Game Politics

Courtroom Conflict in Alabama GTA Cop Killer Lawsuit

Predictably, things got ugly in Fayette County Court yesterday as the long-awaited Strickland vs. Sony case opened before Judge James Moore.

As reported by the Tuscaloosa News, the issue yesterday was controversial Miami attorney Jack Thomspon, not video games.

"He (Thompson) can't proceed with the civility the rules require," said attorney Jim Smith, representing the video game industry defendants. "All lawyers have to conduct themselves with honesty, integrity and civility. This isn't a street fight. He's going to turn the courtroom into a circus and we can't have it."

"I didn't start this food fight," Thompson responded. "They started it and I have a right to respond because, believe it or not, I have a life outside of this case... I'm not pretending I don't have a temper."

Thompson reiterated claims that Take-Two and Rockstar have accused him of being a "bi-sexual and a pedophile." As previously reported on GamePolitics, the controversial attorney has in the past based this assertion on Rockstar's marketing campaign for GTA: Liberty City Stories, which includes a web-based parody of Thompson.

Smith also made the argument that Thompson violated legal ethics by issuing numerous press releases which accuse defense firm Blank Rome of a variety of unsavory things. The defense presented a thick volume of Thompson's press releases as evidence. This would likely be the "300-page attack on me" that Thompson mentioned to GP Wednesday evening. According to the account in the Tuscaloosa News, this issue seemed to resonate with Judge Moore, who had previously placed a gag order on both sides but lifted it following the criminal trial of Devin Moore in August.

"Why did you do this?" the judge asked.

"You said after the criminal trial to 'have at it,'" Thompson replied.

"Your 'have at it' and my 'have at it' are not the same," Moore said, gesturing to the stack of press releases as he made this comment to Thompson.

The dust-up came as the video game industry defense team presented their case on a motion to remove Thompson. Lawyers for the defendants also presented arguments to dismiss the case for lack of merit. Defense co-counsel Rebecca Ward told the court that video games should enjoy the same First-amendment protection as other forms of media, and that the plaintiffs' case showed no evidence that GTA III and GTA Vice City incited Devin Moore to kill two Fayette police officers and a police dispatcher in June of 2003.

Citing school shootings in Littleton, CO and Paducah, KY, Thompson argued that Moore's murderous rampage was foreseeable.

"They equipped this man to kill. They trained him," Thompson told the court.

Judge Moore reserved decision on the defense motions, asking both sides to draft opinions. GP has been told by the Fayette County Court that there are no further court dates scheduled at this time. Nor, somewhat surprisingly, did Judge Moore reinstate the previous gag order on the parties.