ESAvLouisiana – Video Game Law Blog

November 29, 2006March 18, 2008

Federal District Court Judge Makes Louisiana’s Violent Game Bill Injunction Permanent

Text of Short Summary Judgment Ruling (November 29, 2006)
Text of Preliminary Injunction (August 25, 2006)
Text of Temporary Restraining Order
Text of ESA Complaint
Text of Violent Game Bill (HB 1381)

Hot on the heals of the 7th Circuit’s upholding the permanent injunction against Illinois’ Safe Games Illinois Act’, Federal District Court Judge James Brady issued a bench ruling permanently (followed by this short summary judgment ruling) enjoining the application of Louisiana’s, Jack Thompson-drafted, Violent Game Bill.

ESA’s response to the ruling:

“What makes Judge Brady’s action unusual and remarkable is that he issued his ruling from the bench rather than through a written decision, a strong signal that he felt the State’s arguments were so without merit that they didn’t even require a detailed opinion beyond the Judge’s August decision imposing the preliminary injunction. In his August ruling, the Judge emphasized the State’s failure to take into consideration when passing this law the long line of previous cases holding that video games are protected speech. The ESA will immediately file to recover its legal fees from the State as it has successfully done elsewhere.”

“In nine out of nine cases, federal courts have struck down these grandstanding efforts by politicians to ban video game sales to minors. It doesn’t get clearer than that. One hopes that enough is enough. Video games are like rock and roll: they’re here to stay, and it’s about time for elected officials to focus their energies, and taxpayer dollars, on truly productive and useful programs to educate parents to use the tools industry has made available — from ESRB ratings to parental control technologies.”

Sources: GamePolitics.com | Gamespot |ars technica | GameDaily.biz | Gamasutra

August 25, 2006March 18, 2008

Preliminary Injunction Granted Against Louisiana Violent Game Bill

Text of Preliminary Injunction
Text of Temporary Restraining Order
Text of ESA Complaint
Text of Violent Game Bill (HB 1381)

No surprise here yet again. Jack Thompson’s violent game bill, criminalizing sales of violent video games to minors, designed to be immune from constitutional challenge – isn’t. Here are a few choice excerpts from Federal District Court Judge James Brady’s decision:

“The State’s argument overlooks a line of cases holding that video games are protected free speech…”

“Defendants (Louisiana) contend that the legislative record contains social science evidence demonstrating that violent video games are harmful. It appears that much of the same evidence has been considered by numerous courts and in each case the connection was found to be tenuous and speculative…”

“The evidence that was submitted to the legislature in connection with the bill that became the statute is sparse and could hardly be called in any sense reliable…”

“Absent an injunction the statute will have a chilling effect on both video game developers and retailers.”.

Dale’s Comment: Owing to the ESA’s failure to certify all local district attorneys as defendants, this preliminary injunction applies only to East Baton Rouge Parish at the moment. It is expected this defect will be resolved and the injunction will shortly be extended state wide. For those keeping track: (i) similar laws in Minnesota, Michigan, Washington State, Illinois, Indianapolis and St. Louis have been ruled unconstitutional and permanently enjoined; (ii) a similar law in California has been temporarily enjoined; (iii) a similar law in Oklahoma is currently being challenged in courts and likely to receive the same fate; (iv) several other states (Florida, Delaware, Maryland, Indiana) have similar laws pending final enactment; and (v) Senators Clinton and Lieberman introduced similar federal legislation to Congress last year.

GamePolitics Full Coverage of Louisiana Violent Game Law

August 1, 2006March 18, 2008

Louisiana Motion Filed To Introduce Minnesota Permanent Injunction Decision

Text of Preliminary Injunction
Text of Temporary Restraining Order
Text of ESA Complaint
Text of Violent Game Bill (HB 1381)

Lawyers for the ESA have introduced a motion to the Louisiana Court to admit the text of Minnesota’s July 31 permanent injunction decision arguing that the decision “adds to the overwhelming precedent in favor of preliminarily enjoining [Louisiana’s law] on First Amendment grounds.

Source: GamePolitics.com

GamePolitics Full Coverage of Louisiana Violent Game Law

July 20, 2006March 18, 2008

Jack Thompson’s Louisiana Amicus Curiae Motion Rejected

A Federal District Court Judge denied controversial lawyer, Jack Thompson’s, motion to file an amicus curiae (“friend of the court”) brief in the ESA case challenging the recently passed (and recently enjoined) Louisiana Violent Video Game Bill – a bill he helped to write.

Source: GamePolitics.com

GamePolitics Full Coverage of Louisiana Violent Game Law

July 6, 2006March 18, 2008

Louisiana Senator Defends Violent Games Law

Text of Preliminary Injunction
Text of Temporary Restraining Order
Text of ESA Complaint
Text of Violent Game Bill (HB 1381)

Louisiana Senator Mike Michot defends the recently blocked violent Video Game Bill. Attorney General Charles Foti has promised to take the fight all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court.

GamePolitics Full Coverage of Louisiana Violent Game Law

June 30, 2006March 18, 2008

Judge Hears Arguments on Louisiana Violent Video Games Law

Text of Violent Game Bill (HB 1381)
Text of ESA Complaint
Text of Temporary Restraining Order
U.S. District Judge James Brady took the has extended the temporary restraining order he issued on June 20 barring authorities from enforcing the measure and continues to hear arguments in the case. Based on the hearing to date, it appears Judge Brady will make the same ruling striking down the law as unconstitutionally restrictive of free speech as was the case in several other jurisdictions. He is expected to rule next week.

GamePolitics Full Coverage of Louisiana Violent Game Law

June 26, 2006March 18, 2008

Insomniac President Files Brief in Louisiana Constitutional Suit

Text of Price’s Brief
Insomniac Games‘ President Ted Price argues that games are as much a means of expression as books, movies and music. He fears that many games might be criminalized under the law’s broad definition of violence. He explains how his own best-selling Ratchet & Clank series might fall under the provisions of the Louisiana statute.

GamePolitics Full Coverage of Louisiana Violent Game Law

June 26, 2006March 18, 2008

Louisiana Passes Second Video Games Bill – with ESA Support

Text of Law (SB 340)
Shortly after passing the more controversial, violent game bill (HB 1381), Louisiana has enacted a law, SB 340, that extends the state’s current list of sexually explicit material considered “harmful to minors” to be inclusive of video games in the same way the law extends to pornographic videos, books and magazines. Because the definition of “harmful to minors” deals exclusively with sexually explicit and not “violent” content, the bill will not be contested by the Entertainment Software Association.

June 20, 2006March 18, 2008

District Judge Temporarily Blocks Louisiana’s Violent Game Bill

Text of Temporary Restraining Order
In response to an ESA/EMA initiated law suit filed immediately after the bill was signed into law, U.S. District Judge James Brady has issued a temporary restraining order blocking the recently passed Louisiana violent game bill from being put into effect.

GamePolitics Full Coverage of Louisiana Violent Game Law

June 16, 2006March 18, 2008

Louisiana Violent Game Bill Signed Into Law – ESA Files Suit

Text of Violent Game Bill (HB 1381)
Text of ESA Complaint
This new bill (HB 1381) drafted by controversial Florida attorney Jack Thompson, allows a judge to rule on whether or not a video game meets established criteria for being inappropriate for minors. A person found guilty of selling such a game to a minor would face fines ranging from $100 to $2,000, plus a prison term of up to one year. The ESA immediately filed suit.

Dale’s Comment: Jack Thompson has drafted HB 1381 in a way that tries to respond to the First Amendment issues that brought down similar laws in other jurisdictions. It is drafted in such a way to use the same legal standard by which obscenity is determined – the Miller test. The Miller test defines obscenity as something that “by contemporary community standards appeals to the prurient interest; depicts sexual content specifically defined by state law in a patently offensive way; and lacks serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value”. The Miller hasn’t, to my knowledge, been used in cases that attempt to uphold the constitutionality of legislation controlling depictions of violence.

GamePolitics Full Coverage of Louisiana Violent Game Law

August 15, 2005March 18, 2008

Louisiana Digital Media Act Passed By Governor

The bill gives video game developers who set up shop in Louisiana a 20 percent tax credit provided they remain in operation for the long term and build working relationships with Louisiana universities.

Sources: Gamasutra | Prior June 23, 2005 Gamasutra Story

GamePolitics Full Coverage of Louisiana Violent Game Law