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HOUSTON HOME JOURNAL
Decision chips away at imbalanced sex offender law
Dear Readers, I have
written before about
the severe restric
tions the Georgia Legislature
has made on convicted sex
offenders.
Recently,
some
of this
“mess”
was
exposed
by the
Georgia
Supreme
Court, in
an unani-
jrsnik as*."
:
JP5i
Jim Rockefeller
The “Law” man
mous opinion, striking down,
in part, the sex offender pro
visions.
In Mann vs. Department
of Georgia Corrections, the
Court was asked to resolve
potential tension between
the sth Amendment’s con
stitutional “takings’ clause”
Is a mentor right for you?
My introductory
article last week on
mentoring evoked
some strong comments from
a reader regarding her lost
opportu
nity. “For
a decade,
I resisted
finding a
mentor
because of
my ambiv
ale n c e
about
what I
wanted
out of my
Dennis Hooper
Leaders Building
Leaders
career. I deprived myself of
some clarity about what was
important to me. Opening
myself to another’s perspec
tive could have helped with
that.”
This individual lost the
benefits that a mentor might
have provided during those
ten years. Her organization,
a highly recognized builder
of future leaders, encour
aged individuals with her
potential to avail themselves
LETTER
From page 4A
should it matter to me if a
Superior Court judge is paid
less than an entry-level asso
ciate, fresh out of law school,
at a big Atlanta firm? How
does it affect me if a Georgia
attorney with less than 10
years’ experience is paid
$20,000 more than a justice
on our State Supreme Court?
The simple answer is as
valid in public service as it is
in the business world: you get
what you pay for.
For more than 200 years,
the constitutional rights of all
Americans have been pro
tected by our courts. A strong,
highly qualified and indepen
dent judicial branch of gov
ernment is critical to continu
ing this legacy bestowed on
us by the Founding Fathers.
Only by attracting and retain
ing the “best and brightest”
legal minds to preside over
our courts can we ensure the
fair and impartial administra
tion of justice and protection
of our liberties.
And that matters greatly
to all of us. While Roberts
was writing from a national
perspective, the situation in
Georgia is even more seri
LETTER 1
From page 4A
were expressing their moral
value. All law, like it or not, is
based on someone’s moral
code.
I am amazed that there are
people so interested in see
ing through the Sunday sale
of alcohol. Abuse of alcohol
kills more people than can
cer, heart disease or AIDS.
The number of people killed
or maimed by drivers under
the influence of alcohol is
staggering.
Still, we demand the will of
the people be expressed at
the polls on the question.
Now, think about it. Did
you get to vote as to whether
prostitution should be legal?
Did you get to vote as to
whether the use of marijuana
and sex offender residency
restrictions. It did so by
striking down this portion of
the sex offender prohibitions
for violating this clause.
Most of us think of the sth
Amendment in a criminal
context, such as “Miranda
warnings.” However, the
last “clause” of our sth
Amendment deals with prop
erty rights. It reads as follows,
no person shall “be deprived
of life, liberty, or property,
without due process of law;
nor shall private property be
taken for public use, without
just compensation.”
Mann alleged that his
“due process” and “property
rights” were violated by the
sex offender restrictions.
Mann had unsuccessfully
previously challenged these
restrictions, arguing that
he had a sth Amendment
of such an opportunity.
As you evaluate a potential
mentoring relationship, con
sider the benefits it might
bring. First, it represents a
low-threat learning oppor
tunity. Rather than relying
on trial-and-error for your
growth, you’ll have an expe
rienced individual to offer
suggestions and provide per
spective on your ideas.
Having someone to
patiently support you as you
role-play various options will
build your confidence. Sure,
you’ll receive some very
frank feedback, but you’ll
make adjustments to your
approach and style before
you actually perform the
actions on the job.
We all need someone who
is willing to listen and offer
assurance. How terrific
when that person isn’t just
a friend, but is someone who
has experienced what you
are attempting, able to help
you imagine effects that you
had not considered. With
that guidance, you can avoid
ous.
In 2005, the State Bar of
Georgia appointed a blue-rib
bon Commission on Judicial
Service primarily to exam
ine this issue. Its members
included lawyers, legislators,
business leaders and acade
micians. During the next two
years, they uncovered alarm
ing evidence that Georgia’s
judges are terribly underpaid
by comparison to other law
yers with similar experience
and expertise, and the gap is
widening every year.
The Commission on Judicial
Service recommended a 20
percent increase in salary
for Superior Court and State
Court of Appeals judges and
State Supreme Court justices.
During the 2007 session of the
General Assembly, the House
of Representatives passed a
reduced version of this pro
posal, but it was not acted on
by the state Senate.
There should be no argu
ment that Georgia’s judges
- at the local, circuit and state
levels - are underpaid. As
Roberts acknowledged, the
top-performing lawyers in
the private sector will always
make more money than they
would on the bench.
However, there is now empir
ical evidence that Georgia’s
should be legal? No. Well,
why aren’t you screaming to
get to vote on those ques
tions?
Let’s be honest. Warner
Robins restaurant owners
aren’t losing business to
Macon because they can’t
sell alcohol on Sunday.
Drive by their restaurants on
Sunday afternoon and you
will typically see lines of peo
ple waiting to get in for lunch
and dinner.
Typically, their Sunday cus
tomers are the after church
service crowd. Now, if those
church goers would adhere
to the requirement of the
fourth commandment and
not engage in commercial
enterprise on the Sabbath or
the Lord’s Day the restaurant
owners would have a real
beef.
That’s because they prob
property interest in living
at his parents’ house. His
latest challenge came about,
after losing that prior law
suit, when he and his wife
purchased a home and an
interest in a restaurant.
In both instances, child
care facilities were opened
nearby after his purchases
were finalized, placing his
business and home within
the prohibited 1,000 feet of a
daycare, school, church, bus
stop, or area where children
regularly congregate.
The Court unanimously
struck down this prohibition,
to the extent that it applies
to someone who purchases
a primary residence that is
“legal” at the time of the
purchase, but becomes “ille
gal” after the purchase.
Although this is a fairly
narrow reading of the stat
possible stumbling blocks,
and you will correct prob
lems before they become sig
nificant.
We rarely stretch beyond
our comfort zones on our
own, but a mentor will chal
lenge you to put your abili
ties to the test. You’ll develop
business expertise and tech
nical knowledge that you
might have overlooked. Your
mentor likely will provide
access to additional resourc
es, including people who
would not otherwise give you
their time and attention.
All of that may sound
great to you. But as my read
er shared in our dialogue,
“There is a level of commit
ment required to enter into
a relationship with a men
tor.” You should evaluate
your own characteristics to
determine whether a mentor
would be interested in sup
porting you.
Are you committed to
expanding your perspec
tives and your capabilities,
or are you really looking for
judges are terribly underpaid,
with the situation continuing
to worsen. To prevent weak
ening our courts in the future
and the further erosion of pub
lic confidence in our justice
system, judicial compensation
must at least be competitive
with opportunities that exist
in private law firms and law
school classrooms. When our
best judges cannot afford to
provide for their families and
send their children to college,
they cannot afford public ser
vice. And we cannot afford for
that to happen.
As you can tell from the
signatures below, this is NOT
a Republican vs. Democrat,
or business vs. lawyer issue.
It is a Georgia issue, and we
Georgians have to act.
As the ’ 2008 session
approaches, we strongly urge
our legislators to pass, and
Governor Perdue to sign, the
original version of House Bill
119.
- Gerald Edenfield,
President, State Bar of
Georgia
- Larry Walker,
Former Georgia House
Majority Leader,
Chairman, Commission
on Judicial Service
- George Israel 111,
President, Georgia
ably would have to close on
Sundays due to lack of busi
ness.
For those who favor Sunday
sales, I have a fix for you.
Vote out of office those coun
cil members that voted not to
give you the right you feel so
vital to your future.
Here’s another fix for you.
Why not start showing up at
council meetings on a regular
basis and state your opin
ion? Heck, you just might
change some council mem
bers’ minds.
I have one last hint for
you. Try to respect the opin
ions of others with whom you
disagree and even though
it may take all the effort you
can muster don’t lower your
self to name calling.
- David E. Wittenberg,
Kathleen
OPINION
ute, it may portent subse
quent successful legal chal
lenges chipping away at the
sex offender provisions.
The problem with the sce
nario presented by Mann, or
anyone else who legally owns
a home, is that a private citi
zen could open up a daycare
next door to an offender with
the expressed purpose of
forcing an involuntary move.
This, the Court said, was an
unconstitutional delegation
of the “taking” power to a
citizen, without recourse to
some type of due process.
The mere fact of the open
ing of the daycare (or a school,
park, church, or other facil
ity) acted to unconstitution
ally dispossess the owner of a
significant property interest.
Some might not care about
this result and believe the
Court overstepped its author
a short-term “free ride”?
Are you genuinely open to
considering new ideas, new
ways of learning, and taking
on growthful. assignments?
Are you willing to be held
accountable for commit
ments that you accept? Are
you able to receive feedback
and act upon it? Do you have
a sense of personal respon
sibility and a willingness to
apply your learnings for the
benefit of your business and
your colleagues?
The biggest commitment
is likely to be your respect
for your mentor, including
a willingness to regularly
meet, use the time together
effectively, and bring relevant
agenda items to stimulate
dialogue. Your mentor will
likely not share confidential
information with you, but he
or she will expect you to be
discrete about your relation
ship and your conversations.
Healthy mentoring rela
tionships are rare. That’s
because in any alliance, both
parties have to remain sen
sitive to the health of the
relationship.
Think of what the men
tor has to gain from his or
Chamber of Commerce
- Randy Evans,
General Counsel,
Georgia Republican
Party
- Sam Nunn, Former
U.S. Senator
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SATURDAY, DECEMBER 8, 2007
ity. However, let me tell you
a story of a client. He was
convicted over 10 years ago
of False Imprisonment.
He caused no physical harm
to anyone and his conviction
had nothing to do with any
sexual offense. The victims
were his step-children in a
dispute with his now ex-wife.
He had a gun with him when
he committed this offense.
Under our current sex
offender statute, he is incon
gruously classified as a sex
offender (he was not classi
fied as such at the time of
his conviction) AND he can
NEVER get out from under
this classification. With the
revisions in the law, he was
faced with the prospect of
losing his job.
Wouldn’t it have been nice
if someone, like my client, had
the opportunity to approach
her involvement with you.
Beyond helping a younger
individual develop aware
ness and skills, there are few
benefits to the mentor.
Next week, we’ll look
at the potential pitfalls of
mentoring and how to pre
vent them. And we’ll look
beneath the surface at some
additional benefits to men
tors. Frankly, I believe serv
ing as a mentor is one of the
greatest services a leader can
provide!
Dennis Hooper guides
leaders as they build orga
nizations of excellence. He
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a judge, prosecutor, or some
other entity/individual for
some relief from the oner
ous sex offender provisions?
Well, the law provides for no
exceptions and no appeals.
So, blame the Court’s deci
sion in Mann not on the jus
tices, blame it on a legisla
ture that failed to fully com
prehend the reach of such a
permanently punitive law.
Local attorney Jim
Rockefeller owns the
Rockefeller Law Center and
is a former Houston County
Chief Assistant District
Attorney, and a former
Miami Prosecutor. E-mail
confidential legal questions
to ajr@rockefellerlawcenter.
com. Visit www.rockefeller
lawcenter.com for Frequently
Asked Questions and
Jim’s blog, The Rockefeller
Report.
was certified as a personal
coach five years ago. Contact
Dennis at 478-988-0237 or
dhooper2@juno.com.
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