WHO ELSE WORKS THERE?
Shafer employs two paralegals, an office manager and a legal secretary. He anticipates moving his office from the Law Exchange Building once the new county courthouse is complete.
THE BIG DOG
Prior to opening his own firm, Shafer was a prosecutor at the State Attorney’s Office from 1978-1985 and subsequently spent a year handling corporate law for a small firm. Altogether, he has 18 years of experience doing defense work and 17 years on the prosecuting side. “I never wanted to be part of a large firm. The thought of sitting in an office 10 hours . . . I’d rather sell ice cream.”
WHAT BACKGROUND DOES HIS ASSOCIATES HAVE?
“Davis interned with me when he was in law school at St. Thomas [in Miami] and has worked with me since he graduated. He’s also an NFL [National Football League] agent. Fletcher, of course, was the former chief assistant public defender before he was appointed to the bench in 1976. He was the senior County Court judge before he joined us.”
WHAT FIELD DOES HE SPECIALIZE IN?
“We do nothing but criminal defense. Our practice handles everything from misdemeanors to complex criminal litigation. But we don’t handle any ultra-violent criminals. I think they should be locked up. When all you do is criminal defense, you’re on the periphery of the profession. A lot of lawyers don’t respect criminal defense lawyers because we’re dealing with criminals and they’re dealing with big-paying clients.”
WHY THIS AREA?
“My background is in criminal law. I think it’s the most exciting area of the law. I couldn’t stand to sit behind a desk all day pushing paper. I love what I’m doing. I’m in court every day, having a good time. It’s the level of activity. We thrive under pressure and helping people out who have made a mistake.”
WHAT’S MOST CHALLENGING?
“The clients. For people who are charged with crimes, their families are in a very desperate situation so their stress level is always extremely high. We try to walk them through things and hold their hands, keep them calm and make sure they’re treated fair. Probably 80 percent of the people who walk through this door are guilty but they’re not as guilty as the government thinks they are. I think police officers, when they write their reports, tend to highly exaggerate facts and circumstances surrounding people’s arrests to justify their actions. We try to get to the truth and not just what somebody has been accused of.”
WAS THE SWITCH FROM PROSECUTION TO DEFENSE DIFFICULT?
“The transition was very easy. I was a reluctant prosecutor. My plan was to stay a couple of years. [State Attorney] Ed Austin kept me around for a long time. I enjoyed prosecuting but prosecuting was not what I set out to do.”
EDUCATION
Economics and law were the subjects Shafer studied at the University of Florida.
“I was the first Shafer to ever go to college. My father went through the seventh grade.”
WHAT KIND OF CASES ARE MOST MEMORABLE?
“Death cases were the most significant when I was a prosecutor. I’m a firm believer in the death penalty; that comes from working with so many heinous crimes. I think it should be used more often.”
SHAFER’S FAMILY
Shafer, a Jacksonville native, and his wife Karen have three children, Zachary, Abbey and Sam. “I met my wife picking a jury. She was on the panel for selection in Courtroom 32. We’ve been married 21 years now.”
NORMAL
“I’m a staunch believer in legalizing drugs. I’m on the national legal committee of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws [a lobbying group]. According to the DEA, it is the least harmful, therapeutic substance known to man. The biggest impact would be to stop putting otherwise law-abiding, tax-paying citizens in jail for doing something that doesn’t harm anybody. Plus, the cost of housing people for possession is phenomenal. Even if they’re not convicted, it stays on their records and can devastate people’s futures. If marijuana were taxed, it would wipe out budget shortfalls. In Amsterdam, where it’s legal, they have a lower percentage of their population that uses marijuana than in the United States. Criminalizing otherwise innocuous behavior just drives up the demand and creates curiosity. Law enforcement uses large chunks of money to investigate and prosecute marijuana charges, which is an absurd waste of money and should be directed towards real crime. I’ve always fought putting good people into jail over drugs, or any kind of consensual sexual activity I might add. There’s way too much money spent on vice cases, moral cases, drug cases. The government doesn’t have any business trying to legislate people’s private behaviors.”
— by Monica Chamness