highway driver that was driving on the wrong lane, disrupting traffic. His wife calls him on his cellphone, telling him that she sees a crazy driver on the news that's driving against the rest of the traffic. The husband replies, "funny, I see that everyone else is going the wrong way but me".
The last stand of Jack Thompson...
Jack Thompson.
Garbage in, garbage out.
Does anyone know anything about this phycological evaluation he suposedly passed? His behavior in public seems so illogical and even demented, certaintly he has show signs of narcisim at the very least. I find it strange that in a private session he would not be found to have some level of phycological problems. Or was the test simply to see if those problems would interfear with his ability to serve as a lawyer?
He's just an asshole. A total fucking asshole.
-GRIZZAM PRIME(c)is property of the U.S. Marine Corp. Wetworks Dept., and also The Incredible Hulk-GRIZZAM PRIME is not to be associated with GRIZZAM 512 or any other GRIZZAM entity under penalty of law, so sayith ZARATHOS.
No idea on his psych eval, but...
DSM-IV!!!!!!
Narcissistic Personality Disorder
1. Behavior or a fantasy of grandiosity, a lack of empathy and a need to be admired by others. As indicated by at least five of the following:
Paranoid Personality Disorder
1. Marked distrust of others, as indicated by at least four of the following:
2. Symptoms not due to another mental disorder.
quoted from http://psyweb.com/Mdisord/DSM_IV/jsp/dsm_iv.jsp
Symtomaticity isn't enough -- there also has to be significant impairment of normal functions.
Then again, disbarment is a pretty darn good indicator of that, isn't it?
your first question hav been awnsered in different posts but to condense what i have read so far the phycological evaluation he passed was administered by a member (and friend) in his congrigation at his church when the bar was trying to force to get a evaluation since he acts so crazy he fought against it with everything he could muster as you could guess things where not going well for him and before he was ordered to see a court mandated psychologist he had the test done by his friend who saw nothing wrong with jacks mental health and just said that jack is just a devout christian and since the bar wanted to force him to have a eval this move got him off the hook however now he's paying for that move because he's cretified sane and guilty of 27/31 misconduct charges (so sayith the referee) so now he wants another eval (aka a slap on the wrist for him) instead of facing the consiquences of what he's been doing
hmmm jacky boy refusing to show up oh boy can you say contempt charges i knew you could hey jacky boy just tell them your going on sabatical that worked great for glen lerner just great!!
@cullarn:
Damn! Come down to front of the class and receive your gold star.
For extra points, what's the sanction that could be imposed for such a contemptious act?
(Hint: If no one's in the forest to hear the tree fall, does it still make a crashing sound?)
well the other lawyer got fined for the defendants court costs and i wanna say an added 90 days in jail (considering jacks "legacy" i wouldnt be surprised if jack had to pay all court costs for the trial (at least for the missed day)and got jail time too ) p.s. jack heres a hint tell them you wont go to jail that will go over great (when you appear on cops its customary for men to be shirtless =p )
No extra points for you.
The more correct answer is Show Cause Order (why the court shouldn't just go ahead and impose whatever sanctions they were gonna impose had Mr. Thompson attended the Hearing and been heard on whatever rubbish he was going to present).
June 4th is my birthday, please give me a nice present and disbar him already.
I don't know what's funnier: Watching Wacky Jacky make every attempt to keep his license, or the Florida Bar and everyone making him squirm by prolonging his suffering. Let's just say nobody's going to be upset about him getting disbarred. In fact, it'll be the opposite. Break out the beers and champagne guys!
All this time, Jack was droning on about something absolutely meaningless?
That sums up his legal career quite nicely.
I'm not so sure about the "absolutely meaningless" part. At least, not based on the Court's explaination, which contains a glaring disconnect.
I was reading some link in regards to the loyality oath, and it said the same thing as D reported in this story, but also added that the statute of limitations was up on any action being taken. This is despite the fact that the Judges had no knowledge of the oath being signed for them.
Not surprising. Ms. Siegler is the Court's Public Information Officer. She's probably giving the same statement she gave GP to everyone else who asks her for a statement. But her statement, to the extent it's intended to address the validity of Judge Tunis' rulings in Jack Thompson's matter, doesn't, in my opinion, really do so at all. First, we can toss the whole line about the Oath of Office. (A) Jack ain't complaining about the Oath of Office and (B) the Oath of Office line does nothing to cure Jack's contention that Judge Tunis, by virtue of not having a valid Loyalty Oath (regardless of the fact that its invalidity is no fault of Judge Tunis'), wasn't legally entitled to hold her office -- at least for the period of time in which she had no valid Loyalty Oath. I hate to admit it, but Jack's contention that Judge Tunis was under no legal authority to hold office for that period of time before she finally effected a valid Loyalty Oath isn't entirely meritless. And an Oath of Office can't cure that problem because swearing an Oath of Office to an office the swearer has no authority to hold is a non sequitor. That don't make a lick of sense to me. The issue then becomes what effect, if any, the possibility that Judge Tunis had no legal authority to hold office, if true, has on Judge Tunis' rulings. And nothing Ms. Siegler has said meaningfully begins to answers that question. The answer can't lie in some Oath of Office. That's just begging the question.
Even if true, this should have little impact if any from the way I read it. Tunis' rulings should still be legally binding. That and I'd hate to see Jack get off because of a bureaucratic error. It'd be just his luck for that to happen, as he's been known to escape accountability due to some oversight or loophole.
Why, from the way you read it, are you willing to conclude that Judge Tunis' rulings should still be legally binding? On my read, there's nothing to support that conclusion. And please don't say, "She took the Oath of Office." If we start from the premise that the invalid Loyalty Oath negates her right to office (which is what the Loyalty Oath Statute provides), then it can't logically follow that the Oath of Office cures that negation.
I'm just saying from my read, the two seem to be mutually exclusive. Maybe you're seeing things differently from me. I'll admit I'm not as versed in the study of law, but it sounds from Sigler's wording that the Oath of Loyalty is not quite as significant as the Oath of Office.
Either way, as the report stated, the matter is officially closed. And the point is moot as it is stated the statute of limitations has expired and Tunis has since signed an OoL form. Jack can shut his pie-hole about this.
quoting from http://lp.findlaw.com/
�0 1. JUDGES--"Judge de Facto."
A judge de facto is one acting with color of right, and who is exercising the judicial functions he assumed.
2. SAME--Judge do Facto Distinguished From Mere Usurper of Office and From Judge de Jure.
A judge de facto differs, on the one hand, from a mere usurper of the office who undertakes to act without any color of right, and on the other, from a judge de jure, who is in all respects legally appointed and qualified to exercise the duties of the office.
3. OFFICERS--Possession Plus Color of Title to Office Sufficient to Make Incumbent de Facto Officer.
While mere possession of a public office is not sufficient to make the incumbent a de facto officer, possession plus color of title to the office, if the office actually exists, is considered sufficient.
4. JUDGES--Validity of Official Acts of de Facto Judge.
The official acts of a de facto judge are as valid as those of a de jure judge.
What does this mean? By being appointed and taking the oath of office, Judge Tunis's legality was assumed, and was therefore a judge de facto, so everything ruled on stands valid. Granted the quote was for a case in a different state, but I think Florida would have the same standards.
I agree 100% with you that the de facto judge doctrine would function to cure a deficiency in Judge Tunis' Loyalty Oath, In fact, I've been saying as much on this and other blogs for the last week or so. But that is nowhere near what the Court is saying through its spokeperson. They're saying, if I'm reading it right, that an Oath of Office cures a deficient Loyalty Oath. Which, to me, is pure nonsense. And it's nonsense which, unless they're interesting in seeing Jack Thompson wiggle through a loophole, they need to quickly abandon for some other theory that maks just a little bit more sense.
Jack needs to look on the bright side. Once he's disbarred, he can spend more time caring for his sick wife.
Nope. He will be very busy cleaning restrooms at McDonald´s.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- The cynical side of videogames (spanish only): http://thelostlevel.blogspot.com/
Or selling "Hot Coffee" on the streets of Miami, if you know what I mean.
He will become quite popular XD...
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- The cynical side of videogames (spanish only): http://thelostlevel.blogspot.com/
It would be funny if he brought that up. I'd have my friend remind him that he [JT] told me over e-mail that his wife had cancer a year ago and is now doing fine.
I AM A LOST SOUL, CONDEMNED TO HAUNT THE DREAMS OF JOHN BRUCE "JACK" THOMPSON UNTIL HIS CRUSADE AGAINST VIDEO GAMES ENDS. SOMEONE, PLEASE! END MY SUFFERING!
I'm still not convinced his wife was ever sick. He only brings it up as a bargaining chip- which is reprehensible.
If she was really ill, then he wouldn't have the time to spam emails, faxes, phone calls, message boards, etc.
I have an industrial sized bag of popcorn ready to be popped come June 4th.
If he doesn't show up on June 4th like he's supposed to, couldn't that land him in even deeper shit then he's already in?
everytime jack thompson posts i so wanna hit the "report spam" button lol
I laugh at Thompson getting sick of the "jacky is wacky" stuff. He's such a childish hypocrite, he wishes others to quit insulting him, meanwhile 95% of his speech involves insulting or degarding somebody else. So we should all stop accussing him of being insane, but him referring to videogame players as such is perfectly acceptable in his mind? Where does this guy get his out of whack values from, anyway? Certainly not the Bible, despite how he likes play the "Holier than thou'" card.
What a dirty fucker Thompson is. He says that he will not show up because they have denied him the ability to appeal.
Wait a fucking second here Jacky Boy. You have the ability to appeal, you just need another lawyer to sign off on it. This is simply to avoid you sending 100 faxes a day and wasting everyone's time and money. Get your thoughts together, and when you have checked and re-checked your filing, get it signed.
Don't feed anyone that bullshit about lawyers being too scared to support poor JT because of what the court did to his friend. You told the fucking guy to leave the court when the Judge said he could stay. Not only that, but it was no who told him not to speak. You are a fucking lunatic.
You already got in shit for writing things in these filings that you know to be false, yet you continue to do it.
I don't live in the same country as you John, but I am a gamer. You attack gamers. Fuck you shitbag.
The shrink happened to be a shrink that jack knew (they go to the same church) and had worked for the court before hand. (Probably for jack) So no I don't feel he's passed an impartial psych evaluation either.
i thought so!
and as such that phsyc evail should've been thrown out IMHO, since its like the judge knowing the defendant...
Oh yay, that's just amusing. Jack boycotting his own sentencing, that's just... hilarious. XD
Take it like a man, shorty! -The Engineer
Anyway, it seems that he has already learned how screwed over he is concering his lawyer career. I can't wait for the day. I'm serious, the entire internet will crash the day he's disbarred. We will not have any internet access for the next week...
--- Ignorance is bliss, I guess...
pop goes the weasel!
too be quite honest is there even a need for him to show up hes facing a guilty count on 27 charges!!! maybe hes just trying to save gas
Ah, the final death flail on the career of the most entertaining enemy we have ever had. This is the sweetest wine of them all. I pose this question to the community:
How many of you have spruced up on your knowlege of law because of JT either to prove him wrong or just out of the "see what he does and do the exact opposite" effect? I know that before JT I could not pass the Bar exam and now I can ace the practice exam. Thanks Jack, I was not going to be a lawyer but I am glad that I know I will make a better one than you will ever be.
I can certainly understand someone making every last ditch effort to save thier job and career, but I'm afraid this has gone too far, and I am someone who actually supports Jack's underlying cause for keeping violence and sex in the media away from children. The difference between myself and Jack however is I see this as an issue that must be faced at the family level, a level I believe the Christian, no, every religious faith, supports. Endless litigation and lawsuits against big corporations will not dent the wheels that already turn in this industry, and I believe Jack saw this in the 90's and just spiraled down into a pit of egotism and doubt. He began pursuing the very media he condemed for putting that filth out there as a way of self-promoting his faith and agenda. He clung to each and every newspaper and TV interview he got, he touted himself as the man God chose. I don't know if it was insecurity or such an inability to communiate with people that he resorts to treating them like low-lives beneath him, but now he scours the Internet trying to squash anyone who disagrees with him, and makes frivilous and unprofessional complaints about fellow lawyers, judges, and officials that don't agree with him.
Case in point, I think Jack's cause is still valid and worth him pursuing, but he's made too many mistakes of his own free will. It's high time he face reality and sink with his ship, only then will I truly respect the man for what he has accomplished, foolish or otherwise.
Delta, while I can agree with being careful about what children see in the media, I fear that Thompson's methods have caused us gamers (Which as you noted JT basicly think of as the offal of pond scum) too much frustration. I know as a Christian you are supposed to love the sinner while hating the sin. But after almost 20 years of his constant tirades most of us want to see him fall, if for no other reason then the closure of a period in the sub-culture of gaming.
Hunting the shadows of the troubled dreams.
Delta, we all pretty much agree that violent videogames shouldn't really be in the hands of children, but it's up to the parents to enforce it, rather than the retailers/developers/government, etc.
However, Jack's idea of doing this means demonizing gamers to the point where games shouldn't be sold to anyone, because as he puts it, if a murder happens somewhere, there's about a 101% chance that the killer is a gamer. Stuff like that is what makes him an absolute moron.
It really makes you wonder what Jack could have actually done with his law degree if he actually had the slightest amount of common sense (and legal know-how). It's a shame. Well, congratulations on wasting a good portion of your life, Jack.
I disagree. I don't want religious belief OF ANY KIND dictating LAW. It doesn't matter if its a Christian, Satanist, or Wiccan- their BELIEFS should not be the basis of any laws.
Jack Thompson is getting his just desserts, all because he refuses to practice what he preaches about growing up and getting a life.
So grow up and get a life, Jack. Man up and accept your punishment.
Just desserts indeed, we've got the icecream of the 27 charges topped by the whipped cream of his filing prohibition & the hot fudge of his potential disbarment. I think Jack knows a source of nuts...
This hearing is basically the same as the sentencing phase in a criminal trial. Thompson is not being allowed to call any witness to this hearing simply because the trial has already ended. He had every opportunity to call relevant witnesses during the trial, but chose not to and instead testify himself for several days. (You are free to speulate as to why this was.)
Big thank you to Eunice Sigler letting us know the difference between the Oaths. I can imagine how much paperwork Judges and other elected officials need to fill out upon taking office. That's one of the reasons they hire assistants to handle the 'formality' signing and filing of documents. Perhaps Thompson's shining the light on this practice will help to eliminate the vast amount of needless and outdated documents.
(to GP: I tried to register, but the system is not sending my my password. Another glitch in the site's update?)
To Mr. Thompson
Just a reminder. You DO have the ability to send filings to the court, you just need to have another member of the Bar sign them for you. Either you are unaware of this, refuse to acknowledge it, or are unable to find another member of the Bar willing or able to help you.
Care to enlighten us?
That's not entirely true. While he can't put on a witness to testify as to matters that relate solely to his guilt or innocence (the time for that, as you rightly noted, has come and gone), he can put on witnesses to testify as to matters that would tend to mitigate his sanction (e.g., character witnesses). Just like a criminal defendant can do during their sentencing phase.
. . . jack . . . character witnesses?
jacks character witness list would be comedy gold
need i say anything else (i know your just pointing out the law and procedure)
I thought the same thing as soon as I typed the words "character witness." LOL!
He certainly is a ...er... HAS character. Why he would want people like Strauss Zelnick and Ronald Friedman to attest to it is beyond me.
Same dumb reason he was trying to depose and add as a witness Pres. Bush, Gov. Bush, and a gazillion other impossible-to-get-a-hold-of persons before his guilt phase started: clog up the process as much as possible in order to delay.
From the JT filing demanding a new psychiatric examination:
"That article destroyed Thompson’s career, but it has been restored, as was Job in the Bible that Thompson’s dare adhere to."
Uh, what? I guess when you're sending 100 faxes and e-mails a day, you don't have time for proper grammar and checking to make sure that what you're writing makes any sense at all. I got tired of that filing after the first paragraph and skimmed most of it. It was a document as full of Fail as anything I have ever read.
June 4th can't some soon enough...
He compared himself to Job? Weren't all the bad things that happened to Job done by God? That means when we kick Jack while he's down, we're doing God's work. Good to know.
this just proves jack never read the bible (much less followed it) unless jack is claiming his disbarrment is "a test from god" which i would absolutely LOVE him to argue to the honorable dava tunis
Actually they were done by the Devil with God's permission to test Job's faiuthfulness. He passed with flying colors and was rewarded two fold.
Somehow I don't make the same connection as Jack does though.
E. Zachary Knight
www.editorialgames.com
it's a conspiracy i tell you! A CONSPIRACY!
jokes aside.. n oone should really be surprised by this. this is usual Jack Thompson bull
Jack's supeona list makes me think that perhaps he hasn't come to grips yet that it is he, not the video game industry that is on trial. Just what would having Strauss Zelnick there prove? Regardless of what Strauss' actions it doesn't change the fact that Jack is an infantile, unprofessional liar who has treated everyone around him with venom.