Thompson faces flack from judge in GTA lawsuit

Anti-videogame campaigner Jack Thompson has accused a judge of violating the code of legal ethics after being removed from the GTA lawsuit and having his license to practice law in Alabama revoked.

Until earlier this month Thompson was the lead attorney in the case of Strickland vs. Sony, which was filed by the families of two police officers and a police dispatcher who were killed by a man who played Grand Theft Auto. The families are seeking damages from publishers, including Sony and Rockstar, and game retailers.

Thompson withdrew from the case after defence lawyers accused him of turning the courtroom "into a circus" and requested that his legal license be revoked.

Now that request has been granted, according to US website Game Politics, after Judge James Moore issued an 18-page document condemning Thompson's recent actions and rejecting his attempt to remove himself from the case, withdrawing his license to carry out legal work in Alabama instead.

In the ruling, Judge Moore stated that Thompson's behaviour in court "suggests that he is unable to conduct himself in a manner befitting practice in this state." Moore added that he was referring the case to the Disciplinary Commission of the Alabama Bar in order that "appropriate action" could be taken.

In response, Thompson has contacted the Judicial Inquiry Commission to question Moore's decision, stating: "In my opinion, Judge Moore has violated... The Alabama Canons of Judicial Ethics by his unfortunate, improper, and prejudicial acts in this case, at the expense of three bereaved Alabama families."