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Jack Thompson Responds to Take Two Suit

interactive_civilian writes "Jack Thompson has personally replied to ArsTechnica regarding their coverage of the lawsuit from TakeTwo. Really, it's best for Jack to speak for himself: 'I have been praying, literally, that Take-Two and its lawyers would do something so stupid, so arrogant, so dumb, even dumber than what they have to date done, that such a misstep would enable me to destroy Take-Two. With the filing of this SLAPP lawsuit last week, my prayers are finally answered. This lawsuit, filed in US District Court for the Southern District of Florida, is, without a doubt, the single dumbest thing I have ever seen any lawyers do in my thirty years of practicing law--while in continuous good standing to do so with The Florida Bar, I might add, the shock radio and video game industry's efforts notwithstanding.'"

19 of 131 comments (clear)

  1. Is this a man or a foil? by RyanFenton · · Score: 4, Insightful

    At this point, I have to ask: Is Jack Thomson a real crazy person, or is he some cleverly created foil? The man acts like a fictional villain, trying to transparently conflate religion and his own fevered obsessions, and then trying to say that this gives him legal justification for his own insanity, insisting that the fact that he hasn't been completely stopped yet is proof.

    I do understand that people really can be this crazy, and worse, but there just seems to be an air of even more blatant unreality at this point in his insanity.

    Ryan Fenton

    1. Re:Is this a man or a foil? by SomeoneGotMyNick · · Score: 5, Funny

      Is Jack Thomson a real crazy person, or is he some cleverly created foil? He has a Wikipedia entry, so he must be real. Right.....????

      Also, while I was on Wikipedia, I found out that Sinbad had died.

  2. Hoax? by jandrese · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Everybody knows Jack is a nut and all, but this smells like a hoax to me. The language doesn't feel right for a lawyer (even a crazy one) and I don't see the point of him sending a letter like this. However, if it turns out to be true then Jack has really gone off of the deep end.

    --

    I read the internet for the articles.
  3. Re:Define Good Standing by spribyl · · Score: 5, Informative

    According to this it was Alabama not Florida.

    http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20051122-5613 .html

    In Florida they are still working on it. Though, I don't think his status is still good standing.
    http://gamepolitics.com/2007/02/03/jack-thompson-f aces-florida-bar-disciplinary-hearing/

  4. Re:WTF? by Qzukk · · Score: 4, Interesting

    He's convinced that he has engineered some sort of coup for the next shareholders meeting, namely, that a majority of the shareholders will vote to fire all of the executives.

    If this "coup" does happen, it's doubtful we'd hear the end of it from Mr. Thompson, even if every last shareholder is quoted as saying "we booted the CEO over the options scandal, and have no idea who this Jack guy is".

    --
    If I have been able to see further than others, it is because I bought a pair of binoculars.
  5. Re:Define Good Standing by bockelboy · · Score: 5, Informative
    Yup. Here's a good quote from wikipedia:

    In February 2007, the Florida Bar filed disbarment proceedings against Thompson over allegations of professional misconduct. The action was the result of separate grievances filed by people claiming that Thompson made defamatory, false statements and attempted to humiliate, embarrass, harass or intimidate them.
    Thompson also sued the state bar in April 2006. After a few press releases, he dropped the suit in May 2006. For the most part this is how his cases go. There are a few big releases about "SUEING TAKE-TWO FOR $234 million," then the case is dropped within a month or two.

    Also of note is that he did a similar campaign against Janet Reno. Yes, that Janet Reno. From wikipedia:

    Thompson gave Reno a letter at a campaign event requesting that she check a box to indicate whether she was homosexual, bisexual, or heterosexual. Thompson said that Reno then put her hand on his shoulder and responded, "I'm only interested in virile men. That's why I'm not attracted to you." He filed a police report accusing her of battery for touching him.
    Even more:

    In 1990, after his election loss, Thompson began a campaign against the efforts of Switchboard of Miami, a social services group of which Reno was a board member. Thompson charged that the group placed "homosexual-education tapes" in public schools. Switchboard responded by getting the Florida Supreme Court to order that he submit to a psychiatric examination. Thompson did so and passed, and since then has stated on more than one occasion that he is "the only officially certified sane lawyer in the entire state of Florida."
    Yup - his antics are so ridiculous that they made him take a sanity test.
  6. Something good can definitely come from this by Dachannien · · Score: 4, Insightful

    The "nothing-good-can-come-from-this" department?

    We've already gotten something good from it: twenty-four karat comedy gold!

  7. Re:WTF? by rGauntlet · · Score: 4, Informative

    Go read this: http://money.cnn.com/news/newsfeeds/articles/djf50 0/200703161506DOWJONESDJONLINE000868_FORTUNE5.htm

    Seems that a few investors (Comprising ~46% of the stock) think they can do better.. We'll find out on Friday if they wanna risk it.

    --
    http://www.yeraze.com http://www.vizworld.com
  8. Re:Good standing? by drinkypoo · · Score: 5, Interesting

    You're in "good standing" until your license is revoked. Sometimes it seems like a lawyer's primary skill is to lie by telling the truth. When he says that, he is technically telling the truth, but through the language he uses (which is absolutely technically accurate) he makes it seem like the bar is supporting him completely, which is of course the diametric opposite of the truth. English is a really great language for lawyers because every word tends to have a whole pile of meanings.

    --
    "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
  9. Re:Wow.. I mean... wow by Rob+T+Firefly · · Score: 4, Funny

    Well, if it is him, he sure is losing a lot of credibility.
    He had credibility?
  10. Re:March 23, 2007 by Vaibhav_Locke · · Score: 4, Informative

    Actually he's referring to the fact that the CEO will be resigning, idk any details but the investors have decided to take over the board, mainly because of all the bad publicity they have been receiving (thanks in no small part to jacky). The CEO however was convicted of backdating stock options, something that has nothing to do with Jack or the video game industry at all.

  11. Don Quixote by Vaibhav_Locke · · Score: 5, Funny

    I me15ter on the ars discussion puts it best, so i quote his quote here:

    In short, his wits being quite gone, he hit upon the strangest notion that ever madman in this world hit upon, and that was that he fancied it was right and requisite, as well for the support of his own honour as for the service of his country, that he should make a knight-errant of himself, roaming the world over in full armour and on horseback in quest of adventures, and putting in practice himself all that he had read of as being the usual practices of knights-errant; righting every kind of wrong, and exposing himself to peril and danger from which, in the issue, he was to reap eternal renown and fame. -Don Quixote
  12. Re:Define Good Standing by Chris+Burke · · Score: 4, Funny

    Yup - his antics are so ridiculous that they made him take a sanity test.

    Yeah, and the psychiatric profession is still reeling from the blow to the credibility of their sanity test. They continue to look for the solution to what they call "The Thompson Erroneous Sane Diagnosis Anomaly" or just "The Thompson Anomaly".

    --

    The enemies of Democracy are
  13. In continuous good standing with the Florida Bar? by Bogtha · · Score: 4, Informative

    This lawsuit, filed in US District Court for the Southern District of Florida, is, without a doubt, the single dumbest thing I have ever seen any lawyers do in my thirty years of practicing law--while in continuous good standing to do so with The Florida Bar, I might add, the shock radio and video game industry's efforts notwithstanding.

    Would that be the same Florida Bar that he has sued (unsuccessfully) twice, which he alleges is unconstitutional, engaged in a vendetta against him, and is made up of criminal racketeers? The Florida Bar that is in the process of disbarring him?

    I guess his idea of "continuous good standing" and mine differ somewhat.

    --
    Bogtha Bogtha Bogtha
  14. Re:Written by God? by Vaibhav_Locke · · Score: 4, Funny

    I omitted them

  15. Re:Good standing? by tinkerghost · · Score: 4, Informative
    Good Standing is actually a technical term for professionals, as a lawyer it has a specific meaning:
    • He has a certified law degree.
    • He has passed the State Bar Exam.
    • he has paid his annual dues.
    • He has not been expelled or suspended from the State Bar.
    That's it. Once you are in, you are in Good Standing unless you loose your license or forget to pay your dues & allow it to lapse. So like Jack, you can be in the process of being disbarred for baritry while at the same time legitimately claim to be in good standard.
  16. Re:Question by Jherek+Carnelian · · Score: 5, Funny

    Does anybody know the term for a "pseudo-lawyer" that's comparable to "quack" being used to describe a fake doctor?
    Politician
  17. Re:WOW! by MeanderingMind · · Score: 4, Funny

    All I want to know is, how did Jesus manage to keep from releasing his spirit for 3 days without being in an instance? He couldn't have used a soulstone otherwise.

    But then he did say, "Into your hands I commit my spirit", which would indicate he instantly released. If that's the case, I guess the corpse run was just a really long one. Having them move the body into a sealed tomb probably didn't help, although he might have been in range to rez outside.

    I'm sorry God, don't smite me. I haven't hit level 60 yet!

    --
    Thunderclone: ONE MAN ENTERS! TWO MEN LEAVE! ONE MAN ENTERS! TWO MEN LEAVE!
  18. Re:JT missed a quote in his letter by MeanderingMind · · Score: 4, Funny

    Great, now all those nifty graphics APIs are going to have to have methods for differentiating between renderings for Caesar and renderings for God. Thanks a bunch.

    --
    Thunderclone: ONE MAN ENTERS! TWO MEN LEAVE! ONE MAN ENTERS! TWO MEN LEAVE!