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HOUSTON DAILY JOURNAL
State, federal charges
not double jeopardy
Dear Mr. Rockefeller,
My boyfriend was arrested
last month by the sheriff
and now he is also looking at
Federal charges. How is this
possible? Isn’t this double
jeopardy?
Dear Reader, It must be
tough on you to not know
what is going to happen to
your boyfriend. As are many
in your position, you are an
unintended victim of vour
boyfriend’s poor decision. I
hope it all works out for you
and you find some peace of
mind.
You may be surprised at
how complicated the answer
is . . . let’s start by look
ing generally at the prin
ciple double jeopardy, as it
is commonly expressed, i.e.,
you can’t be tried twice for
the same crime. This is an
imprecise expression of what
double jeopardy means.
Double jeopardy is an
ancient legal concept that
was a bedrock of the old
English common law, even
before the founding of our
country. Thus, we borrowed
it from this ancient common
law tradition and enshrined
it in the sth Amendment
to the United States
Constitution, e.g., “nor shall
any person be subject for the
same offence to be twice put
in jeopardy of life or limb.”
In Georgia, by statute,
double jeopardy attaches if
there is a prosecution that
is concluded by a convic
tion or acquittal, or a jury
is empaneled and a witness
called to testify, for the same
crime or on the same set
Researchers focus on termites
By Jamie Hamblin
University of Georgia
Despite their size, termites
make their presence known
in Georgia in pronounced
and expensive ways.
“Termite damage and
control costs in Georgia
exceed $125 million annu
ally,” said Ray Noblet, ento
mology department head in
the University of Georgia
College of Agricultural and
Environmental Sciences.
CAES professor of ento
mology Brian Forschler
heads the department’s
urban entomology research
program. With help from
the Georgia Department of
Agriculture, he and his col
leagues study many pests,
such as ants, roaches and
flies. All have caused prob
lems in Georgia homes and
across the South.
Life insurance companies held
accountable for improper practices
By ELAINE WILSON
American Forces Press Service
Life insurance companies
are being held accountable
for their improper sales prac
tices to military members.
Four companies in the past
three months have agreed
to a multi-state settlement
agreement after Texas
Department of Insurance
investigators uncovered
a pattern of deception to
young troops.
Under the agreements,
the companies will refund
more than S7O million to
more than 93,000 consum
ers, including about 71,000
servicemembers, accord
ing to Texas Department of
Insurance news releases.
The first settlement,
reached Aug. 3, came after
a 20-month investiga
tion by Texas and Georgia,
together with the U.S.
Department of Justice and
the U.S. Securities and
Exchange Commission, into
the sales practices of three
Waco, Texas-based compa
nies: American-Amicable
Life Insurance Company of
Texas, Pioneer American
Insurance Company and
Pioneer Security Life
Insurance Company.
State regulators and fed
eral agencies claim the life
of facts. Exceptions to this,
in Georgia and by Federal
law, exist for when a mistrial
might be declared for juror
or defendant misconduct,
where a prosecutor or wit
ness inadvertently creates a
mistrial, or general issues of
fairness (like where a jury
cannot reach a decision).
Technically, then, your boy
friend has not been “tried”;
so double
jeopardy
does him
no good
right now.
However,
his situ
ati o n
brings up
a unique
twist to
the con-
Jim Rockefeller
Columnist
cept of
double jeopardy - dual sov
ereigns. What this means is
that double jeopardy is only
available where the same
“sovereign” is trying to pros
ecute a defendant.
So, in theory, a defen
dant can be tried by the
State of Georgia, acquitted,
and retried by the Federal
Government for, essentially,
the same crime, and this
does not violate double jeop
ardy. In theory, the reverse
is not true, because Georgia
does not permit a retrial if
first tried by the Federal
Government.
Exceptions to this rule
also exist. You might remem
ber the sensational case of
Fredric Tokars, an Atlanta
attorney and former pros
ecutor, who contracted to
But “in the Southeast,”
Forschler said, “most pest
control operators agree
that termites are the most
threatening of all household
pests.”
Forschier’s program is
responsible for research on
Formosan termites. This
particularly threatening
species builds large colonies
and tends to attack in high
numbers, making it hard to
contain.
Other research in the pro
gram has focused on ter
mites’ biology. These studies
have revealed a number of
things that help create effec
tive control programs:
■ The average termite
spends 70 percent of a day
stagnant.
■ Termites live in groups
of around 60,000. But they
occasionally join other
groups to produce larger, yet
insurance companies “tar
geted young recruits and
misled them into believ
ing they were buying an
investment product.” The
servicemembers were actu
ally purchasing an expensive
term-life product that was
coupled with a side fund and
called the “Wealth Builder”
or “Horizon Life,” according
to the release.
The second settlement,
reached Oct. 17, involves
the Boston Mutual Life
Insurance Company.
In 2004, TDI investiga
tors learned several Boston
Mutual agents were solicit
ing and selling life insur
ance to low-ranking Soldiers
in the Fort Hood, Texas,
area by misrepresenting the
insurance as a savings or
investment plan, said Jim
Hurley, TDI spokesman.
The activity led to the multi-
Assessing Your
Leadership Skills
-SBS/person
Jh?a§ I
have his wife Sara Tokars
murdered. The Federal
Government prosecuted him
first for racketeering, con
spiracy, money laundering,
and using a telephone to
contract the murder; he was
sentenced to concurrent life
sentences.
After these convictions,
Cobb County prosecuted
him for the actual murder,
he was convicted, and he
received life without parole.
Some might question the
wisdom or ethics of the pros
ecutor for the State trial,
where Tokars was already
serving a life sentence (there
is no parole in the Federal
system), yet it was perfectly
legal for him to do so, as the
Federal prosecution did not
specifically try him for the
murder.
What does this mean for
your boyfriend? If he is
prosecuted by the Federal
Government for the essen
tially the same crime, this
will bar a prosecution by the
local prosecutor under State
law - the reverse is not true.
However, until he is actually
tried, double jeopardy does
not apply.
Warner Robins attorney
Jim Rockefeller is the for
mer Chief Assistant District
Attorney for Houston County,
and a former Assistant State
Attorney in Miami. Owner
of Rockefeller Law Center,
Jim has been in private
practice since 2000. E-mail
your comments or confi
dential legal questions to
ajr@rockefellerlawcenter.
com.
temporary, populations.
■ Although few houses
are actually infested with
termites, every residential
property in Georgia has ter
mites in the yard.
Developing successful and
environmentally safe con
trol programs for termites
is vital to Georgia’s future,
Noblet said. Such programs,
he said, “will depend on con
tinued collaborative work
and joint efforts.”
Forschier’s research is
a good example. From its
beginning, the urban ento
mology researchers and pest
control operators have devel
oped a symbiotic relation
ship. They help each other.
Through the Department
of Agriculture, pest-control
operators’ support helps
the UGA scientists help the
pest-control people who pro
tect Georgia homes.
state examination of the
company’s sales to military
members.
The company will refund
a total of $427,529.57 to
1,784 military members who
bought life insurance poli
cies between Jan. 1, 2002,
and April 30, 2005.
The companies are noti
fying servicemembers with
current or lapsed policies
affected by the agreements.
Consumers who feel they
are affected but have not
received notification can call
the companies’ consumer
service center at 800-736-
7311.
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F. Dennis Hooper
Certified
Leadership Development Coach
Building leaders and
organizations of excellence
(478) 988-0237
LOCAL
37722
dhoopcr2@juno.com
The importance of listening
I was exploring with a
colleague the value of
listening as a key ingre
dient in strengthening
relationships. My colleague
asked, "Do you know what’s
worse than not being lis
tened to?”
Not knowing where he
was headed, I just shrugged
my shoulders. “Nothing!”
was his response. “Nothing
is worse than having some
one not listen to you when
you are trying to express an
idea or a feeling! Folks want
to know that they matter,
and the way they know you
care is if you make the effort
to understand them.”
And how do you do that?
You genuinely listen, which
is not particularly easy.
If you want easy, just pre
tend to pay attention. Or
ignore them outright. Or
interrupt them when they
are speaking. Or finish
their sentences for them.
Any of those behaviors are
pretty certain to damage
your relationships!
Listening doesn’t involve
just your ears. Your body
language and especially
your facial expression can
be a huge tip-off if you are
not sincere in your listen
ing.
If some distraction has
even a small portion of your
attention, it will usually be
apparent to the speaker.
Your eyes, however, can be
one of your greatest allies
in listening. Studies indi
cate that only seven per
cent of our communication
is contained in the words
we use. Another 40 percent
is apparent in the tone used
in conveying those words.
The rest, the majority of
the communication, comes
from what we can see in the
speaker’s facial expression
and body language.
That’s where the feelings
of the person are typically
evident. They might try to
hide what’s in their heart
through the words they use
and their tone of voice, but
the face and body are much
more difficult to disguise.
Sensitizing your eyes to
look for the cues given off
as people speak will make
you a much more effective
listener.
As you listen, look for
what the person is not able
to say, either because of lim
ited vocabulary or because
of reluctance to express
the concept or feeling. If
you suspect the individual
would like to convey more,
take a risk and acknowledge
what you think is there but
has not been said. Often the
other person will express
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THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 30, 2006 ♦
gratitude for your having
sensed the situation. If your
assumption is inaccurate,
the other person will like
ly correct you. Usually, no
harm will
have been
done.
If you
are a
leader,
work to
under
stand life
from the
viewpoint
of those
indi
viduals
W
Dennis Hooper
Leader* Building
Leader*
under your authority. They
can’t possibly imagine the
quantity and magnitude
of the hasslfes you have to
address—and they don’t
really want to know. But
they do live with their own
irritations, many of which
they would like for you to
know.
Just being available is
likely to begin the dialogue.
If not, be the kind of leader
who has the guts to ask,
“What could I or someone
else start or stop doing that
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would help you be more pro
ductive, or more creative,
or more effective in serving
your customers?”
(I’m using “customers”
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