The Associated Press is reporting that the Alabama Supreme has rejected an appeal by video game industry defendants to dismiss the so-called "GTA Killer" case in which 18-year-old GTA gamer Devin Moore killed two police officers and a police dispatcher. Upon his arrest, Moore told investigators, "Life is like a video game; everybody has to die sometime."

In November, Fayette County Judge James Moore rejected the industry's motion for summary judgment (i.e. - dismissal) in the $600 million suit brought against Sony, Take-Two, Wal-Mart and GameStop. Lawyers for the game companies appealed Moore's decision to the state Supreme Court, which backed the circuit judge, who has been described to GP by one knowledgeable observer as a firm but fair old school conservative.

The justices issued their decision without comment, which will allow the case to proceed to trial. The court did, however, agree to hear arguments from the game industry as to whether Alabama courts have the power to hear the case, Strickland vs. Sony.

GamePolitics has received a press release from Miami attorney and self-described "anti-game activist" Jack Thompson, claiming that a wrongful death lawsuit against the video game industry will be allowed to go forward. Defense attorneys representing Sony, Take-Two, Rockstar, Wal-Mart and GameStop had petitioned Judge James Moore of the Fayette County Court to dismiss the case outright for lack of merit.

GP has confirmed Judge Moore's decision with an official of the Fayette County Court where the case was filed earlier this year.

Although it has no bearing on the eventual outcome of the trial, the ruling is a clear setback for the industry and a victory for the plaintiffs. The families of two Fayette police officers and a police dispatcher murdered in 2003 by GTA player Devin Moore are seeking hundreds of millions of dollars in damages from the video game industry defendants.

Thompson, whose over-the-top conduct got him thrown off the case by Judge Moore last month, indicates in his press release that he "...will likely be a witness in the case..." and "...will be assisting plaintiffs' counsel during the discovery process and in the courtroom at trial..."

Read Judge Moore's ruling here. The Tuscaloosa News has a little more on this.

Controversial Miami attorney Jack Thompson wasted no time in responding to Alabama Circuit Court Judge James Moore's request for opinions on defense motions to dismiss Strickland vs. Sony as well as to have Thompson removed from the case.

During Thursday's hearing in Fayette County, Alabama, Blank Rome attorney Jim Smith, representing video game industry clients, raised a variety of ethical and procedural issues regarding Thompson's history, conduct and high profile with the media. This morning Thompson forwarded a written response to Judge Moore. GamePolitics has obtained a copy from the self-described "anti-game crusader."

In his response, Thompson denies that his media appearances are unethical. Instead, he paints Blank Rome as a politically shady, big-money law firm protecting the interests of what he refers to as the "pornographic sectors of the video game industry whom Mr. Smith so ably represents at probably $500 an hour."

Doubtless believing that the best defense is a good offense, Thompson calls on Judge Moore to remove Smith from the case and report the Blank Rome attorney to the Pennsylvania Bar, alleging, "He lied, to your face."

While the defense team has filed objections to Thompson's steady stream of press releases, Thompson frames these in terms of public health and safety.

"Judge Moore, I have, in compliance with Rule 3.6 (Alabama Code of Professional Responsibility), warned the public of the danger posed by these games, according to the concerns of most everyone except Take-Two/Rockstar and Blank Rome."

Thompson squeezes in a mention of his soon-to-be-released book, which apparently came up during Thursday's hearing in Alabama.

"I have an entire chapter in my book Out of Harm's Way, which I flashed in the courtroom, that deals with just this topic - how corporate interests have stolen the social conservative agenda of the GOP, and it was when this lone chapter was pitched to Tyndale House at the annual Christian Bookseller's Convention over eighteen months ago that Tyndale House decided to contract with me to publish the book. Do I have to take that chapter out of the book because Mr. Smith finds it inconvenient?"

It is unclear whether Thompson plans to file additional responses with the Fayette County Court. The full text of his letter is available here.

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.

GamePolitics has been previewing the Strickland vs. Sony case all week as game-bashing Miami attorney Jack Thompson and lawyers for the video game industry defendants have been preparing to square off in a rural courthouse in Fayette, Alabama. Hundreds of millions of dollars are at stake, as well as perhaps the future direction of video game design, so, yeah, this is a big, big case.

GP won't rehash the background of Strickland. It's all available here on the site if you just scroll back a few days. But we did promise our readers a prediction on the outcome of the case, so here's what GP's crystal ball says will happen when the trial opens today at 1:00 P.M. Alabama time:

First, the defense team's attempt to remove Jack Thompson from the case via their motion to revoke Thompsons's Pro Hac Vice admission to the Alabama Bar will fail.

While the defense attorneys made an interesting case to remove Thompson, much of the evidence they offered is subject to interpretation and opinion. What's more, the right to choose one's own attorney is a powerful thing in the American legal system. GP believes that Judge Moore, an old-school jurist, will be reluctant to deny the plaintiffs their preferred lawyer - especially when those plaintiffs are the grieving families of two murdered police officers and a murdered police dispatcher, public servants of the Fayette community.

So Jack Thompson stays on the case.

That, however, will be Jack's only victory in Alabama. GamePolitics foresees Judge Moore granting a defense motion to dismiss the case based on a lack of merit, effectively ending the proceeding before it gets started.

Why?

While it's true that death row inmate Devin Moore did play Grand Theft Auto III and GTA Vice City, Judge Moore (no relation) is well aware that the youthful cop killer had a horrendous upbringing by a drug-addicted mother and a severely abusive father. Doubtless the judge has seen many similarly damaged children end up in the clutches of the criminal justice system and standing before him for sentencing.

What's more, there is simply no compelling evidence indicating that playing a violent video game can turn someone into a triple murderer. The conservative, no-nonsense Judge Moore does not seem the type of jurist to discard the notion of personal responsibility in favor of a gimmick such as "video games made me do it." Remember, too, that Judge Moore refused to allow any video game testimony at Devin Moore's criminal trial on the murder charges in August.

So, GP predicts game over for "Strickland vs. Sony," unless Jack Thompson has some type of appeal up his sleeve. We should know more by late this afternoon, so stay tuned.

There is one caveat to this prediction, however. Thompson informed us late yesterday morning that the defense team submitted what he described as a "300-page attack on me" to the court. It is not known what the new document entailed and we have been unable to reach Thompson for comment as he is doubtless busy in preparation for today's opening of the case.

In what could be a landmark case for the video game industry, Strickland vs. Sony is scheduled to begin on Thursday in Fayette County, Alabama. The families of two police officers and a police dispatcher slain by death row inmate Devin Moore are suing Sony, Take-Two, Rockstar, Wal-Mart and GameStop, alleging that Moore's obsessive playing of GTA III and Vice City led to the murders. Miami attorney Jack Thompson is representing the police families.

Yesterday, GamePolitics had exclusive coverage of a surprising motion by the defense team to have Thompson removed from the case. Today, we provide the 411 on who's who in Strickland vs. Sony.

The Judge:

- James Moore is an Alabama Circuit Court Judge, who covers three counties, including Fayette, where the Strickland case will be heard. Moore presided over the August criminal trial of Devin Moore as well. Devin Moore was found guilty and a death sentence was recommended by the jury. Judge Moore affirmed the death sentence and Devin Moore now sits on death row. Perhaps ominously for the Strickland case, Judge Moore did not allow any video game testimony at the criminal trial, despite the defense team's attempt to introduce it. A source familiar with Judge Moore described him to GamePolitics as "old school, conservative and fair but no-nonsense."



Plaintiffs:

- Steve Strickland, brother of slain Fayette officer Arnie Strickland (seen at upper left)

- Willie Crump, father of slain Fayette officer James Crump (seen at left)

- Henry Mealer, surviving family member of slain Fayette dispatcher Ace Mealer

Plaintiffs' Counsel:

- Jack Thompson, no introduction needed, licensed in Florida, serving in Alabama under Pro Hac Vice admission

- Patrick Gray, of Nelson, Dorroh, Gray & Newsome; Tuscaloosa attorney serving as Thompson's local co-counsel, as required under Alabama Bar regulations for Pro Hac Vice admission

Defendants:

- Sony Corporation of America (as manufacturer of PS2 system on which Moore played GTA games)

- Sony Computer Entertainment, Inc (SCEI)

- Sony Computer Entertainment of America (SCEA)

- Take-Two Interactive (as publisher of GTA games)

- Wal-Mart Stores, Inc (as retailer of GTA game played by Moore)

- GameStop, Inc (as retailer of GTA game played by Moore)

- Rockstar Games, Inc (as developer of GTA III and Vice City)

- Devin Moore (as killer of decedents)

Defense Counsel:

- James T. Smith, Blank Rome, Philadelphia

- Rebecca D. Ward, Blank Rome, Philadelphia

- Robert R. Baugh, Sirote & Permutt, Birmingham, AL

- Merrell Nolen, Nolen & Nolen, Fayette, AL

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...and the Tuscaloosa News has an excellent piece on Devin Moore's death row letter.

The Associated Press reports that after convicting Devin Moore, 20, in the murder of two Fayette police officers and a police dispatcher, an Alabama jury is now considering penalties. Moore could be sentenced to death by lethal injection, an option recommended by prosecutors. The only other possibility is life in prison without parole.

The defense team, however, requested that the jury of eleven women and one man spare Moore's life, saying he was the victim of severe child abuse at the hands of his father and had an unloving mother. During the trial the defense also argued that Moore's June, 2003 rampage was in part influenced by compulsive playing of Grand Theft Auto III and Vice City.

Whatever decision is reached by the jury, presiding judge James Moore will have the final decision on the fate of the killer.

The Associated Press is reporting that closing arguments have ended and an Alabama jury is now deliberating the fate of Devin Moore, accused of killing two Fayette police officers and a police dispatcher in June, 2003. The jury of 11 women and one man began deliberating around 5:15 p.m. CDT.

Throughout the three-week trial the defense team portrayed Moore as insane due to childhood abuse and compulsive playing of Grand Theft Auto III and Vice City. However the judge in the case barred the defense testimony of a psychologist who was expected to link Moore's gaming with the murderous rampage. Despite that setback, defense attorney Jim Standridge reminded the jurors that after his arrest Moore told police, "Life is a video game, everybody has to die sometime."

The prosecution disagreed with that view.

"Did you hear any expert tell you anything about a video game contributing to these crimes? District Attorney Chris McCool asked the jury in his closing argument. "The evidence is clear. This defendant is guilty. He was not crazy. He was mean."

Our colleague Robert DeWitt with the Tuscaloosa News reports that the defense has rested in the trial of admitted cop-killer Devin Moore.

Today's testimony featured a psychiatrist and a psychologist who presented contradictory testimony about Moore's state of mind on the night that he killed two police officers and a police dispatcher in Fayette, Alabama.

The Associated Press has more on the courtroom drama.

Defense witness Dr. Charles Nevels testified that Moore suffers from Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), and that Moore was in a dream-like dissociative state when he killed the victims.

"My opinion was that he was unaware of what he was doing, the wrongfulness of it," Nevels said. "And there wasn't anything he could do about it."

Under cross-examination, Nevels admitted that PTSD doesn't necessarily impair one's ability to judge right from wrong.

Psychologist Brent Willis concurred that Moore suffers from PTSD. But he believed that Moore exaggerated his symptoms during evaluations and knew exactly what he was doing on the night of his murderous rampage.
Willis said Moore has clear memories of the shootings and his escape efforts showed goal-directed behavior, not typically found in someone suffering from a dissociative state.