As GamePolitics reported in January, disbarred Miami attorney Jack Thompson hopes to have his professional status reviewed by the U.S. Supreme Court.

To that end, Thompson filed a petition for writ of certiorari with the U.S. Supreme Court late last week.

Thompson nonetheless faces an uphill struggle. According to its website, the Supreme Court receives petitions to consider about 10,000 cases per year. Only about 100 of those will be granted a hearing.

DOCUMENT DUMP: You can grab a copy of the certificate of service for Thompson's cert petition here. We do not have the actual petition at this time, although we are working to acquire it.

UPDATE: According to the SCOTUS docket, Thompson is due to receive a response to his petition on March 25th.

Jack Thompson is hoping that the United States Supreme Court will consider his appeal of the Florida Supreme Court ruling that disbarred him for life.

In mid-December the anti-game attorney requested from the U.S. Superme Court an extension of a Christmas Eve deadline in which to file what is known as a petition for a writ of certiorari.

Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas has granted Thompson's request, meaning that the embattled anti-game violence advocate will have until February 18th to petition for cert with the Supreme Court.

While the extension is a positive development for Thompson, he nonetheless faces an uphill struggle. According to its website, the Supreme Court receives petitions to consider about 10,000 cases per year. Only about 100 of those will be granted a hearing.

Document Dump:

1. Thompson's request for extension
2. SCOTUS letter granting request

As part of Jack Thompson's permanent disbarment by the Florida Supreme Court, the anti-game crusader was also ordered to pay $43,675. The figure represents the Florida Bar's cost to prosecute Thompson's case.

That amount was later reduced to $42,525 by the Bar. It now seems that Thompson has paid up.

As Duke Nukem would say, That's gotta hurt...

This piece of Thompson news comes - as it so often does - by way of Thompson himself. The ex-attorney circulated an e-mail today complaining that the Florida Supreme Court had not yet cashed his check:

Dear Chief Justice Quince:

Please advise today what you and the Court have done with my check for $42,525.27 that was sent you on November 6 to be held in trust by the Supreme Court.  

I find today, in talking with my bank, that the check has not been negotiated.  I’m not paying any interest on this amount.  You all had it from me on the date it was due.  

Regards, Jack Thompson

From the website of the Florida Bar...

Wondering how long it is until Jack Thompson's court-ordered disbarment becomes effective?

Wonder no more.

Longtime GamePolitics reader E. Zachary Knight (who is so dedicated that he volunteers for double duty as our comment moderator) has created a nifty extension for FireFox which counts down the time until Thompson's law career is just a bad memory.

Download it here.

Posted at the risk of incurring the further wrath   of Doug Lowenstein:

Disbarred attorney Jack Thompson thinks the feds are tapping his phone. Or maybe his computer.

In a letter sent earlier today to U.S. Attorney General Michael Mukasey, Thompson grumbles about once again being detained while trying to access the federal courthouse in Miami:

When I went to the Ferguson Federal Courthouse today, the Deputy Marshals were waiting for me because they clearly knew I was coming.  The black binder that contains alleged “threats” was opened to my page, featuring two pictures of me, and with the explanation, read to me by the Deputy, that I am to be escorted because I am about to be disbarred, because I have filed lawsuits that have been dismissed, and because I allegedly wrote inappropriate letters to judges...

 

The fact that this multi-page binder was already opened up to my page as I walked through the front door suggests surveillance by some means by the US Marshal.  There have been other bits of evidence suggesting this surveillance, but this is the clincher.  The most likely means of doing so are my cell phone use by satellite monitoring, land line phone taps, and/or taps on my home computer. 

 

When the Deputies illegally visited my home [in June, see: U.S. Marshals Pay Jack Thompson a "Visit"] they stated that I was in fact being “monitored...”

Ultimately, Thompson was escorted to his destination. This was not the first time he has been barred from entering. (see: Stopped at Courthouse Door, Thompson Says He Will Sue U.S. Marshal). He currently has multiple open lawsuits against entities including the Florida Bar and Florida Supreme Court.

UPDATE: Full text of JT's letter here... 

Yesterday the Florida Supreme Court permanently disbarred Jack Thompson. Barring an unlikley reversal, the 56-year-old attorney will be stripped of his license to practice law in 30 days.

How did things get this far? GamePolitics, which has covered Thompson extensively since the site went live in 2005, has compiled a timeline of key events during that time:

November 18, 2005: Thompson is lead attorney in a $600 million dollar lawsuit against Take-Two, Rockstar, Sony, GameStop and Wal-mart which alleges that 18-year-old GTA player Devin Moore was influenced by the games when he killed two police officers and a police dispatcher in Fayette, Alabama. Following a motion by Take-Two's lawyers, Alabama Judge James Moore revokes Thompson's right to practice in Alabama, essentially throwing him off the GTA case. Moore will later file a Bar complaint against Thompson over his conduct and be a key witness at his Bar trial.

October 13, 2006: Miami Judge Ronald Friedman dismisses Thompson's bid to have Bully declared a public nuisance. Friedman will later file a Bar complaint against Thompson over his conduct and will also testify at his Bar trial.

October 22, 2006: Thompson announces he is running for Judge Friedman's seat on the bench. However, he never follows through.

January 23, 2007: Thompson calls for the impeachment of Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff after Shurtleff advises Utah legislators that the Thompson-authored video game law they are considering is unconstitutional.

March 16, 2007: Thompson is sued by Take-Two Interactive. The publisher seeks to block Thompson from damaging future sales of Manhunt 2 and GTA IV. A month later, the parties will reach a settlement.

April 10, 2007: In a harshly-worded ruling, U.S. District Court Judge James Brady declares Louisiana's video game law unconstitutional. Thompson, who wrote the legislation, has blamed Louisiana officials for its failure.

April 16, 2007: While the Virginia Tech shooting rampage is still ongoing, Thompson appears on Fox News to assert a violent video game connection. Later, a blue ribbon panel will find no evidence that the killer played violent games.

June 14, 2007: GamePolitics reveals that Thompson met secretly with Take-Two boss Strauss Zelnick in Manhattan shortly after Zelnick took control of the company.

August 3, 2007: Thompson writes in a court filing that he is experiencing cardiac arrhythmia as well as chest pains due to the stress of his campaign against the Florida Bar.

August 21, 2007: Thompson claims that he underwent a psychological evaluation at his own expense and was pronounced mentally fit.

September 21, 2007: Thompson seeks to have Halo 3 declared a public nuisance in Florida

September 26, 2007: U.S. District Court Judge Adalberto Jordan reprimands Thompson for including gay porn in a court filing.

October 3, 2007: Thompson tries to add Judge Adalberto Jordan as a defendant in a case against the Florida Bar over which Jordan is presiding.

November 3, 2007: Thompson debates game developer Lorne Lanning at vgXpo in Philadelphia.

November 16, 2007: Thompson tries (and fails) to get GamePolitics & the Entertainment Consumers Association added as defedants in one of his numerous federal lawsuits against the Florida Bar.

November 26, 2007: Thompson's Florida Bar ethics trial commences in Miami with Judge Dava Tunis presiding. It will last nine days.

December 18, 2007: Thompson's $600 million New Mexico lawsuit which attempted to draw a link between GTA and a grisly triple murder is thrown out by a judge.

December 28, 2007: Trying to prove a video game connection, Thompson sues the Omaha Police Dept. for records of mall shooter Robert Hawkins.

March 7, 2008: Thompson circulates an e-mail which says that the Florida Bar will look like a bombed-out building if the Florida Supreme Court files an order against him.

March 18, 2008: GamePolitics begins serializing transcripts of testimony from Thompson's November, 2007 Bar trial.

March 19, 2008: Thompson threatens legal action against GamePolitics for publishing the Bar trial transcripts, which are a matter of public record. Despite the threats, the series continues.

March 20, 2008: Florida Supreme Court informs Thompson that, due to submitting porn and other inappropriate filings, the Court will no longer accept any filings from him unless another attorney signs off.

April 9, 2008: Thompson complains in a court filing that the FBI will no longer take his calls.

April 26, 2008: Thompson persuades officials of Miami-Dade Transit to remove GTA IV ads from bus kiosks

May 20, 2008: Judge Tunis finds Thompson guilty of 27 of 31 ethical misconduct charges

May 26, 2008: Thompson tells a Florida radio show host that he has plans to run for the Florida legislature.

May 30, 2008: Thompson swears in a federal court filing that Judge Tunis leaked documents to GamePolitics. Actually, we got the documents from the court via public records request.

June 4, 2008: The Florida Bar recommends to Judge Tunis that Thompson be disbarred for 10 years. Thompson storms out of the hearing after Tunis refuses to let him read a statement in court.

June 16, 2008: Thompson alleges that a pair of U.S. Marshals visited him at his home.

July 2, 2008: Thompson is honored as winner of "America's Freedom Award" at America's Freedom Festival in conservative Provo, Utah.

July 9, 2008: Thompson alleges that he was barred by U.S. Marshals from entering the U.S. District Court building in Miami alone. An officer escorted him to his destination. Thompson sues over the incident.

July 9, 2008: Citing both his ethical misconduct and his behavior during his Florida Bar proceedings, Judge Tunis one-ups the Florida Bar by ignoring its recommendation for 10-year disbarment and instead recommends a permanment disbarment for Thompson.

September 25, 2008: Florida Supreme Court orders Thompson permanently disbarred, effective October 30th, 2008.

If you were thinking that yesterday's lifetime disbarment would end Jack Thompson's crusade against violent video games, you may want to think again.

Don't get me wrong. The stripping of Thompson's law license will certainly have an impact on his activism. For example, will Fox News want a disbarred attorney as their resident game-bashing expert? Not likely, not even for Fox.

While his TV appearances may be scaled back, Thompson will still be a player, as I told VentureBeat's Dean Takahashi yesterday:

I don’t expect that we have seen the last of Thompson, not by a long shot... After all, most of his culture crusade takes place outside the courtroom. And he’s still able to file lawsuits, just as any private citizen can. Moreover, he understands the mechanics of how to file suits. The difference is that the word “disbarred” will invariably be attached to his name from this point forward.

With yesterday's lifetime disbarment order by the Florida Supreme Court, Jack Thompson is finished as a lawyer.

Oh, it won't be effective for 30 days, but he's toast. Thompson, of course, will be papering the courts with motions, appeals and e-mails between now and then. In fact, he has already begun to do so. But, put a fork in him; he's done. The anti-game activist worked very hard to dig this tunnel into legal oblivion and now he is destined to occupy it - forever.

It didn't have to end this way.

While battling with the Florida Bar, Thompson has occasionally made reference to other lawyers who committed serious - if less flamboyant - offenses and received suspensions of only a few years.

The difference, of course, is remorse and Thompson hasn't shown any. The Florida Supreme Court noted this in yesterday's disbarment order, citing a "complete lack of remorse" on the part of the controversial anti-game attorney. The justices also gave weight to the recommendation of Judge Dava Tunis, who presided over Thompson's November, 2007 ethics trial and saw no indication that Thompson would change his ways:

[Judge Tunis] cited various cases indicating that disbarment is an appropriate sanction and recommended permanent disbarment because "[Thompson] has repeatedly stated in these proceedings that he will not change his conduct" and she "finds no evidence whatsoever to indicate that [Thompson] is amenable to rehabilitation, or even remotely appreciates the basis upon which a need or purpose for such rehabilitation is warranted."

 

...In fact, the referee reported that [Thompson] walked out of her courtroom at the final hearing in this matter because she would not allow him to "to turn the [d]isciplinary proceeding into a press conference."

It's universally acknowledged that the first step along the path to forgiveness and redemption is admitting one's wrongdoing. That's something that Thompson apparently wouldn't or couldn't bring himself to do. And it has cost him dear.

So, what are the two simple yet powerful words which might have salvaged Thompson's career?

I'm sorry...

Jack Thompson's permanent disbarment by the Florida Supreme dominated the gaming news yesterday.

In fact, a site which tracks Google searches ranks "Jack Thompson disbarred" 73rd among all news searches for yesterday, ahead of terms like "bailout," "letterman-mccain-video," and "Crystal Cox."

Kotaku reports that disbarment parties are "starting to pop up" but offers only some pix of one JT-decorated cake by way of evidence.

Are you partying? If so, leave a comment and let us know.

In a four-page written order (download here), the Florida Supreme Court today affirmed a referee's recommendation to permanently disbar controversial Miami attorney Jack Thompson.

The action, which takes effect in 30 days, means that Thompson will no longer be licensed to practice law and may not apply for reinstatement. Ever.

In citing a litany of offenses, the Court noted Thompson's extensive pattern of misconduct and cited a "complete lack of remorse." The Court also quoted extensively from the June, 2008 report of Judge Dava Tunis, who served as referee at Thompson's November, 2007 trial on charges brought by the Florida Bar:

In her report, the referee states: Over a very extended period of time involving a number of totally unrelated cases and individuals, [r]espondent has demonstrated a pattern of conduct to strike out harshly, extensively, repeatedly and willfully to simply try to bring as much difficulty, distraction and anguish to those he considers in opposition to his causes.

 

He does not proceed within the guidelines of appropriate professional behavior, but rather uses other means available to intimidate, harass, or bring public disrepute to those whom he perceives oppose him.

Noting 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," the justices of the Florida Supreme Court affirmed Thompson's offenses as delineated by Judge Tunis.

Some of these include findings that Thompson made false statements and accusations, repeatedly harassed those he considered opponents, and, while falsely accusing others of "the criminal distribution of sexual materials to minors," himself attached pornography to court filings.

• [Thompson] made false statements of material fact to 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.

The Court also upheld a fine of $43,675 against Thompson.

For his part, Thompson offered his standard-issue bluster, announcing his disbarment in an e-mail which carried the subject line "Now the Fun Begins." Thompson has also filed a request with the U.S. District Court for an emergency stay of the FLSC's order disbarring him.

In 2005, Jack Thompson wrote Out of Harm's Way, an autobiography which detailed his brand of activism. Toward the end of book he lists 25 Culture War Tips From the Trenches.

These include "Be mean" and "Take the Offensive."

Thompson apparently put his philosophy into practice with zest, if one judges by transcripts of his November, 2007 Bar trial. Judge Dava Tunis cites large chunks of those transcripts in her 169-page report to the Florida Supreme Court in which she recommends that Thompson be disbarred for life.

While GamePolitics has already offered exclusive coverage of the transcripts involving Thompson Bar trial witnesses related to video game cases, we had not previously read the testimony of Florida attorneys Larry Kellogg and Al Cardenas (left) of the Tew Cardenas law firm. In 2005 Kellogg was hired by Beasley Communications to deal with Thompson. Beasley owns radio stations and Thompson had targeted some of their shock jock programming. From the transcripts cited by Judge Tunis:

Kellogg: ...what [Thompson] does in these situations -- is he attacks the lawyers for those he wants to do something with... once he learned that I was involved, he started sending me communications to me about my client and about me to others. He also started copying me with all the communications he was sending to others... the F.C.C., third parties of every sort...

I had another matter out in Denver... So I went out to Denver and I didn't get back to Mr. Thompson quick enough for him. So I started getting e-mails threatening that he was going to sue me personally if I didn't arrange a meeting. He sent me an e-mail giving me deadlines. I must have this meeting -- agree to this meeting -- by a certain date or things were going to happen. I was getting all these e-mails, but I was out on another matter and I didn't think it was the most important thing in my life was to arrange a meeting with him. So because I didn't do it fast enough for him, he sent a series of letters... and this was the basis for my initial Bar complaint, why I got involved for the first time in 26 years in a Bar proceeding. I've never filed a Bar complaint and I've never been involved in one prior to this day. This is what made me do it...

Al Cardenas is my partner. Al Cardenas has never represented Beasley and he had never done anything
personally on behalf of Beasley up to that time and never has since. He's never billed an hour of time. He's never talked to them about any legal matter. He's never represented them in any way. He was simply an innocent bystander, who happens to have been the co-chair of President Bush's Florida campaign. He is involved in politics. He's well known as being involved in politics on the Republican side and he knows very well Jeb Bush and he knows George Bush and [Florida Governor] Charlie Crist. He knows them all and they all know who he is.... So Mr. Thompson, because I wouldn't get a meeting with him fast enough...[made the following statements regarding Mr. Cardenas.]:

Hot off the press... Be warned - it's a 169-page pdf file.

Get it here.

UPDATE: In addition to her recommendation that Jack Thompson be permanently disbarred with no opportunity for reinstatement, Judge Tunis recommends an assessment of $43,675 for the costs incurred by the Florida Bar in prosecuting his case.

The report by Judge Tunis is quite lengthy. We will break it down and comment on it beginning tomorrow. For now, we will note the Judge's conclusion regarding the evidence presented at Thompson's Bar trial, as she definitely knows Jack:

The Florida Bar has recommended disbarment for a period of ten (10) years. This Court respectfully declines to follow the Bar’s recommendation... This case involves factual findings of cumulative misconduct, a repeated pattern of behavior relentlessly forced upon numerous unconnected individuals, a total lack of remorse or even slight acknowledgement of inappropriate conduct... 

 

Additionally, the Court is taking into consideration a review of the Respondent’s conduct not only as proven by the evidence, but by what this Court has witnessed of the Respondent’s behavior throughout the eighteen (18) months of litigation. The undersigned finds no evidence whatsoever to indicate that the Respondent is amenable to rehabilitation, or even remotely appreciates the basis upon which a need or purpose for such rehabilitation is warranted...

  

Over a very extended period of time involving a number of totally unrelated cases and individuals, the Respondent has demonstrated a pattern of conduct to strike out harshly, extensively, repeatedly and willfully to simply try to bring as much difficulty, distraction and anguish to those he considers in opposition to his causes. He does not proceed within the guidelines of appropriate professional behavior, but rather uses other means available to intimidate, harass, or bring public disrepute to those whom he perceives oppose him.

 

Thus, after careful consideration of the underlying facts in the instant cases, together with the Florida Standards for Imposing Lawyer Sanctions, the applicable aggravating and mitigating factors and the precedent case law, this Court makes the following recommendations for John Bruce Thompson:

A. Permanent disbarment, with no leave to reapply for admission.
B. Disciplinary costs currently totaling $43,675.35.

This story is evolving. Here's what we know so far...

Jack Thompson began circulating e-mails a short while ago claiming that Judge Dava Tunis (left), the referee in his November, 2007 trial on ethics charges brought by the Florida Bar, has recommended that he be disbarred for life.

As in forever...

In May, GamePolitics broke the news that Judge Tunis had recommended to the Florida Supreme Court that Thompson be found guilty on 27 of 31 counts of professional misconduct.

In June, Florida Bar prosecutors requested a 10-year "enhanced" disbarment for the controversial attorney, who stormed out of the hearing. 

Tunis had until September 5th to provide her final report to the Florida Supreme Court, which will make the ultimate determination of Thompson's professional fate. Apparently the judge has finished her task ahead of schedule.

We are presently working on confirming Thompson's claim as well as obtaining a copy of Judge Tunis's report. In the meantime, we note that Thompson wrote in an e-mail circulated at 1:12 PM today:

I got the always helpful Dava Tunis’ final Referee’s Report today, recommending a life-time disbarment (my life, not hers).  The Bar only asked for ten years. 

A second e-mail from Thompson to the Florida Supreme Court begins with:

Your Referee down here, Dava Tunis, the one who does not have a federally-mandated loyalty oath even to be on the bench, just today issued her final Referee’s Report in the above matter, and she rejected The Bar’s recommendation of a ten-year disbarment for me and instead is asking you to disbar me permanently with no opportunity ever to apply for reinstatement.

GP: It's important to point out that Judge Tunis is only making a recommendation. Thompson has not been disbarred. Only the Florida Supreme Court can make that determination.

 (more to follow)

While you're waiting, check out all of GP's coverage of the Thompson Bar Trial...

The Daily Business Review has the audio of Jack Thompson storming out of last week's sanctions hearing before Judge Dava Tunis.

GamePolitics posted the transcript of the hearing yesterday.

 Via: Overlawyered

In March of this year GamePolitics serialized the courtroom transcripts of Jack Thompson's Florida Bar trial. The response was overwhelming.

Based on that, we knew GP readers would be interested in reading the transcript of last Wednesday's sanctions hearing before Judge Dava Tunis - the one that Thompson stormed out of and in which the Bar recommended that the 56-year-old Thompson be disbarred for a minimum of ten years.

So we broke open the GP piggy bank and purchased a copy from the court reporter.

To set the scene (in case you haven't been following the Florida Bar vs. John B. Thompson saga): Judge Tunis, who was selected by the Florida Supreme Court to preside over the Bar trial and who recently recommended to the Court that Thompson be found guilty of 27 violations of professional misconduct, scheduled last week's hearing to hear arguments from both Thompson and the Florida Bar concerning possible sanctions. Judge Tunis has until September 3rd to provide her final report to the Florida Supreme Court, which will make the final determination of Thompson's fate.

(GP: The transcript that follows is abridged where noted)

JUDGE = Judge Dava Tunis

JT = Jack Thompson

TUMA = Florida Bar prosecutor Sheila Tuma

JUDGE: Good afternoon, everybody... I trust everyone has some water at their table?... so, for the record, we are here on the matter of the Florida Bar versus John Bruce Thompson... If all the lawyers would like to announce their presence for the record.

TUMA: Sheila Tuma, counsel for the Florida Bar

JT: Jack Thompson, presently a lawyer.

JUDGE: ...Miss Tuma, my understanding would be that, pursuant to the rules, you would be going first?

JT: Your Honor, may I please--

TUMA: Yes.

JT: -- so that I can state at the appropriate time, which would be now, my objections to this proceeding on the record?

JUDGE: And you have done so through writing --

JT: No. I have to do it here, Judge.

JUDGE: Go right ahead.

JT: May I move the podium?

JUDGE: No. Just everybody leave it in one spot. That's the way we usually do it in the courtroom.

JT: Can we change that one spot? No?

JUDGE: I'd prefer that you leave it right there.

JT: Nice. Can I pivot it?

JUDGE: Is that what you'd like, sir?

JT: I'm asking you.

JUDGE: Okay. That's fine.

A Florida Judge recently recommended that Jack Thompson be found guilty on 27 counts of professional misconduct. A federal judge tossed his lawsuit against the Florida Supreme Court on Tuesday. And the Florida Bar yesterday moved to have him disbarred for a decade.

But, don't fear for Jack Thompson.

No dummy he, the controversial anti-game activist has his detractors right where he wants them. At least, according to Thompson.

Under the subject line of SWEET! (GP: I kid you not), an e-mail circulated by Thompson this morning cites today's Daily Business Review coverage of his case and reads, in part:

Because of the [DBR] article, which contains my entire Objections filing, I am now getting phone calls from highly respected people who are proving to me the criminal conduct of The Florida Bar... We are meeting with law enforcement officials about that. 
 
This is all wonderful.  Light is now being shone in some very dark places, and the Daily Business Review has assisted in that wonderfully.
 
I am now going to win this fight, by the grace of God and because of the First Amendment, most particularly the right to freedom of the press.  Certain Florida Bar officials need to hire criminal defense lawyers today.  The investigations are already underway.  And if you think I'm kidding, then you don't know Jack.
 

So much for the sweet. Or should we say, the SWEET!

On the SOUR! side, after Thompson declared in a recent sworn federal court motion that Bar trial referee Dava Tunis had leaked case documents to GamePolitics, we pointed out that his claim - which he wrote that he was making under penalty of perjury - was untrue. We also explained that we had received the documents from Eunice Sigler, Director of the Office of Government Liaison and Public Relations for the 11th Judicial Circuit of Florida, pursuant to our various public records requests.

Just one day after our story debunking Thompson's false claim regarding Judge Tunis ran, the controversial attorney filed a document with Eunice Sigler's boss, demanding to see her official loyalty oath. Readers will recall that he has unsuccessfully targeted Judge Tunis over the loyalty oath issue as well.

Thompson's focus on Ms. Sigler, a court administrator simply carrying out her duties, seems from here like a case of very sour grapes.

The Florida Bar's motion to disbar Jack Thompson for a decade wasn't the only bad news the 56-year-old anti-game activist received this week.

On Tuesday, U.S. District Court Judge Joan Lenard dismissed - with prejudice - a federal lawsuit filed by Thompson in March, alleging that the Florida Supreme Court had unconstitutionally barred him from representing himself before that body.

Readers may recall that Florida's high court sanctioned Thompson for, among other things, including pornographic pictures in a court filing and styling another motion as a children's picture book for adults.

The dismissal with prejudice means that Thompson can bring no further federal action on the claim.

Although the suit against the Florida Supreme Court is now a dead issue, Thompson has two additional federal suits pending in South Florida. One, against the Florida Bar, was placed on hold by Thompson recently, pending the state-level resolution of his Bar issues. Another, filed late last month against the State of Florida, deals with Thompson's contention that the legal status of Bar trial referee Judge Dava Tunis is invalid due to a clerk's apparent forging of her signature on a loyalty oath.

Read U.S. District Court Judge Joan Lenard's decision here.

GamePolitics has learned that the Florida Bar has requested that controversial attorney Jack Thompson, 56, be disbarred for ten years for 27 violations of professional misconduct.

The request came today at a sanctions hearing before Judge Dava Tunis in Miami.

Thompson reportedly stormed out of the hearing after Tunis refused to let him read a lengthy objection aloud. Tunis, acting as referee on behalf of the Florida Supreme Court, did permit Thompson to submit a copy of his objection for the record. 

Prior to that there was apparently some disagreement between Tunis and Thompson over the placement of the podium. We're told Thompson lost that argument as well.

By leaving the courtroom, Thompson missed the opportunity to argue any mitigating factors to the Bar's recommendation for harsh punishment.

A GamePolitics reader, Nevext , apparently was present today and posted impressions in comments to this morning's preview piece on the hearing. Here's Nevext's version of events:

I was able to tag along with an actual attorney, so we drove to the courthouse, went up to the courtroom, waited outside until 2pm. Baliff opened the door and I held it open. Sadly, I even held it open for the beast himself.

So the judge came in. Judge Tunis seems like a real nice lady.

Thompson wanted to make known that he had a objection in writing. He was able to submit it to the record, but the judge said he couldn't read it aloud. That really pissed him off, I think. He also passed around copies of the objection to various reporters and a member of the legal community known as "Mr. Mim". He also claimed that "Mr. Mim" was not supposed to be there. So he dropped the objection into his lap and went back to his side of the court. The judge was NOT pleased.

Eventually, he made comments about the judge not being a judge(This is relating to the Loyalty Oath stuff), said the hearing was moot, and WALKED OUT.

"The court acknowledges that Mr. Thompson has voluntarily left the proceedings"

Then the Florida Bar presented it's evidence. Lalalala, bunch of legal crap.

The Bar recommends that Thompson's punishment should be: "Enhanced disbarment, with a reapplyment wait of 10 years"

After more legalese, the court was ajorned.

Mr Mim threw away his copy of the objection. A friend of mine who happened to be attending reached to get it at the same time a State Attorney was. We ended up getting a copy of it because the State Attorney was a nice guy.

And we went home.

End of story

GP: Thanks much, Nevext, for that first-hand account. "Mim" would be Florida Bar prosecutor Barnaby Min. Don't invite Thompson and Min to the same party. If you're having a party...

Jack Thompson has a date in court today.

As previously reported by GamePolitics, the embattled attorney faces a sanctions hearing before Judge Dava Tunis in Miami at 2 p.m.

Judge Tunis, appointed by the Florida Supreme Court to serve as referee in the Florida Bar's prosecution of Thompson on professional misconduct charges, recently recommended that Thompson be found guilty on 27 of 31 counts.

Today, the judge is expected to issue her recommendation on penalties for Thompson, which could include disbarment. Recent comments by Thompson indicate that he expects to be disbarred.

Whatever Tunis recommends, the final say belongs to the Florida Supreme Court, which will receive Tunis's final report on September 2nd.

GamePolitics will update Thompson's situation as soon as we get word from Miami.