Thompson Denied In Louisiana Video Game Law Case

Jack Thompson, self-proclaimed “only officially certified sane lawyer in the whole state of Florida“, has been prevented from making his own case in defense of Louisiana’s game-restriction law – a piece of legislation that he himself helped draft.

A report from Game Politics said that the judge presiding over the case has denied Thompson’s attempt to file an amicus curiae brief. An amicus curiae (“friend of the court”, for all us linguistically challenged folks) is someone who isn’t a party to a lawsuit, but wants to bring up information and arguments that might now otherwise be heard. Kinda like a gatecrasher. The game industry had opposed Thompson’s motion to file as a friend of the court, while Louisiana Attorney General Charles Foti, a defendant in the case, had, not surprisingly, approved of it.

The Louisiana law was signed by the governor and went into immediate effect last month, but the Entertainment Software Association (ESA) and the Entertainment Merchants Association (EMA) quickly filed suit to have it overturned. In one of those rare cases where immediate legal action was taken, a federal judge issued a temporary restraining order preventing the law from being enforced only a day after it was signed.

Right now, the case is waiting for the judge’s ruling on whether or not to turn the Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) into a preliminary injunction against the law.

Jack Thompson, self-proclaimed “only officially certified sane lawyer in the whole state of Florida“, has been prevented from making his own case in defense of Louisiana’s game-restriction law – a piece of legislation that he himself helped draft.

A report from Game Politics said that the judge presiding over the case has denied Thompson’s attempt to file an amicus curiae brief. An amicus curiae (“friend of the court”, for all us linguistically challenged folks) is someone who isn’t a party to a lawsuit, but wants to bring up information and arguments that might now otherwise be heard. Kinda like a gatecrasher. The game industry had opposed Thompson’s motion to file as a friend of the court, while Louisiana Attorney General Charles Foti, a defendant in the case, had, not surprisingly, approved of it.

The Louisiana law was signed by the governor and went into immediate effect last month, but the Entertainment Software Association (ESA) and the Entertainment Merchants Association (EMA) quickly filed suit to have it overturned. In one of those rare cases where immediate legal action was taken, a federal judge issued a temporary restraining order preventing the law from being enforced only a day after it was signed.

Right now, the case is waiting for the judge’s ruling on whether or not to turn the Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) into a preliminary injunction against the law.