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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. All-You-Can-Eat Shrimp-$10 95 /Catfish-S9 95 Friday & Saturday - spm -10 pm bn i»ii m» w-mrr 4000fi bn i»tt in » m-mrr 4000 g 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. 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YOU MAY CALL TOMMY AT 923-3773, EXT x 2420 OR x 2400. VIEWING TIME FOR UNITS ARE MONDAY THRU FRIDAY 9:00 A.M. TILL 5:00 P.M. AND SATURDAYS FROM 9:OOAM TILL 12:30 PM. IF AFTER VIEWING THE UNITS, YOU WISH TO PURCHASE ONE, YOU MAY CALL OR STOP BY ANY OF OUR BRANCHES. ALL UNITS SOLD AS ISM ALL UNITS ARE SOLD ON A FIRST COME FIRST SERVE BASIS. IN THE EVENT THAT MORE THAN ONE PERSON EXPRESSES AN INTEREST IN THE SAME VEHICLE AT THE SAME TIME, THE VEHICLE WILL BE SOLD TO THE HIGHEST BIDDER. UNITS CAN BE PURCHASED AT ROBINS FCU CAR SALES LOT OR FROM OUR COLLECTIONS DEPARTMENT, 803 WATSON BLVD. SALES TAX OF 7% WILL APPLY TO ALL INSTATE SALES, OR WHERE APPLICABLE. SALES TAX RATE BASED ON PURCHASE LOCATION OF 'HOUSTON COUNTY'. 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 Open Ear Hearing Aids “Open ear hearing aids are the best inno vation I have seen in over ten years to help people hear more nat urally. It works”, Jack Corry 11, BC-HIS* To see if you qualify for these new hearing instruments, FREE electronic hearing tests will be given through the end of the year from 9am - spm. These tests have been arranged for any one who suspects they are losing their hearing. 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Most of your employ ees probably serve other employees, not the paying customer. If you have built the culture properly in your organization, internal cus tomers receive excellent service just as your external customers do.) All too often, leaders think “good communication” is only the flow of informa tion out to others. However, every person in your orga nization has an opinion and loves to be heard. Give them respect by listening to their thoughts. Some of their ideas may turn out to be valuable gems. Dennis Hooper is a cer tified leadership devel opment coach who helps leaders build their skills. Contact him for a one-page list of ideas for improving your listening. E-mail him at dhooper2@juno.com or phone him at 478-988-0237. This is all you see. Testing with the latest computerized electron ic equipment will indi cate wether you can be helped. Everyone, especially those over 55, should have an electronic hear ing test at least once a year. 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