02/19/2008 ORDER-SHOW CAUSE TO: JOHN BRUCE THOMPSON It appears to the Court that you have abused the legal system by submitting numerous frivolous and inappropriate filings in this Court.

Therefore, it is ordered that you shall show cause on or before March 5, 2008, why this Court should not find that you have abused the legal system process and impose upon you a sanction for abusing the legal system, including, but not limited to directing the Clerk of this Court to reject for filing any future pleadings, petitions, motions, letters, documents, or other filings submitted to this Court by you unless signed by a member of The Florida Bar other than yourself.

What does this mean? Unless he can prove that he has not abused the legal system (good luck with that), the Clerk of the Court won't accept anything from him without having it signed by a more responsible member of The Florida Bar. This is the legal equivalent of having your parent sign off on your homework.

Bear in mind that Thompson's fate as a member of the bar already hangs in the balance pending Judge Dava Tunis' judgment on the bar trial from back in November. This cannot possibly help his case.

Despite this latest development, Thompson remains insanely optimistic, but I don't want to spoil Game Politic's fun. Hit the link below for Jack's response.

Florida Supreme Court Comes Down Hard on Jack Thompson [Game Politics - Thanks Stephen]

Jack has, over the past years, tried to get me fired more times than I can remember. He has emailed me editor, my editor's boss, my editor's boss's boss and my editor's boss's boss's boss.

Despite his false and defamatory statements to them and his efforts at costing me my livelihood, I haven't sought to sue him... yet. But it's something I keep in mind every time he goes after me.

His latest threat and harassment comes from the story I wrote yesterday based off of the public records provided me by the Florida Bar.

In it he claims he knows nothing about the first, 1992 case, in which the bar says he was accused of trying to get someone to hire him as their lawyer, when they already have one.

He claims that he knows nothing about this and that he intends to sue me. This is, I don't know, perhaps the twentieth time he's threatened to do so.

He also sent the letter to the publisher of the Rocky Mountain News, the managing editor of the Rocky and the feature's editor of the Rocky asking them to retract the story.

I'm not sure if he's an idiot or just has issues with going to the correct source of a story. Just a heads up Jack, the Rocky has nothing to do with Kotaku, so they can't get me to retract this.

If there is a factual error, as I stated before, I'd be more than happy to correct. Please do let me know.

I did, after receiving the email, contact the Florida bar and was assured that Jack was indeed reprimanded in 1992 after pleading guilty to violating rules of professional conduct.

Hit the jump for his latest rant and my response, if you are so inclined. Brian Crecente

Subject: : Demand for retraction from the Rocky Mountain News' Brian Crecente, Editor of Kotaku
Dear Mr. Crecente:

The below excerpt, in quotation marks, is in your "news" article at http://kotaku.com/gaming/jack-thompson/feature-the-florida-bars-many-jack-thompson-imbroglios-233783.php:

"Summary: This record was on the verge of being deep-sixed when I rescued it from the Florida Bar. Unfortunately, it is very light on details. All I can gather is that Thompson was accused of, and later admitted to, trying to get someone to hire him as a lawyer after the person already had one."

I demand a full retraction and apology for the above, pursuant to Florida Statutes 770, et sequitur, as I intend to sue you for this false and defamatory statement.

I may find other errors in your one-side story, but my wife is going into the hospital for major surgery this morning, and I don't have the time right now, as we head there, to find other errors. Thanks so much for this gift on the scariest day of our lives, Brian.

As to the above, I NEVER was even charged with "trying to get someone to hire him as a lawyer after the person already had one." Never heard of that charge, was never charged with it. It never happened. Yet you state that I pled guilty to this! I am sending this email to my lawyer, Ray Reiser, to alert him that this is what comes from "video game journalists."

You see, Brian, this is what happens when you do a story after I warned you, in writing, to contact me for my side of the story before you wrote it.

As you know, I specifically emailed you over the weekend, since I saw your promise to your readers than on Monday you would be exposing me as to all my Bar problems, and I warned you, in writing, that before you did that you would be well-advised to get my side of the story. You refused to do that, and now you have stepped in it. Any journalist would have gotten my side of the story. That would have protected you from publishing the above false and defamatory non-fact.

I am sending this to the Rocky Mountain News, where you do stories, to alert them that this is how reckless you are. Folks, this guy writes for your paper?

Finally, you will recall, Brian, that one of your writers, when I encouraged him to engage me in a discussion should I be at a debate on a college campus about video game issues (I just had such a debate at California University near Pittsburgh) then he could feel free to engage in the debate. I have the email in which I did that.

He then reported at your site that I clearly was really interested in sex, and that he came to that conclusion because I simply thought by his name, Florian, he was a woman. How one gets from "join the debate" to J"ack Thompson wants to have sex with me," only one of your writers could explain. As you know, that was a total contrivance, and I asked you to retract that outrageous assertion which you actually published at your site—the assertion that I was soliciting this person for sex. You refused. I now intend to sue you and your site for that as well. With all that "Jack Thompson wants sex with a Kotaku writer" in the mix, you nevertheless wrote the above false story. Incredible. Do you have any idea what "actual malice" is?

The "Mad Hatter" cartoon doesn't help you in that regard as well.

Nice going, Brian. Regards, Jack Thompson

Copy: Rocky Mountain News

Jack Thompson, Attorney
Land line: 305-666-4366, Cell: 305-588-3005
1172 South Dixie Hwy, Suite 111
Coral Gables, FL USA 33146 amendmentone@comcast.net

Subject: Re
Jack,
First let me say that I hope your wife is OK and I wish you luck on her procedure.

As I said to you when we discussed this on Saturday. I am more than happy to include comments from you, but I wasn't going to hold the story. You never replied so I ran it.

If you'd like to write something up for inclusion in the story now that you've read it I will promptly add it to the record.

As for this 1992 case. You can see by the official records provided me by the Floirda Bar, which I've included with the story, that I am only writing off the information included in your record with that state entity.

If there is some sort of mix up, I suggest you take it up with the Florida Bar. In the meantime, I will contact them today to verify that there wasn't some error in the information they sent to me when I filed an open records request with them for all of the ethics investigations involving your tenure as a lawyer in Florida.

Please do keep me informed with what you find out and I will make sure to let you know what they told me.
I will point out to you and your lawyer that your repeated attempts to cost me my job at the Rocky Mountain News could, I believe, be perceived as harassment and, as I've requested before, I suggest you stop it before I have to make a legal matter of it.
For you to so blatantly lie in this email, claiming that I wrote anything about you in the Rocky Mountain News or on the Rocky Mountain News' website only makes your position that much more precarious.
You are aware that sending out an email to multiple recipients constitutes "publishing" and that when these published comments include false and defamatory statements you are libeling me?
This story, as you well know, has nothing to do with the newspaper and contacting the paper is only a blatant attempt by you to try and bully me into not doing my job.
It won't work.
As for the debate. I believe Florian accepted your challenge and asked where and when and you said "mars." Although he no longer works for me, I'm sure he'd still be willing to debate you, barring space travel.
Thanks for your time and I await your comments for inclusion in the story.
Yours in God,
Brian

By: Brian Crecente (Art by Fahey)

Last week's flurry of activity surrounding Jack and the Florida Bar isn't something new. It seems that the two have had quite a number of run-ins over the years.

Way back in 2005, intrigued by Jack's petulant attitude and seemingly unprofessional behavior in the court room and in front of television cameras, I contacted the bar to see what sorts of things that had on file about MR. T.

I only received two complaints back because under their interpretation of state law they argued they only had to provide me with closed cases. I've never really had a reason to post about them, but in light of this latest investigation I feel they could make for good reading material. Hit the jump for summaries of both cases as well as all of the scanned documents from the cases, for your reading pleasure. I've also gotten my paws on a PDF of the most recent complaint, all 40 pages of it. Brian Crecente

The Florida Bar v. John Bruce Thompson

Case No: SC07-80
Florida Bar File Nos: 2005-70,305; 2005-71,125; 2006-70,570;2006-70,766;2006-70,909
Date: 2006
Outcome: Still proceeding.
Summary: This case is about a number of alleged infractions on Thompson's part, in a number of different cases, but most of them dealt with his deft touch in an Alabama civil case.
After being allowed to represent the plaintiffs in an Alabama civil case surrounding the murder of two police officers and a radio dispatcher in Fayette, the court found that Thompson filed a complaint before getting that permission. The judge also found that Thompson spoke about the case outside of the court, sent letters to the court and "engaged in conduct that adversely reflects on his fitness to practice law." That included harassment, lying and intimidation, according to the judge.
Best Thompsonism: In a letter to the judge: "I was in your courtroom Judge, and I felt like Alice in Wonderland must have felt. It's okay for Mr. Smith to act like a Mafia thug, but it's unethical for me to point out the thuggery. What in Hell, literally, is going on here? This is utter, utter nonsense, and you're watching it, Judge."
Names the judge was called: knucklhead, bizarre, childish, improper, a player, a witness, an out-of-control tyrant
Names he called himself: A slithering snake, a pig slop
The full record: Download PDF here.

The Florida Bar v. John Bruce Thompson

Case No: None
Florida Bar File Nos: 2005-71,051
Date: May, 5, 2005
Outcome: No probable cause found because the Supreme Court of Ohio issued a finding that there was no evidence that Thompson engaged in the practice of law in their state.
Summary: In March, 2005, an Adams County, Ohio Special Assistant Prosecuting Attorney filed a complaint with the Florida Bar alleging that Thompson tried to inject himself in a case there despite not having an Ohio-license and being told by the judge he couldn't. He also continued to tell people he was representing the family in the case, despite the order, according to the allegation.
The Ohio attorney goes on to detail a laundry list of accusations including seeking publicity in the trial, lying, being disrespectful, being unprofessional and sending improper letters to others involved in the case.
Despite the fact that the Ohio State Supreme Court, and the judge presiding over the case, found that Thompson never practiced any law in the case, many publications, including Game Politics, Gamespot and the Columbus Dispatch reported that he would represent the family of Gail Knisley, shot and killed in November 2003 by Charles A. McCoy Jr., an avid gamer, while she drove on an interstate in the Columbus area.
Best Thompsonism: In a letter to the the Florida Bar's chief branch discipline counsel: "You can see in the correspondence the three cases in Ohio that prove I was no more practicing law in Ohio than I was playing centerfield for the Cleveland Indians."
...
"Maybe he can conjure up some kind of cause of action against Ohio-based Bob Evans Farm Sausage for my illicit use of ham on my fists. This is the first time I can recall a Bar complaint that brings pigs into the discussion."
Names he calls others: a liar, thin-skinned, big fish in a little pond, blind, unprofessional, childish, ham-fisted.
Names he called himself: A center fielder for the Cleveland Indians, illegal user of... hams... on his... fists?
The full record: Click on images for the full-sized page.

The Florida Bar v. John Bruce Thompson

Case No: 78,765 and 79,339
Florida Bar File Nos: 89-71,062;89-71,416
Date: Oct. 1, 1992
Outcome: Guilty plea. Public reprimand for professional misconduct and $3,000 for costs.
Summary: This record was on the verge of being deep-sixed when I rescued it from the Florida Bar. Unfortunately, it is very light on details. All I can gather is that Thompson was accused of, and later admitted to, trying to get someone to hire him as a lawyer after the person already had one. He also admits to not doing an adequate pre-filing investigation in an unnamed case.
Best Thompsonism: Document is just a summary and totally lacking in quotes.
Names the judge was called: Document is just a summary and totally lacking in quotes.
Names he called himself: Document is just a summary and totally lacking in quotes.
The full record: Click on images for the full-sized page.

GamePolitics is reporting that Jack Thompson has once more been called up on a complaint with the Florida Bar.

This time around the case has been kicked to a referee, appointed by the Florida Supreme Court.

The pending judicial review follows a Florida Bar ruling that five counts of professional misconduct against Jackie-boy be kicked to the state supreme court for action.

Three of the complaints deal with Mr. T's participation in the Strickland Vs/ Sony case in Alabama, GP reports.

In the suit, Thompson represented the families of two Fayette, Alabama police officers and a police dispatcher murdered by an 18-year-old Grand Theft Auto player in 2003. At the time of his arrest for the killings, Devin Moore reportedly said, "Life is like a video game. You have to die sometime." Moore, subsequently convicted of the murders, now sits on Alabama's Death Row. Thompson was not involved in the criminal case against Moore.

GP reports in detail on the laundry list of complaints against the seemingly unstable attorney whose tirades against judges and attorneys after he loses a case are more memorable than anything he's actually done to further a case.

The other two complaints against Jack deal with his attacks on shock radio in south Florida. Apparently, while the targets for his vitriolic attacks change, his tactics do not.

Looking through the Florida Supreme Court's past rulings against attorneys, I'd guess we could expect to hear something on Jack in the next week or two at most.

Check back Monday for a fun little look at some of Jack's past run-ins with the Florida Bar, court documents included. It's a bit o fun. Brian Crecente

BREAKING: Jack Thompson Faces Florida Supreme Court Disciplinary Hearing [Game Politics]