Cecily Zamora
Florida case law can be found through a variety of resources, both in print and online. The University of Florida's Legal Information Center provides access to databases of opinions from the Supreme Court and the District Courts of Appeal, as well as selected decisions from the Circuit and County Courts. Florida Law Weekly and Florida Law Weekly Supplement are available in print at the LIC, while online databases such as Fast Case and LexisNexis® provide free access to members of the Florida Bar and law students. Google Scholar is another option, where you can search for cases specific to Florida courts.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Case law research tools | Fastcase, LexisNexis Academic Universe, Google Scholar |
| Case law sources | Florida Law Weekly, Florida Law Weekly Supplement, Florida Supplement, Florida Supplement Second, Florida Digest, Florida Digest 2d |
| Case law coverage | Florida Supreme Court decisions (1846-present), Florida Courts of Appeal decisions (1957-present), select Circuit Court decisions (1992-present), select County Court decisions (1952-present) |
| Access | Free access for law students and members of the Florida Bar |
Explore related products
What You'll Learn
Using Fast Case
Fastcase is one of the largest online legal research libraries, available free of charge to members of the Florida Bar. It provides access to Florida primary law with advanced search features. Bar members can upgrade their service to include nationwide coverage from state and federal courts, state statutes, administrative regulations, court rules, and other valuable libraries.
Fastcase offers three types of search: natural language search, Boolean keyword search, and citation lookup. Search results are displayed in a traditional list format by default, but for case law searches, results can be displayed as an interactive timeline. This interactive timeline is a unique feature that allows users to visually map their search results, making it easier to identify the most useful cases at a glance.
Fastcase also includes the Bad Law Bot, which flags cases with negative history, and offers mobile sync with legal research apps for iPhone, iPad, and Android devices. Users can batch print multiple cases in a single document or as separate files, and print clean copies of cases in Word or PDF format.
Fastcase integrates with HeinOnline, the largest library of law reviews, and offers an annotation service for statutes. It also works seamlessly with Microsoft Word and Google Chrome, providing easy access to its features.
Tort Law Libel Cases: Understanding Defamation
You may want to see also
Explore related products
Florida Law Weekly
If you have a case citation, such as "594 So. 2d 292", you can go directly to the applicable print resource and find the case. However, if you are researching an issue and want to find relevant cases in print, you will need to start with a digest, which is an index of case law. The original digest for Florida state court decisions is called the Florida Digest and indexes decisions from the Florida Supreme Court between 1846 and 1935. For more recent cases, the Florida Digest 2d indexes decisions from the Florida Supreme Court since 1935 and the District Courts of Appeal since 1957.
In addition to Florida Law Weekly, there are other resources available for researching Florida case law. Online legal research platforms provide access to cases, statutes, regulations, court rules, and bar publications, including case law from the Florida Supreme Court and five District Courts of Appeal. Fastcase, a legal research database provided free of charge to members of the Florida Bar, is another useful tool for finding case law. It offers visual presentation options for search results, allowing for a quick assessment of their value and showing connections between results.
To find Florida case law using online legal research platforms, you can set the Jurisdiction field to Florida to restrict your results to Florida state court cases. Additionally, you can select the "Case Law" radial button and then choose Florida courts from the options. These platforms feature thousands of news, business, and legal sources, including decisions from the Florida Supreme Court and District Courts of Appeal, as well as select decisions from Florida county courts.
Goodyear Violated the Civil Rights Act in Ledbetter Case
You may want to see also
Explore related products
Florida Supreme Court decisions
The Supreme Court of Florida is the highest court in the U.S. state of Florida. It consists of seven justices, one of whom serves as Chief Justice. The Florida Supreme Court's website contains a wealth of information, including opinions, oral arguments, administrative orders, jury instructions, justices, court orders, online dockets, case information, court schedules, and procedures.
The Clerk's Office usually releases opinions, if any are ready, at 11 a.m. each Thursday. Court staff posts them to the website as soon as possible thereafter. There may be times when opinions are released outside of this schedule, such as in emergencies. The Court suspends its regular Thursday release of opinions during July and August and over the Christmas and New Year holidays. Notices of opinion release schedules are posted on the website, and out-of-calendar releases are possible for time-sensitive cases.
The most common way to find information about a case is to review the case's docket—a list of briefs and other filings and rulings in that case. Requests for official public records should be made in writing to [email protected], in accordance with Rule of Judicial Administration 2.420.
Florida Law Weekly and Florida Law Weekly Supplement are available in print at the University of Florida Legal Information Center (LIC). If you have a case citation, you can go directly to an applicable print resource and find the case. If you are researching an issue and want to find relevant cases in print, you will need to start with a digest, which is an index of case law. The Florida Digest indexes decisions from the Florida Supreme Court between 1846 and 1935. For more recent cases, the Florida Digest 2d indexes decisions from the Florida Supreme Court since 1935 and the District Courts of Appeal since 1957.
Fast Case is a legal research database provided free of charge to members of the Florida Bar and is available to students on the Research Center A-Z database list. Fast Case offers visual presentation tools for search results, allowing for a quick assessment of the value of an individual result and showing connections between results.
Case Law: Understanding the Judicial System's Evolution
You may want to see also
Explore related products
District Courts of Appeal
Florida's District Courts of Appeal hear appeals from trial court cases and administrative law appeals based on actions by the executive branch. They also review county court decisions that invalidate a provision of the Florida Constitution or statutes and may review decisions of a county court that are deemed to be of great public importance.
There are six District Courts of Appeal in Florida, each with a chief judge, a clerk, and a marshal. The First District Court of Appeal is located in Tallahassee and hears cases from the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 8th, and 14th circuits. The other five District Courts of Appeal are located across the state.
The decisions of the District Courts of Appeal are published and set precedents, serving as a means of promoting clarity and consistency in the law. These decisions can be accessed through online legal research platforms and databases such as FindLaw, which offers a searchable database of District Court of Appeal decisions since January 1965.
In addition to online resources, print resources are also available for researching District Court of Appeal decisions. The Florida Digest 2d, for example, indexes decisions from the District Courts of Appeal since 1957.
Criminal Lawsuits: Who Files the Suit?
You may want to see also
Explore related products
![Basic Legal Research: Tools and Strategies, Revised 8th Edition [Connected eBook with Study Center] (Aspen Coursebook Series)](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/81t2iaBh45L._AC_UL320_.jpg)
](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/81uR4LG5eAL._AC_UL320_.jpg)
Google Scholar
When searching for case law in Google Scholar, it is essential to use the correct legal terminology and natural language. For instance, if you are looking for cases related to contract law in Florida, you might search for "Florida contract law cases" or "breach of contract cases in Florida." The search engine will return a list of relevant cases, with the most cited and relevant results appearing at the top.
To refine your search further, Google Scholar offers advanced search operators that can be used to narrow down your results. For instance, you can use the "site:" operator to limit your search to specific websites or domains. This can be particularly useful if you are only interested in case law from Florida courts. For example, searching for "contract law site:.fl.us" will return results only from websites associated with Florida government and courts.
Another useful feature of Google Scholar is the ability to sort and filter your search results. By default, the search engine will sort the results by their relevance to your query. However, you can also choose to sort by date, which is particularly useful if you are looking for the most recent case law on a particular topic. Additionally, the "Case law" filter allows you to narrow your results specifically to case law, excluding other types of legal documents.
In conclusion, Google Scholar is a powerful tool for researching case law in Florida. Its comprehensive database, advanced search features, and citation tools make it an invaluable resource for legal professionals, students, and anyone interested in exploring the intricacies of Florida case law. By utilizing the tips mentioned above, you can efficiently navigate and extract relevant information from this vast repository of legal knowledge.
Case Law Presentations: What to Lead With
You may want to see also
Frequently asked questions
There are several ways to research case law in Florida. You can use online databases such as Fast Case, Google Scholar, or LexisNexis Academic Universe, or search for print resources such as Florida Law Weekly and Florida Law Weekly Supplement.
Fast Case is a legal research database provided free of charge to members of the Florida Bar and is also available to students. Google Scholar allows you to search for cases by restricting your search to "Florida courts" in the left-hand bar. LexisNexis Academic Universe provides access to US federal district, appellate, tax, and bankruptcy court cases since 1923, and you can restrict your search to Florida state court cases by setting the Jurisdiction field to Florida.
Florida Law Weekly and Florida Law Weekly Supplement are available in print at the University of Florida Legal Information Center (LIC) on the first floor, with the call number KFF47.F54. The LIC also has a set of the Florida Digest and the Florida Digest 2d, which index decisions from the Florida Supreme Court and District Courts of Appeal. The Florida Supplement and Florida Supplement Second contain selected decisions from Florida circuit and county courts beginning in 1952 and are available on the first floor of the LIC, with the call numbers KFF51.A3 and KFF51.A32.
![The Process of Legal Research: Practices and Resources [Connected eBook with Study Center]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/71OG9MNqOCL._AC_UL320_.jpg)
![The Legal Writing Handbook: Analysis, Research, and Writing [Connected eBook with Study Center] (Aspen Coursebook)](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/71PYHTsY+bL._AC_UL320_.jpg)
![Basic Legal Research Workbook: [Connected eBook with Study Center] (Aspen Coursebook)](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/713yVkqxiRL._AC_UL320_.jpg)
