Thompson v. The Florida Bar

Filing 64

Plaintiff's MOTION to Amend/Correct Complaint (Third Amended) by John B. Thompson. Responses due by 9/10/2007 (Attachments: # 1 # 2)(Thompson, John)

Thompson v. The Florida Bar

Doc. 64 Att. 2

Wunderman & Wunderman, P.A.
Oren Wunderman, Ph.D.
7600 Red Road, Suite 222 South Miami, Florida 33143 Licensed Psychologist (PY 3862) Licensed Marriage & Family Therapist (MT 716) Licensed Mental Health Counselor (MH 255) Phone: [phone] Fax: [phone]

Terilee Wunderman, Ph.D.
Galloway Professional Center 8600 S.W. 92nd Street, Suite 203 Miami, Florida 33156 Licensed Psychologist (PY 4278) Licensed Marriage & Family Therapist (MT 914) Phone: [phone] Fax: [phone]

FORENSIC PSYCHOLOGICAL EVALUATION Privileged and Confidential: For Professional Usage Only Patient Name: Date of birth: Age: Dates of Evaluation: Date of Report: Thompson, John (A.K.A. "Jack" Thompson) July 25, 1951 56 Years Old August 6, 2007, August 16, 2007 & August 18, 2007 August 20, 2007

Reason for Referral and Presenting Circumstances Mr. Thompson is an attorney licensed in the State of Florida to practice law. The Florida Bar is currently investigating Mr. Thompson concerning the following allegations made by The Bar and several of Mr. Thompson's legal adversaries: 1. It is alleged that Mr. Thompson suffers from a mental illness or disorder that impairs his capacity to competently practice law. It is alleged that Mr. Thompson is "obsessed" with the prosecution and limiting of pornography and obscenity, a subject about which he has filed formal complaints. It is alleged that Mr. Thompson is "obsessed" with curtailing violent video-games that are marketed to minors. He has sued the manufacturers of violent videogames that are marketed to minors, asserting that they promote real-life "copy-cat killings."

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Mr. Thompson engaged me to conduct an Independent Forensic Psychological Evaluation to assess the above-listed three allegations. Informed Consent Mr. Thompson was apprised of the limitations of confidentially associated with this assessment because of the on-going Bar investigation and the litigation in which he is a party.

Dockets.Justia.com

RE: Mr. John Thompson

Scope of Report The report is a summary document that is focused only on the assessment of the abovelisted allegations. As such, this report is not data-exhaustive of all information obtained or all clinical findings and opinions. Psychosocial History Reported on August 16, 2007 Mr. Thompson reported the following information: Mr. Thompson was born and raised in Ohio, where he lived with his biological mother, father and sister, who is three years older than he. His parents were loving, supportive and structured. His parents are still married to each other. His father, now 88 years old, is in declining health and his mother, now 84, is in fairly good health. He has a relatively close relationship with his sister. Mr. Thompson credibly denied being subjected to ­ or observing any- forms of sexual abuse or domestic violence during his upbringing. He was disciplined primarily via verbal admonishments, withdrawal of privileges and "times-out." There was no usage of alcohol or recreational drugs in his family of origin. Mr. Thompson married his wife, Ms. Patricia Thompson, in May 1976. They have one son, now 15 years old. He is very happily married to Ms. Thompson, describing her as a wonderful life partner, a superior lawyer, a great mother to their son, and a kindred "Evangelical Christian." Mr. Thompson developed an abiding devotion to Evangelical Christianity in his early adulthood, experiencing his faith as one of the cornerstone satisfactions and sources of strength in his life. He and his wife are both devout Evangelical Christians, a commonality that they both experience as inspirational and fortifying. Mr. Thompson is a "stay-at-home-dad" who works from his home office and has plenty of opportunity to interact with his son, a role and relationship that he treasures. Mr. Thompson has a life that is very full with friends, colleagues and fellow congregants. He and his wife socialize comfortably with others. Mr. and Ms. Thompson feel warmth and esteem from others and they feel positive attachments to a host of friends, colleagues and congregants in their lives. He feels a strong sense of commitment to the betterment of himself and to the community in general. The history given by Mr. Thompson, and his clinical presentation during the interview, indicated psychological health, connectedness to loved ones and friends, and a deep, balanced connection to religion and spirituality. There was no evidence of a major mental illness or an impairment to competently practice law in his self-report or clinical presentation. There was no evidence of an obsessive pursuit of "righting all personal wrongs" or of the "righting of all social wrongs." There was no evidence of a grandiose sense of having to be a "guardian of public morality." (Quotation marks added by Dr. Wunderman) 2

RE: Mr. John Thompson

Mental Status Examination Conducted on August 16, 2007 Mr. Thompson is a 56 year old, Caucasian male who presented in mild distress. He stated that he has, at times, felt offended by the ad hominem attacks made against him by The Bar and some of his legal adversaries. He presented as clean, neat and casually dressed. He was responsive to questions, elaborating freely upon many questions asked. He spoke with precision, often eloquently, and without tangentiality or circumstantiality. There was no point at which he took umbrage at the personal questions asked during this interview. Mr. Thompson convincingly denied any current or historical delusions, hallucination, ideas of influence or ideas of reference, homicidal ideation, suicidal ideation, alcohol abuse, recreational drug usage or difficulties with appetite. He reported some recent difficulty sleeping that he attributed to his upset over the personal attacks against him by The Bar and some of his legal adversaries. He denied any episodes of disassociation, but did report one instance of having been temporarily knocked unconscious during a basketball game when he was a very young man. He drinks alcohol occasionally, and only in moderation. He reports generally feeling happy and blessed in his life. He is in generally good health and enjoys golfing and walking. He does not take any medications. His judgment and insight appear to be within normal limits. There was no evidence of a major mental illness in Mr. Thompson's self-report or clinical presentation. There was no evidence of an impairment to competently practice law in his self-report or clinical presentation. Evaluation-Specific Questioning I asked Mr. Thompson why he thought he was being accused by some of being mentally unstable or impaired from the competent practice of law. He said that he has never engaged in any form of bizarre or erratic practice of law. He felt that these attacks come from manufacturers of violent video games marketed and sold to minors and from radio "shock jocks" and owners of certain radio stations whom he has criticized and successfully filed complaints against. I asked Mr. Thompson why he thought that he was accused of having an "obsession" against pornography and obscenity. He said that he does not feel or act pre-occupied with pornography or obscenity either in his personal life or his professional life. He said that he took action against certain radio "shock jocks" because he felt that the public airing of certain content was unarguably offensive, and the Federal Trade Commission concurred with his assessment. He stated that the airing of indecent material is a violation of Federal Law. I asked Mr. Thompson why he felt that he was accused of having an "obsession" with violent video-games that are marketed to minors. He said that he feel that there is a direct, empirically verifiable link between certain violent video games marketed to minors and the subsequent frequency and modus operandi of some violent crimes committed by minors, especially toward police officers. He was clear in telling me that 3

RE: Mr. John Thompson

he felt that censoring violent subject matter to adults was not something that regulators should become involved in. However, he felt strongly that there is a clear and present danger to youth, and their subsequent victims, who view and interact with violent videos and video games. He stated that he represents three families in Alabama whose loved ones were killed by video-gamers. I asked Mr. Thompson about the hyperbole and sarcasm that I read in some of his motions/pleadings. He said that he realizes that he may have offended some with his ad hominem writings, and he will be more moderate in his writing style in the future. He reported that there was a factual basis to each of his written statements. I asked Mr. Thompson about the unsworn allegation made by a Judge from Alabama that he had intentionally withheld information from the Judge about a prior Florida Bar investigation about him. He said that he provided the Alabama Court with all prior records from The Florida Bar, and he can prove his compliance. Psychological Testing and Interpretation of Results The results produced by Mr. Thompson on the Minnesota Multi-Phasic Personality Inventory -2 indicated some areas of personal distress and difficulty. However, he does not appear psychotic or impaired to competently practice law. The results produced by Mr. Thompson on the Millon Clinical Multaxial Inventory ­ III indicated some areas of personal distress and difficulty. However, he does not appear psychotic or impaired to competently practice law. The results produced by Mr. Thompson on the Incomplete Sentence Blank ­ Adult Form, indicated that he is a pro-social, fundamentally optimistic person who feels a reverence for God. The results produced by Mr. Thompson on the Multi-Modal Life History Inventory indicated no evidence of a major mental illness and no impairment to competently practice law. Collateral Information In the interests of comprehensiveness, the following sources of collateral information were either reviewed or sought: 1. Mr. Thompson reported that The Florida Bar investigated his mental health in approximately 1992. He said that, pursuant to that investigation, he submitted to a Psychological examination and a Psychiatric examination. He said that both assessments concluded that he was mentally well, competent to practice law, and functioning not from extremism, but from a thoughtful furtherance of his faith. I asked Mr. Thompson several times to furnish me with copies of the two evaluations and The Bar's ultimate determinations. He said and showed me that he had requested this information several times from the Custodian of Records of The Florida Bar. 4

RE: Mr. John Thompson

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I read a number of Mr. Thompson's motions to The Florida Bar and one responsive motion from The Florida Bar. Also, I read several of his letters and other documents on his website. Collateral Interview with Ms. Patricia Thompson, Mr. Thompson's wife, on August 16, 2007. The information provided by Ms. Thompson does not support the accusation against Mr. Thompson of alleged mental impairment or the accusation of "obsession" with pornography or violence. Collateral Interview with Mr. J. F. on August 18, 2007. Mr. J. F. is a close friend of Mr. Thompson. They have known each other for about the past ten years. The information provided by Mr. J. F. does not support the accusation against Mr. Thompson of mental impairment or the accusation of "obsession" with pornography or violence. Collateral Interview with Mr. M. T. on August 18, 2007. Mr. M. T, who is no relation to Mr. John Thompson, has known Mr. John Thompson well for about the past fifteen years. The information provided by Mr. M. T. does not support the allegation against Mr. John Thompson of mental impairment or the accusation of "obsession" with pornography or violence.

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Summary and Impressions Concerning Mr. John Thompson, the overall impression is that of a socially committed, and religiously devout man, of Superior Intellectual Functioning, who does not suffer from any major mental illness or impairment. He is deeply committed to personal betterment and social progress which he feels involves the regulation of exposure of minors to pornography, obscenity and violence. Concerning the accusations that Mr. Thompson displays "obsession" with pornography, obscenity and/or violence presented to minors, Mr. Thompson does not report or display any of said obsessions. That is, his self-report, his clinical presentation and his relationships with his wife and two close personal friends reveal no evidence of fixation with pornography, obscenity and/or violence. To the extent that testing data may reveal such obsessions, there was no evidence of this theme in his ideation. Mr. Thompson appears to be a thoughtful, prosocial and erudite man whose life is anchored, fortified and enriched by his Evangelical Christianity. I find no evidence that his faith distorts, clouds or impairs his personal or professional judgment. While Mr. Thompson displays certain areas of personal distress and difficulty, such problem areas are well within the range from which attorneys can and do practice competently and even expertly.

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RE: Mr. John Thompson

______________________________________ Date of Report: August 20, 2007 Oren Wunderman, Ph.D.

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