10/16/2026
wishes you a and offers you a PSA of the Day intended to arm you with wisdom that'll reduce your odds of getting Arrested and if you get popped then to help you to avoid causing unnecessary damage during your Police-Citizen Encounter, but first I need to introduce a little science with a dash of spirituality and capped off with a sprinkling of synthesis.
- Science: Carcharodon carcharias, a/k/a/ the Great White Shark, is among the ultimate symbols of strength, ferocity, stamina, dominance, and power. These apex predators (sharks in general) date back 450 million years (i.e. sharks were roaming the Earth before trees, much less humans), can live beyond 75 years of age, can grow to be beyond 20 feet in length and can weight up to 5,000 pounds. In the 1975 Stephen Spielberg blockbuster "Jaws" Matt Hooper (Richard Dreyfuss' character) used the following words to describe the Great White Shark's nature to Mayor Larry Vaughn (played by Murray Hamilton): "Mr. Vaughn, what we are dealing with here is a perfect engine, an eating machine. It's really a miracle of evolution. All this machine does is swim and eat and make little sharks, and that's all." According to "The Florida Museum" (at the University of Florida): "Positive identification of attacking sharks is very difficult since victims rarely make adequate observations of the attacker during the “heat” of the interaction. Tooth remains are seldom found in wounds and diagnostic characters for many requiem sharks - those in the Carcharhinidae family - are difficult to discern even by trained professionals... Nonetheless [the recorded history of shark attacks documents that], the white [351], tiger [142] and bull [119] sharks are the “Big Three” in the shark attack world because they are large species that are capable of inflicting serious injuries to a victim, are commonly found in areas where humans enter the water, and have teeth designed to shear rather than hold." (For comparative purposes the next most common shark species known to attack humans after Bull sharks are Requiem Sharks at 51, Sand Tiger Sharks at 36, Blacktip Sharks at 35 and Wobbegong Sharks at 31.)
- Spirituality: Also regarding symbolism, if you go to "What is My Spirit Animal" dot com then you'll find that if the shark (no species designation is made) is your "spirit animal" then "it's time to shut out fear and go for what you want... When Shark swims into your life s/he offers you safety from some jarring person or situation. The predator in your life is about to be frightened away with confidence. This creature reminds you of your personal power and the inner strength necessary to get rid of negativity. When Shark enters your life it portends a time of fearlessly facing those things or people who hold you back." Per "Uniguide" dot com: "When the shark is your spirit animal, you have been given the ability to swiftly go after what you want in life. As apex predators, sharks move through the ocean’s depths with fierceness and authority. Thus, the shark power animal reminds you that once you’ve committed to something, providence will move through to make it happen. You just have to laser focus on what you want to achieve. If a shark makes himself or herself known to you, whether in real life or through art, the media, or elsewhere - pay attention. There are no coincidences. Your spirit animal serves as a guide, bringing you messages from the supernatural world to help guide you during your human experience on Earth."
- Synthesis: Sharks may have existed for hundreds of eons but, per the Oxford English Dictionary, the word "shark" first came into use "after Sir John Hawkins' sailors exhibited one in London in 1569 and posted "sharke" to refer to the large sharks of the Caribbean Sea." As to how lawyers came to be referred to as "sharks" (among other, some not so "pleasant" terms), evidence exists that people studied written law in the BC era but after reforming the English legal system in the late 1200s AD King Edward I is credited with having spawned the earliest form of lawyers. Research suggests that in the early 17th Century (the 1600s) King James was busy translating the Bible and William Shakespeare was busy writing "Henry VI" (aside alert: although it wasn't published until 1623, from 1589-92 The Bard of Avon authored "Henry VI", which contains one of his most famous and controversial quotes, to wit: [Henry VI, Part 2, Act IV, Scene 2]: "The first thing we do, let's kill all the lawyers"), common folks were already and routinely using the word "shark" to describe scam artists, pickpockets and other folks who may be labeled as "scoundrels and villains", and therein may lie the link which ties lawyers to sharks (but before we get there please indulge me a quick "Rocky Horror Picture Show" reference: "Let's do the time warp again..."). In 1314 Dante had completed "The Inferno" which is a literary work that literally places lawyers in "the Eighth Circle of Hell" (i.e. a place of eternal damnation involving being poked with pitchforks by demons) and by 1400 Geoffrey Chaucer completed "The Canterbury Tales" in which he clearly depicts his character "The Summoner" (who essentially was a lawyer), as a leprosy-scarred drunk who hid behind the Latin language so as to mask his own incompetence (at a minimum suggesting that lawyers are contagious, hapless, amateur drunks who misuse Latin. There are other examples (e.g. Herman Melville described the "ordinary Brown Shark" as a "sea attorney... a grasping, rapacious varlet") but the point is this: Imagining a shark as anyone who preys upon someone else and or that lawyers are brutal, ruthless killers who are just willing to drag someone down to Davey Jones' Locker any time they smell blood in the water is far from a new concept, but it's also not necessarily an accurate connotation as sharks, especially the Great White, are also symbols of strength and opportunity (i.e. these apex predators literally travel thousands of miles, continually seek out new “fishing grounds” for an opportunity to survive).
All of this observed believes that effective lawyers should be like Carcharodon Carcharias (knowledgeable, versed, tenacious, savvy, brave, gallant, caring, empathetic, giving and gracious, yet concurrently - and when appropriate - both ferocious and mighty), and in that light calling a lawyer a shark is a compliment. I also believe that Police Officers ("good" ones anyhow) should be well-trained and have equal concern for themselves, the general public and those with whom they come into professional contact. But, precisely as is the case when a human enters a shark's domain, when a civilian is confronted by a Cop there's potential for disaster and that's why conjured " " (i.e. "Shut-Up and Lawyer-Up" / invoke both The 5th and The 6th), condensing your 5th Amendment Right to Remain Silent and your 6th Amendment Right to Counsel and which is designed to help you to help yourself and your lawyer should a things go south. should remind you that you do NOT have to respond to Law Enforcement Officer questions, that you can't be compelled to perform like a circus animal just because Johnny Law asks you to do so (e.g. to take FSTs / Field Sobriety Tests / Roadside Sobriety Tests or provide a Breath Sample by blowing into a Breathalyzer, an Intoxilyzer or other mechanical device) and that you have no obligation to make Law Enforcement's job easier by either making incriminating statements or consenting to a search which sidesteps the 4th Amendment (not to fail to mention that when you do so our Founding Fathers and countless, deceased Patriots who sacrificed, fought and died for your freedoms roll in their graves).
With rare exception here in the USA holds true everywhere, every time and in every situation. It applies equally on the roadside, at a Crime Scene / "Locus in Quo", a Police Station, in your home, your place of work, a Courtroom, on a plane, in a train, on land, sea and even at a border (in short you can whenever, wherever, anytime and in any circumstance that any government agent approaches you and wants to ask you questions, seeks your willful collaboration or tries to secure your permission for them to be able to bypass the U.S. Constitution). That said does NOT give you Carte Blanche to be a jerk (e.g. invoking your rights shouldn't start off confrontationally like refusing to roll down your window or to speak at all); rather there's no excuse to be cantankerous or rude, you should always be reasonably cooperative (e.g. provide ID if asked) and you should speak to the extent which, given the circumstances, is both reasonable (e.g. "good morning / evening", "what can I do for you Officer", "may I ask why you pulled me over"...). Should questioning turn accusatory (e.g. if it goes from routine to targeted) then it's time for you to , albeit pleasantly and not like a sanctimonious jerk (e.g. a polite can go something like this: "I understand that you are doing your job Officer and I respect you for it but I also have a job to do and my job is to invoke my rights to remain silent and for a lawyer to be present before I answer any of your questions." Corny? Yes. Quirky? Sure. Effective? Absolutely!).
It's a sad but undeniable fact that in the wink of an eye a given Cop can transform from Officer Friendly to Officer Unfriendly in true-to-life Dr. Jekyll to Mr. Hyde fashion, and when this occurs it's usually (not always but usually) a result of how you actually act or how you're perceived to have acted by a given Cop in a given moment. Where you're perceived as "a sanctimonious jerk" you run the very real risks of first being held in "Contempt of Cop" and then picking up "Gratuitous Charges" (e.g. Resisting Arrest, Obstruction of Justice, etcetera) as well as the potential for a complementary beatdown by a "Gaggle of Gendarme"; so, when it comes to "The Three Cs" (i.e. Cops, Courts and Constitutions), remembering that your odds at a favorable outcome will exponentially increase if you politely and then call will serve your self-interest.
Should you, a friend, a loved one or even someone that you {don't particularly like but happen to} know be in a jam with the criminal justice system then you can rest assured that either retaining or recommending will not only reflect well on you but will provide the client with unwavering, relentless, honest advocacy.
Established in 1991 and with no history whatsoever of any form of professional discipline, is readily available to have open, honest dialogue with potential clients and to quote and honor reasonable fees after identifying a realistic litigation objective. We're proud of our unblemished, time proven record of both having our client's "6:00", 24-7-365, 360° and of providing boutique, creative, effective, unwavering and zealous , , , , , , , , , and and representation to it's clientele, primarily in , on matters ranging from DUI to and from to .
At "it's all about Reasonable Doubt"!
YT: www.youtube.com/c/MichaelHaberLaw
FB: www.facebook.com/Miami.Criminal.Lawyer
X / MeWe / TS:
WWW: www.criminallaw.miami
E-Mail: [email protected]
Off.: 1-888-SHARK-8-1
Cell: 305-798-2220
