Instruct: Given a question, retrieve relevant passages that answer the question.
Query: When was John Bruce Thompson disbarred as an attorney?
He is also known for his unusual filings to The Florida Bar, including challenging the constitutionality of The Florida Bar itself in 1993.[5] Later the Florida Supreme Court described his filings as "repetitive, frivolous and insulting to the integrity of the court".[6] On March 20, 2008, the Florida Supreme Court imposed sanctions on Thompson, requiring that any of his future filings in the court be signed by a member of The Florida Bar other than himself.[7] In July 2008, Thompson was permanently disbarred by the Supreme Court of Florida for inappropriate conduct, including making false statements to tribunals and disparaging and humiliating litigants.[8][9]
In 2007, Johnson was targeted with a cease and desist email by disbarred attorney and American activist Jack Thompson for running a photograph parody contest on the Myextralife site.
On June 4, 2008, prosecutor Sheila Tuma recommended 'enhanced disbarment' for Thompson, saying that Thompson demonstrated continued misconduct, a pattern of misconduct and persistently failed to admit any wrongdoing. Enhanced disbarment lengthens the period before an attorney may reapply for admission to the bar from five years to ten. After being prevented from making a speech to begin the disciplinary hearing, Thompson distributed his written objections to lawyers, a court reporter, and a newspaper reporter, departed the courtroom, and called the proceedings against him a "star chamber" and "kangaroo court".[149]
In 1986, Skevin was disbarred for misappropriating clients' funds after the New Jersey Supreme Court ruled that he combined personal funds with an attorney trust account that ran a $133,500 deficit.
Jack Thompson, the Florida lawyer noted for his activism against video games, rap music, and Howard Stern was permanently disbarred for various charges of misconduct. The action was the result of several grievances claiming that Thompson had made defamatory, false statements and attempted to humiliate, embarrass, harass or intimidate his opponents. The order was made on September 25, 2008, effective October 25. However, Thompson attempted to appeal to the higher courts in order to avoid the penalty actually taking effect. Neither the US District court, nor the US Supreme Court would hear his appeal, rendering the judgment of the Florida Supreme Court final.
On September 19, 2009, Thompson announced that he intended to resume practicing law as of October 1, 2009, claiming that he was "never disbarred" because all of the orders resulting in his disbarment were legal nullities.[158] He dared The Florida Bar to get a court order to stop him.[158]
Thompson was named in the press as a leading candidate for Attorney General after John Ashcroft resigned on November 9, 2004. Thompson, if selected, would have been the first African-American ever to head the Justice Department. Instead, Alberto Gonzales was selected as Ashcroft's replacement. Later, Thompson's name was mentioned as a possible candidate to replace Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor. With the resignation of Gonzales in August 2007, Thompson's name again surfaced a candidate for Attorney General. He supported former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani in the 2008 presidential election, and the American Bar Association mentioned Thompson again as a possible Attorney General or Supreme Court justice during a potential John McCain administration.
Nifong agreed to surrender his law license and said he would not appeal; through his attorney, he said that disbarment was an appropriate punishment. Nifong is the first sitting district attorney in the history of North Carolina to be disbarred. Earlier in the day, Nifong offered to voluntarily surrender his law license. However, Williamson said that the panel had to issue a ruling, and issued its disbarment order shortly thereafter. Under North Carolina law, the order took effect 30 days after Nifong received it in writing.
Generally disbarment is imposed as a sanction for conduct indicating that an attorney is not fit to practice law, willfully disregarding the interests of a client, commingling funds, or engaging in fraud which impedes the administration of justice. In addition, any lawyer who is convicted of a felony is automatically disbarred in most jurisdictions, a policy that, although opposed by the American Bar Association, has been described as a convicted felon's just deserts.
On May 24, 2001, the Maryland Court of Appeals announced Gutierrez had been disbarred (by consent). Gutierrez had agreed to the disbarment, citing numerous health problems including multiple sclerosis. Voluntary disbarment meant the Attorney Grievance Commission then dropped investigation into about a dozen client complaints that work had paid for but not carried through. The Maryland Clients' Security Trust Fund manages reimbursements for victims of lawyer misconduct and, by mid July, they received a record breaking number of claims from Gutierrez' former clients.
Michael Byron Nifong (born September 14, 1950) is a disbarred North Carolina attorney. He served as the district attorney for Durham County, North Carolina until he was removed, disbarred and jailed following court findings concerning his conduct in the Duke lacrosse case, primarily his conspiring with the DNA lab director to withhold exculpatory DNA evidence that could have acquitted the defendants.
John Bruce Thompson (born July 25, 1951) is an American activist and disbarred attorney, based in Coral Gables, Florida. Thompson is known for his role as an anti-video-game activist, particularly against violence and sex in video games.[1][2][3] During his time as an attorney, Thompson focused his legal efforts against what he perceives as obscenity in modern culture. This included rap music, broadcasts by shock jock Howard Stern, the content of computer and video games and their alleged effects on children.[4]
In 2008, disbarred attorney Jack Thompson was awarded the Freedom Award by the Freedom Festival, despite trying to remove first amendment protections for video games and social media posts.
Later, in 1999, at a second disbarment proceeding of the same Law Society, Clark was disbarred for his conviction by the British Columbia provincial court of criminal contempt of court and assault officer. Clark returned to Canada and was jailed in 1997 for three months.
In 2003, Sher consented to disbarment from the District of Columbia. He said he agreed to disbarment because he could not afford to litigate the matter, and remains a member of the New York bar, despite a provision of New York law, 22 NYCRR 603.3, which requires "reciprocal" disbarment for any attorney disbarred in another jurisdiction. The agreement means that there is no public record of the bar's investigation.
She was subsequently charged in federal court with wire fraud and pleaded guilty, receiving a sentence of three years' probation along with fines and assessments of $600. On September 12, 2014, the Nebraska Supreme Court disbarred Council, based on misuse of campaign funds. A referee had recommended a one-year suspension followed by two years of probation, but the Court held that harsher discipline was called for. The Court noted that since the 1990s, it had disbarred all but two attorneys in cases of conversion and found that those two cases were distinguishable from Council's case. In both of those cases, the attorney had self-reported the misconduct, a factor not present in Council's case. The high court held that the conversion of campaign funds is equally serious to converting client funds and warranted disbarment.
Barron Field was appointed as the replacement for Bent in May 1816. Field's arrival in the colony signified that the court would actually start sitting. However, Field's independence was to prove questionable. Soon after his arrival, he instructed an English attorney practising in the colony to sue for the sum of £424 owed to a London merchant who had given Field his power of attorney. This was unusual as Field was a litigant in his own court and would have therefore decided his own case. Unfortunately for Field, whilst he was naturally successful in his action, the English attorney didn't transfer the money recovered to Field. Field then sued the attorney for the sum. Field further threatened to strike the attorney off the roll of attorneys (or in other words, disbar him) if the money wasn't paid. Even when the attorney provided the money, Field still struck off the attorney. Royal Commissioner John Thomas Bigge was later to criticize Field for the latter action.
John C. Thompson was born in Westerly, Rhode Island, probably in 1790. He studied law with an attorney in Hartford, Connecticut, and attained admission to the bar. He moved to Windsor, Vermont in 1813, where he established himself as an attorney and also became active in politics as a Democratic-Republican, including serving as editor of the "Vermont Republican" newspaper. He practiced law in Windsor until 1818, when he moved to Hartland. Thompson moved to Burlington in 1822.
In 2007, Mike Nifong, the District Attorney of Durham County, North Carolina who presided over the 2006 Duke University lacrosse case, was disbarred for prosecutorial misconduct related to his handling of the case.
In January 2005, Beasley hired attorney Lawrence A. Kellogg of law firm Tew Cardenas, LLP, to manage Thompson's threats. Because Kellogg delayed arranging a meeting with him, Thompson on March 17 began a campaign targeting the firm's name partner Al Cardenas, a former chair of the Republican Party of Florida, accusing him of personally being involved in "a statewide racketeering activity" in a letter sent to the media, Florida Attorney General Charlie Crist, and Florida Governor Jeb Bush. Kellogg then filed a complaint to The Florida Bar that figured largely in Thompson's disbarment.
Prior to Thompson's disbarment, attorney Norm Kent filed a personal lawsuit against him, which eventually resulted in Thompson paying Kent $50,000 for defamation.[150] Thompson reacted to the suit by threatening employees at one of Kent's clients, Beasley Broadcast Group, with lawsuits and depositions unless they got Kent to drop his case.
The attorney handling Mrs. King's slander suit against Barton had paid to typeset King's novel, arranged to have Barton arrested, and offered to rescind the slander lawsuit against Barton upon a settlement paid to King. King's attorney was later disbarred in 1936.
In 2014, the Senate called on the attorney general to suspend 300 of Bolivia's 508 public prosecutors for corruption and other offenses. Between January and August 2014, 45 prosecutors were disbarred, twice the number disbarred in 2013.
In the United States, the rules of professional conduct generally prohibit an attorney from assisting a non-attorney from engaging in the unauthorized practice of law. An attorney therefore may not partner with or split fees with a non-attorney in the performance of any sort of legal work. Furthermore, an attorney may not employ a disbarred or suspended attorney in a legal practice where former clients of the disbarred or suspended attorney will be represented.
In 1930, the Oregon Supreme Court appointed Thompson to prosecute George W. Joseph in a disbarment case. This was an extremely high-profile case because Joseph became a candidate for governor just prior to the case going to trail. The trial began on April 15. Joseph won the Republican primary against four other candidates on May 16. On May 27, the Supreme Court announced Joseph's disbarment. Joseph decided to continue his campaign, but died of a heart attack a few weeks later. Thompson's highest profile case was probably the Bowles-Loucks murder case. In 1931, a young millionaire from Portland named Nelson C. Bowles and his secretary Irma Loucks were accused of murdering Bowles' wife, Leone. Thompson led the defense team. The theory he offered the jury was that Leone had committed suicide. The trial became even more sensational when a key prosecution witness was stabbed and beaten at her home during the course of the trial. The witness recovered, but her testimony was not as useful as the prosecution had hoped. In fact, Thompson used her testimony to back up several important defense points. At the close of the trial, the jury took just an hour to acquit both Bowles and Louck.