We're all going to have to learn to spell "Albuquerque."

That's because we're going to be hearing a lot about the New Mexico city, since Jack Thompson's promised video game violence lawsuit is going to land there today. As reported by the Albuquerque Journal Thompson and a local attorney, Steven Sanders, will file a wrongful death suit based on the July, 2004 murders committed by Cody Posey, 15 at the time.

Posey, 15 at the time of the killings, was found guilty early this year of murdering his father, stepmother and stepsister. Sentenced as a juvenile, he will be held until he turns 21. The defense maintained that Posey was severely abused by his father.

The video game connection is not yet clear.

Jack Thompson has been teasing a planned lawsuit which he says will be announced Monday.

On Friday GP was treated to a subject-line only e-mail which read, "So, Dennis, you going to my big news conference Monday?"

Not if you don't tell me where it is, Jack.

Later, GP and GameSpot received a similar message, saying only, "Big news conference by Jack Thompson Monday. Hooah!"

Hooah, indeed. This morning the anti-game activist dropped a little more news in the comments section of GP's The Political Game column on Joystiq. Thompson wrote:

"On Monday, September 25, Thompson will journey to another state and announce, with his co-counsel, the filing of what will likely prove to be hugely significant wrongful death action against Sony and Take-Two..."

So, it's a GTA case...
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You want the inside scoop on yesterday's video game law hearing in Utah? We've got it covered like a blanket here at GamePolitics, including the impressions of a local game developer who attended the hearing.

Although he indicated last week that he would be there, anti-game activist Jack Thompson didn't make it due to what he described to GP as a "pressing litigation matter" in Florida.

Lame duck bill sponsor David Hogue (R) and Rep. Scott Wyatt, apparently the bill's new sponsor, offered an amendment to have HB257 mirror the language of Thompson's ill-fated Louisiana video game law.

Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff, according to an industry source, did a thorough job of explaining the bill's constitutional problems to the committee. As GamePolitics has previously noted, Shurtleff has a friendly relationship with the ESRB, and has engaged in a Utah-based campaign to educate parents about video game ratings.

GP has learned that some legislators apparently left the hearing, causing the committee to lose its quorum just after lunchtime. That development led to an adjournment with no action taken on the bill. Discussions are likely to resume next month.

As mentioned, a video game developer attended the hearing. We provide his report, preserving his request not to publish his name. The content, which arrived in e-mail, has been edited slightly for readability (not that it wasn't well-written, but the author didn't plan on it going straight into a GP article. Material in parentheses was inserted by GP. We greatly appreciate this on-the-spot info):

"Well, Jack Thompson wasn't there today, so I'm disappointed... What did happen is that the sponsor, Rep. Hogue, came up and talked about his bill. He brought up Columbine, and all sorts of school shootings. He described how violent 'videos' were, and how they should be regulated."

"He brought up the American Psychological Association (APA); how violence in video games made kids violent; and how kids between 14-18 are in a critical development stage. And of course, he brought up those favorite whipping boys, 'Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas' and - as Hogue calls it - 'The Bully'."

"Then they brought up an amendment to the bill, and basically changed the bill so that instead of defining certain types of violence, they just use the same three prong test as with pornography. Some committee members brought up the idea of porn equalling violence in video games, asking 'if we can regulate porn, why can't we regulate violence the same way?' At least one committee member did bring up the first amendment, and it was discussed briefly."

"The Attorney General (Shurtleff) came up and discussed the bill and its likelihood of passing court scrutiny. He mentioned that every district court has ruled against every violent video game law made so far, and that the odds of this bill surviving court scrutiny was 'very slim'. Rep. Hogue tried to defend the bill, saying that this bill does something different from other bills, and that it doesn't try to take games off of shelves. Other committee members brought up concerns about supporting a bill that would be 'tied up in the courts' and 'waste of money defending it'.

"Then an old lady came up and complained how society was becoming more violent, and that something needs to be done. She said that this bill needed to be passed, and it didn't matter if we wasted money defending it. It's for the children, etc."

"The ESA guy (apparently a lobbyist - the industry routinely offers testimony at these hearings) came up and talked about how in eight court cases so far, we've won eight of them. He mentioned the ESRB, and how he was working with the Attorney General in promoting the ESRB to Utah parents. Then, during question time, well, some of the committee members were rough on him. One of them nearly accused him of making violent games for kids. Of course, the ESA guy wasn't a game developer, but an attorney, so he really couldn't comment on that. Other committee members appeared to honestly not know what the ESRB was, and has questions about it."

"After the ESA guy, time ran out and several members of the committee had to leave. They tried to deny a motion to adjourn, but they left anyway. They decided that this issue was of too great importance to leave unresolved, so they shelved it until October. I'm rather disappointed that I didn't get to speak, but at least I get a chance to refine my testimony for next time."

Despite the fact that he will be leaving public office in 90 days, Rep. David Hogue (left) isn't giving up on video game legislation.

As reported by the Deseret News, the lame-duck Republican is seeking to revive failed video game legislation in the Utah House. His bill, HB257 S01, is of the "games as porn" variety. It will be given a hearing before the legislature's Judiciary Interim Committee today.

The Hogue bill passed the House overwhelmingly early this year, but died in the Senate. It would need to be re-introduced in the next legislative session, and will require a sponsor, since Hogue will no longer be a House member. Today's hearing is an apparent effort to develop support for the bill in 2007.
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In the wake of a contentious relationship with officials assigned to defend his Louisiana game law, anti-game violence attorney Jack Thompson says his next stop will be in Salt Lake City. Thompson plans to testify on video game violence before the Utah House next week.

Although he has not responded to GP's e-mail request to elaborate, it seems likely that Thompson will appear before the Judiciary Interim Committee which meets on September 20th. Lame duck Rep. David Hogue (R) is on the agenda to discuss "material harmful to minors."

GP readers may recall Hogue's failed attempt to pass "games as porn" legislation earlier this year. Indeed, some of Hogue's remarks bore an uncanny resemblance to Thompson's rhetoric. Hogue said at the time, for example, that Red Lake Minnesota school shooter Jeffrey Weise "literally trained himself on Grand Theft Auto."
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From the Louisiana Governor's office on down, Jack Thompson has ripped a number of high-level officials in the ugly reality show surrounding the court fight over the state's video game law. Now the volatile Miami attorney has added a new target.

In a letter sent yesterday to Louisiana Governor Kathleen Babineaux Blanco and Attorney General Charles Foti, Thompson unleashed a string of criticism upon Federal District Court James Brady, who is hearing the case. Among other comments, Thompson accuses Judge Brady of bias:

"As to Judge Brady, you two (Blanco and Foti), as fellow Democrats, know of his liberal views and his past Chairmanship of the Louisiana Democratic Party. He was nominated by President Clinton because of his liberalism, and with that liberalism goes an absolutist view of the First Amendment that the Founders would not recognize."
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The strange, contentious situation surrounding the legal defense of Louisiana's video game law has gotten even stranger and more contentious.

Yesterday, Miami attorney Jack Thompson (left) forwarded to GamePolitics a pair of e-mails. The first was from Deputy Louisiana Attorney General Burton Guidry to Thompson, sent late Wednesday afternoon:

"Ok Mr. Thompson, put up or shut up. I need affidavits and other documentation to defeat a motion for summary judgment. If you really want to help just get me the affidavits and some scientific data that can defeat this motion as soon as possible. Time is of the essence since [the game industry's motion] has been filed today. I need the information by Monday in my hands for filing. Can you and will you?"

Guidry is referring to the video game industry's motion for summary judgment, filed with Federal Judge James Brady's court earlier that day.
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Are lives really at stake in the legal fight over Louisiana's video game law, or has the situation devolved into a finger-pointing battle of bruised egos?

Over the last 18 months GamePolitics has reported extensively on anti-game attorney Jack Thompson's relentless crusade against video game violence. Nowhere during that time has Thompson enjoyed the kind of political success he found recently in Louisiana. Readers will recall that Thompson drafted the state's video game law, testified on its behalf, and basked in its unanimous approval by the legislature.
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GamePolitics has confirmed that the Peaceoholics, a Washington, D.C.-based community group, will stage a protest demonstration outside the Lower Manhattan offices of Take-Two Interactive later today.

Ronald Moten, co-founder and chief operating officer of the Peaceoholics, confirmed to GamePolitics last night that group members would board buses this morning for the trip to the Big Apple. The Peaceoholics are cooperating with anti-game activist Jack Thompson on the action, which is designed to draw attention to the upcoming release of Bully by Take-Two subsidiary Rockstar Games.

The grass roots community group is quite active in the D.C. area on anti-violence initiatives, including a failed 2005 attempt by City Councilman Adrian Fenty to regulate the sale of violent games. Thompson and the Peaceoholics teamed up to stage a similar demonstration outside Take-Two headquarters last August. That effort received coverage by New York television stations and newspapers.

Controversial Miami attorney Jack Thompson has indicated that there will be a demonstration, apparently against the upcoming release of Bully, this Friday outside Take-Two Interactive's Manhattan HQ.

According to a terse e-mail from the activist lawyer, the protest will be staged by " a group of children protesting Take-Two's targeting of kids with their adult entertainment."

Thompson, who cc'd Manhattan District Attorney Robert Morgenthau on the message, did not respond to GP's e-mail request for more information. As reported previously by GamePolitics, Morgenthau' office is conducting a grand jury investigation into Take-Two.
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Tricky bunch, politicians...

In an article posted at St. Tammany.com, Louisiana State Rep. Steve Scalise (R) discusses his desire to attract video game developers to the Katrina-ravaged state.

"Content production in video is similar to film." Scalise said. "It is a market sector that the state has not tapped into that could generate millions of dollars in revenue. It is mobile, driven by creative talent, is a big growth industry that provides a large number of high paying jobs - it is the kind of business we want to bring to Louisiana."

Scalise told St. Tammany that he and others had reached out to the game industry nearly two years ago, but Katrina "knocked everything back to square one."
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You can't get double-talk cheaper, anywhere.

Wal-mart, that bastion of low prices - and low wages - appears to be doing the corporate P.R. two-step in light of its decision to stop pre-order sales of Bully from its web store, Wal-mart.com. The move came shortly after controversial Miami attorney Jack Thompson filed suit against the giant retailer and Bully publisher Take-Two Interactive in a Florida court on Wednesday.

The suit and the pulling of the game are not related, according to a Wal-mart P.R. spokesman, who claims that the mega-retailer coincidentally just happened to implement a policy not to pre-sell unrated (or RP for "rating pending") games on the same day that Thompson's Florida case was filed. GP's very limited review of Wal-mart's website this morning, however, quickly turned up several such games for sale, including Crackdown, Phantasy Star Universe, and Justice League Heroes.
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The federal judge presiding over ESA/EMA vs. Foti, the video game industry's constitutional challenge to Louisiana's new video game law, has indicated he will rule soon on the industry's request for a preliminary injunction.

Federal District Court Judge James Brady held what is known as a "status conference" yesterday in his chambers. Representing the video game industry were local attorney James Brown and lead attorney Paul Smith, who was conferenced in via speakerphone. Smith (left) has enjoyed a string of victories on behalf of the video game industry of late, including big wins in Ilinois, Michigan and Minnesota.
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Like many gamers, controversial Miami attorney Jack Thompson is hoping for a sneak peek at Bully.

Thompson's interest in the much-discussed game however, is hardly that of a fan.

In a lengthy, rambling suit filed earlier today with the Miami-Dade Circuit Court, Thompson has demanded that publisher Take-Two Interactive supply him with a copy of Bully "so that its content can be fairly assessed by someone, prior to its commercial release, other than a) a hand-picked member of the media and b) the ESRB with its history of, at best, ineptitude in analyzing the content of Take-Two products... If Bully is indeed safe for children's play, then petitioner (Thompson) will be the first to say so."

The request that a game publisher supply a multi-million dollar development project to an outside source for evaluation is unprecedented, and is certain be turned down, if not ignored completely. Attorneys for Take-Two will no doubt move for a dismissal of Thompson's suit.
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Too short, too much talking over one another, not enough shaving...

That was GP's take on yesterday's G4 game violence wrestling match between Adam Sessler, Mark Friedler and Jack Thompson.

But make your own judgment. Joystiq has the video.

Game-bashing attorney Jack Thompson writes in to let us know that he will be a guest on G4's Attack of the Show later today.

Given the timing, the obvious assumption is that Thompson's appearance relates to Rockstar's announcement of the October release of Bully.

Thompson adds, "Not bad for someone who, according to bloggers at Game Politics and elsewhere, has nothing relevant to say in the culture war battle over violent games... Oh, and so much for the patent lie that I am afraid to confront my critics. I've confronted more critics than Northern Israel has confronted Hezbollah missiles."

Catchy phrase, that. Rolls right off the tongue.
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State Rep. Roy Burrell (D) is standing by his man.

The sponsor of Louisiana's contested video game law refused to be drawn into the nasty fight Jack Thompson picked in recent days with Attorney General Charles Foti (D) and his deputy, Burton Guidry (see yesterday's GP coverage for details).
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