Back in 1997, a boy called Michael Carneal had some bad ideas inside his head. This went unnoticed by the world at large until he made them more than aware, by fatally shooting eight of his classmates as they left a prayer-reading in Kentucky.
The grief-stricken families of the victims filed a case to the courts back in 2000 that sought damages from some of the world’s biggest gaming firms, including Midway, id Software, Nintendo and Sega. The basic claim in this case was that Carneal was made an efficient killer due to his video gaming habits. The case was dismissed, despite testimonies from the likes of a specialist psychology professor claiming that some games were nothing more than, “murder simulators which over time teach a person how to look another person in the eyes and snuff their life out."
Undeterred, the families’ lawyers took the matter to the court of appeal where yesterday, it was again dismissed. Judge Boggs, throwing out the appeal, said, “It is simply too far a leap from shooting characters on a video screen, an activity undertaken by millions, to shooting people in a classroom, an activity undertaken by a handful, at most.”
“Judge Boggs' opinion was expected and is consistent with District Court opinions across the country concerning theories of media-inspired violence," commented head of Midway’s legal team Gerald Sweeney. "Although the Sixth Circuit found it unnecessary to affirm dismissal based on First Amendment grounds, it noted that most federal courts that have considered the issue have found video games to be constitutionally protected. The court rejected the argument that Carneal's unpredictable and idiosyncratic actions were foreseeable. Video games are enjoyed by millions of consumers daily without incident.”
This is unlikely to be the end of the matter however, as a Supreme Court action was mentioned after the appeal hearing.
We’ll keep you updated.
The grief-stricken families of the victims filed a case to the courts back in 2000 that sought damages from some of the world’s biggest gaming firms, including Midway, id Software, Nintendo and Sega. The basic claim in this case was that Carneal was made an efficient killer due to his video gaming habits. The case was dismissed, despite testimonies from the likes of a specialist psychology professor claiming that some games were nothing more than, “murder simulators which over time teach a person how to look another person in the eyes and snuff their life out."
Undeterred, the families’ lawyers took the matter to the court of appeal where yesterday, it was again dismissed. Judge Boggs, throwing out the appeal, said, “It is simply too far a leap from shooting characters on a video screen, an activity undertaken by millions, to shooting people in a classroom, an activity undertaken by a handful, at most.”
“Judge Boggs' opinion was expected and is consistent with District Court opinions across the country concerning theories of media-inspired violence," commented head of Midway’s legal team Gerald Sweeney. "Although the Sixth Circuit found it unnecessary to affirm dismissal based on First Amendment grounds, it noted that most federal courts that have considered the issue have found video games to be constitutionally protected. The court rejected the argument that Carneal's unpredictable and idiosyncratic actions were foreseeable. Video games are enjoyed by millions of consumers daily without incident.”
This is unlikely to be the end of the matter however, as a Supreme Court action was mentioned after the appeal hearing.
We’ll keep you updated.
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