The Florida Bar has finally had enough of Jack Thompson's antics in and out of court. The Florida Supreme Court has affirmed the Bar's recommendation to have him permanently disbarred from practicing law in Florida, effective in 30 days. According to
a report from GamePolitics, the June 2008 report of Judge Dava Tunis that originally
recommended Thompson's disbarment was heavily referenced in the new four-page document issued by the court Thursday.
"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."
Never one to accept the rulings of any authority other than himself, Thompson is fighting back with a lawsuit of his own. Kotaku has
a full report on his conspiracy theory response to the court's ruling, including a press release from the attorney excerpted below:
"Miami attorney Jack Thompson, nationally and internationally known by virtue of his effective and successful opposition over the last 20 years to the broadcast, marketing, and sale of adult-rated entertainment to children, has just been informed by the Florida Supreme Court that he has been disbarred from the practice of law today. "...It appears that the State of Florida will be paying Thompson more damages this time around for its illegal, now repeated, use of 'discipline' to punish a Christian lawyer for his activism in the public square.
"The timing of this disbarment transparently reveals its motivation: This past Friday Thompson filed a federal civil rights action against The Bar, the Supreme Court, and all seven of its Justices. This rush to disbarment is in retribution for the filing of that federal suit. With enemies this foolish, Thompson needs only the loyal friends he has.
"Thompson looks forward to successfully litigating his federal claims, now before US District Court Judge Marcia Cooke in the Southern District of Florida.
"Thompson always wanted to own a Bar. Now, armed with multiple U.S. Supreme Court rulings that no state bar can do what it has done to Thompson, he is set to own that Bar."
Sure, the man's quite probably crazy, but that's got to be the best ending to a "press release" that we've ever read. Did anyone not see this wild retaliation coming though? While we'd love to be done with stories about Jack Thompson for good, we totally expect that this guy isn't going to fade away that easily.
