Even After Being Disbarred, Jack Thompson Can File Misguided Mistargeted Lawsuits

from the good-luck,-Jack dept

Wed, Sep 30th 2009 3:33pm — Mike Masnick

Ah, Jack Thompson. The lawyer who made a name for himself years ago by trying to misdirect the blame for pretty much any violent action by any teenager by claiming that it was "the video games' fault" has since been disbarred, and last we heard was getting scolded by Utah state politicians -- the one state where politicians were still putting up with his unsubstantiated claims. And, of course, through it all he continues to claim that everyone is out to get him -- with various video game blogs being a favorite target.

Of course, even though he's been disbarred, it doesn't mean he can't continue filing misguided lawsuits on a pro se basis -- and that's what he's done now. Eric Goldman alerts us to the news that Jack Thompson is now suing Facebook because some people on Facebook have said some mean stuff about him. Now, there's no doubt that some people online have said incredibly mean and hateful things about Jack, and may have made statements that are potentially threatening. But, apparently, while filing all of these lawsuits and getting disbarred, Jack Thompson never bothered to read Section 230 of the CDA, which protects the service provider (such as, say, Facebook) from the actions of its users. Details, apparently, are not Thompson's strong suit:

There's a bit in there where he suggests that there's some massive organized campaign against him, rather than just a bunch of random people having fun with him, because they appear to think he's a bit out to lunch.

Thank you for reading this Techdirt post. With so many things competing for everyone’s attention these days, we really appreciate you giving us your time. We work hard every day to put quality content out there for our community.

Techdirt is one of the few remaining truly independent media outlets. We do not have a giant corporation behind us, and we rely heavily on our community to support us, in an age when advertisers are increasingly uninterested in sponsoring small, independent sites — especially a site like ours that is unwilling to pull punches in its reporting and analysis.

While other websites have resorted to paywalls, registration requirements, and increasingly annoying/intrusive advertising, we have always kept Techdirt open and available to anyone. But in order to continue doing so, we need your support. We offer a variety of ways for our readers to support us, from direct donations to special subscriptions and cool merchandise — and every little bit helps. Thank you.

–The Techdirt Team

Filed Under: jack thompson, lawsuits, pro se, section 230
Companies: facebook

24 Comments

If you liked this post, you may also be interested in...

Reader Comments

Subscribe: RSS

View by: Time | Thread

Anonymous Poster, 30 Sep 2009 @ 4:07pm

Jack Thompson is a blithering idiot and a plight on both the American legal system and intelligent, free-thinking people in general. He should be confined to a lunatic asylum until his death to protect humanity.

(Jack Thompson vs. Techdirt in 3...2...1...)
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 30 Sep 2009 @ 4:11pm

From what I've read so far, the conspiracy includes Take-Two, Penny Arcade, Facebook, the Constitution, flowers, bad parents, the internets, the aliens from District 9, Barack Obama, Dick Cheney, Thompson's neighbors, Stephen Colbert, and the Church of Scientology.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Poster, 30 Sep 2009 @ 4:12pm

Re:
You forgot Vince McMahon.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Yakko Warner, 30 Sep 2009 @ 4:14pm

Re:
That's odd. He left out the Florida Judicial System.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Master Chief, 30 Sep 2009 @ 4:15pm

Obvious misdirect
He is just trying to get someone else to use the violence in video games as a defense for their aggressive action. This guy is brilliant!

He should also sue "crowd sourcing" since there is an organized campaign against him on the inter-web thingy.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Lawrence D'Oliveiro, 30 Sep 2009 @ 4:22pm

Declare Him A “Vexatious Litigant”
Do you have that concept in the US?
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Chunky Vomit, 30 Sep 2009 @ 4:46pm

You forgot the adjective mistarded.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 30 Sep 2009 @ 4:55pm

If we don't put a stop to violent video games all chaos will break loose and the world will end. It will be doomsday all over again, just like how the dinosaurs went extinct.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Matt (profile), 30 Sep 2009 @ 5:21pm

Re: Declare Him A â��Vexatious Litigantâ��
State-specific. Some have fee-shifting rules that make stupid plaintiffs pay the attorney fees of successful defendants. In federal court, it depends on the substantive law of the case. I have not read this complaint, so no idea if vexatious conduct will matter.

In some states, including mine, a person can be declared a vexatious litigant and thereafter requires court approval before he can file any action. Only one person has ever been so declared, and it was because he was suing the judges themselves.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
WarOtter (profile), 30 Sep 2009 @ 5:28pm

Must be karma
Must be some sort of weird cosmic karma. I referenced JT in a post elsewhere yesterday, and today there is a news story about him.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Lucretious, 30 Sep 2009 @ 6:22pm

what kills me is that the very blogs that he accuses of attacking him have gone out of their way to be cordial and have given him plenty of space to spout his moronic rhetoric. Kotaku, Destructoid, Gamepolitics, etc have given him far more courtesy than the guy deserves.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Devin, 30 Sep 2009 @ 6:27pm

Hmm
You know, as idiotic as his claims may be, people go way too far. There is absolutely no reason to threaten the guy. I think people's actions almost make his case look even more realistic when these dumb kids who love their FPS and other violence-oriented games decide to harass him and threaten him, even if it is indirectly like on Facebook.

Threatening people is childish, but it should be taken seriously and as much as I dislike Jack Thompson's views, I completely agree that something has to be done to show threatening people is NOT okay.

Quite a few people have been hurt or even died from scandals on social networking sites like Facebook and Myspace, like the girl who committed suicide after a neighbor woman pretended to be a young good-looking boy on Myspace, then 'broke up' with the girl, telling her that her life was worthless and she should kill herself. Granted, it is probably either the psycho woman's fault for being crazy in the head, or the parents' fault for not knowing what was going on, or not raising their daughter to believe in herself and not need boys to feel good about herself, but the social networking sites seriously need to be forced to hold some form of responsibility if they are just going to let things like threats--or worse--happen. Dare I say, we need internet police? A crazy concept, but innocent and unwitting people are being hurt by the nut-cases who use the internet as their weapon of choice.

In the end, the internet is a dangerous place, and as much as I agree with free speech and all of that, there is a line that has been crossed many times now.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Devin, 30 Sep 2009 @ 6:39pm

Hmm
You know, as idiotic as his claims may be, people go way too far. There is absolutely no reason to threaten the guy. I think people's actions almost make his case look even more realistic when these dumb kids who love their FPS and other violence-oriented games decide to harass him and threaten him, even if it is indirectly like on Facebook.

Threatening people is childish, but it should be taken seriously and as much as I dislike Jack Thompson's views, I completely agree that something has to be done to show threatening people is NOT okay.

Quite a few people have been hurt or even died from scandals on social networking sites like Facebook and Myspace, like the girl who committed suicide after a neighbor woman pretended to be a young good-looking boy on Myspace, then 'broke up' with the girl, telling her that her life was worthless and she should kill herself. Granted, it is probably either the psycho woman's fault for being crazy in the head, or the parents' fault for not knowing what was going on, or not raising their daughter to believe in herself and not need boys to feel good about herself, but the social networking sites seriously need to be forced to hold some form of responsibility if they are just going to let things like threats--or worse--happen. Dare I say, we need internet police? A crazy concept, but innocent and unwitting people are being hurt by the nut-cases who use the internet as their weapon of choice.

In the end, the internet is a dangerous place, and as much as I agree with free speech and all of that, there is a line that has been crossed many times now.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
jjmsan (profile), 30 Sep 2009 @ 7:08pm

Re: Re:
Actually, he just recently filed a complaint against the president of the Florida Bar Association
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Steve, 30 Sep 2009 @ 7:47pm

I agree with Devin, but ...
is the restriction against Jack filing papers in Florida without the signature of another attorney in good standing still in force?
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 30 Sep 2009 @ 10:28pm

screw you Jack Thompson! Your not a damn lawyer anymore because you violated it. Now shut up and get a job at McD's and leave law to the lawyers.

Sue me if you don't like it, Good luck with that.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Lucretious, 1 Oct 2009 @ 2:04am

Re: Hmm

....but the social networking sites seriously need to be forced to hold some form of responsibility if they are just going to let things like threats--or worse--happen.

You are either incredibly naive or just trolling.

So you beleive enacting some kind of legislation is going to stop people from being (and there's no other word for it) assholes? You don't see any kind of slippery slope insofar as free speech is concerned? Do you realize the amount of content that users put up on Facebook daily? It numbers in the tens of millions. Facebook is simply a tool to let people connect and is no more responsible for "allowing" that girls death than it is for juvenile idiots threatening Thompson. That's why the Safe Harbors legislation was enacted. While the girls death is tragic, she could have reacted the same way to a phone call or a handwritten letter. Would you then accuse Verizon or the US Postal Service of "allowing" it to happen?
[ link to this | view in thread ]
athe, 1 Oct 2009 @ 2:21am

Re:
Yes, they were all killed the RROD...
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 1 Oct 2009 @ 3:31am

Re: Hmm
people go way too far?

i think you're just taking things too seriously. virtually everything written on the internet is either false or sarcastic. the proof is even in your own email. do you really think "hot sluts are waiting for your massive man meat right now"?
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Irate Pirate, 1 Oct 2009 @ 4:25am

Video games make me aggresive!
Well, not really. The only ones that make me pissed off and aggressive are the badly designed and/or buggy ones. They make me yell at the TV and curse the developers. :)
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Nick Coghlan, 1 Oct 2009 @ 4:46am

Re:
Don't forget Penn & Teller (Jack had a starring role in their Bullshit! episode about violence in video games).
[ link to this | view in thread ]
bobb, 1 Oct 2009 @ 6:15am

To Bad
We don't have a federal slap law just for tools like this.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Free Capitalist (profile), 1 Oct 2009 @ 7:22am

Jack Thompson is a victim
If Jack had only resisted the temptation and not played "Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney"...
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Philip (profile), 1 Oct 2009 @ 7:52am

Re: Hmm
but the social networking sites seriously need to be forced to hold some form of responsibility if they are just going to let things like threats--or worse--happen.

You may be onto something there! We may want to also look into enforcing phone companies to take responsibility for threats over the phone, too. Oh wait...that's right, that would be illegal. And why would it be legal on Facebook? Not to mention we're not even talking completely within US borders anymore.

You do know there are already current laws in place for serious threats on life, right? And I do mean serious. Imagine the world if you got arrested every time you said "I'm gonna kill you!" even though you really had no intent to do so.

Yes, the world is full of childish antics, but you know what? That's life. Learn to live with it and not take it so personal.
[ link to this | view in thread ]