This docum ent does not reflect the intent or official position of the bill sponsor or House of Representatives.
STORAGE NAME: h0677a.CIV
DATE: 1/27/2022
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES STAFF ANALYSIS
BILL #: HB 677 Judicial Notice
SPONSOR(S): Robinson, W.
TIED BILLS: IDEN./SIM. BILLS: SB 634
REFERENCE ACTION ANALYST STAFF DIRECTOR or
BUDGET/POLICY CHIEF
1) Civil Justice & Property Rights Subcommittee 17 Y, 0 N Mathews Jones
2) Judiciary Committee
SUMMARY ANALYSIS
Through recent advances in technology, information and mapping images are more widely available than ever
before. Certain websites and applications allow instant access to turn-by-turn directions and aerial and street
side views of locations around the globe. Under current law, such information and images are not automatically
accepted as evidence or judicially noticed by a court. Any such information sought to be admitted, regardless
of how reliable or commonplace the source, generally must be authenticated and admitted pursuant to the
requirements of the Florida Evidence Code.
Judicial notice is a legal concept that allows a court to make a finding that a certain piece of evidence is
trustworthy without any formal introduction for that basis. This may include undisputed facts or facts that are so
well known they speak for themselves. Often, judicial notice is used to save time and resources, since
presenting evidence in certain situations may be an unnecessary burden. The Florida Evidence Code
authorizes a court to take judicial notice of its own records, the records of other Florida courts, and records
from any other state or federal court of the United States. The Florida Evidence Code differentiates between
when a court may or must take judicial notice.
HB 677 creates s. 90.2035, F.S., authorizing a court, upon request of a party, to take judicial notice of an
image, map, location, distance, calculation, or other information taken from a widely accepted web mapping
service, global satellite imaging site, or internet mapping tool. To be judicially noticed, the information must
include the date on which the information was created. Further, a party seeking judicial notice of such matters
must file notice of intent to do so. The notice of intent must include a copy of the information sought to be
judicially noticed and must specify the internet address or specific pathway where the information may be
accessed and inspected.
Under the bill, a party may object to the court’s taking judicial notice of the matter in question within a
reasonable time or as established by court order. The bill creates a rebuttable presumption that the information
sought to be judicially noticed should be judicially noticed.
The bill provides an effective date of July 1, 2022.
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DATE: 1/27/2022
FULL ANALYSIS
I. SUBSTANTIVE ANALYSIS
A. EFFECT OF PROPOSED CHANGES:
Background
Through recent advances in technology, information and mapping images are more widely available
than ever before. Websites and mapping allow instant access to turn-by-turn directions and aerial and
street side views of locations around the globe. It is easier than ever to determine the exact distance
between locations and even the time it takes to walk, drive, or take public transit to get to a location.
More accurate, precise, and reliable technology improves the quality of information a party can offer in
court in furtherance of his or her case. Under current law, such information and images are not
automatically accepted or judicially noticed by a court. Any information sought to be admitted,
regardless of how reliable or commonplace the source, generally needs to be authenticated and
admitted pursuant to the requirements of the Florida Evidence Code.
Judicial Notice
The Florida Evidence Code (Code) authorizes a court to take judicial notice of its own records, the
records of other Florida courts, and records from any other state or federal court of the United States.
1
Judicial notice allows a court to make a finding that a certain piece of evidence is true without any
formal introduction for that basis.
2
Generally, this may involve undisputed facts or facts that are so well
known they speak for themselves. Often, judicial notice may be used to save time and resources, as
presenting evidence for certain situations may prove to be an unnecessary burden. For example,
requiring a party to solicit in-person testimony from the Governor and members of the House of
Representatives to establish that a legislative act was enacted and signed into law by the Governor,
would put a significant burden on those officials and the parties seeking to admit evidence of the
legislative action in question.
Courts warn that judicial notice “should be exercised with great caution” and “must be of common and
general knowledge [and] authoritatively settled and not doubtful.”
3
A poignant example occurred in Ohio
where a trial court took judicial notice that “Bud Lite is beer” in a case involving the sale of beer to an
underage person.
4
The conviction was eventually vacated by the Ohio Supreme Court, which found
that despite Bud Lite meeting the “common, everyday understanding” of the term “beer,” this did not
align with the statutory language as enacted by Ohio Legislature, which provided that the beverage
must contain “between one-half of one percent and twelve percent alcohol by volume.”
5
The conviction
was thus vacated because the government failed to prove that the Bud Lite in question contained the
required percentage of alcohol.
There are practical considerations a court must acknowledge when it is asked to take judicial notice of
a fact. In the above-referenced case, for example, judicial notice allowed the prosecutor to avoid the
need to test a sample of Bud Lite to determine the alcoholic content and question the scientist who
tested the liquid to verify the results.
In light of these considerations, the Florida Evidence Code differentiates between when a court “may”
or “shall” take judicial notice upon request of a party. Under the Code, the following matters are
required to be judicially noticed by a court.
6
Decisional, constitutional, and public statutory law and resolutions of the Florida Legislature and
the Congress of the United States.
1
Florida Courts, Taking Judicial Notice, https://www.flcourts.org/content/download/215911/file/TAKING-JUDICIAL-NOTICE.pdf (last
visited Jan. 27, 2022).
2
Legal Information Institute, Cornell Law School, https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/judicial_notice, (last visited Jan. 27, 2022).
3
State v, Coleman, 5 So. 2d 60, 62 (Fla. 1941).
4
State v. Kareski, 2012 WL 1717976, *2 (Ohio 9th Dist. Ct. App. 2012), vacated, 998 N.E.2d 410, (Ohio 2013).
5
Ohio Rev. Code Ann. S. 4301.01(6)(b).
6
S. 90.201, F.S. STORAGE NAME: h0677a.CIV PAGE: 3
DATE: 1/27/2022
Florida rules of court that have statewide application, the court’s own rules, and certain federal
court rules.
Rules of court of the United States Supreme Court and of the United States Courts of Appeal.
Additionally, under s. 90.202, F.S., a court may judicially notice the following matters:
7
Special, local, and private acts and resolutions of the Congress of the United States and of the
Florida Legislature.
Decisional, constitutional, and public statutory law of every other state, territory, and jurisdiction
of the United States.
Contents of the Federal Register.
Laws of foreign nations and of an organization of nations.
Official actions of the legislative, executive, and judicial departments of the United States and of
any state, territory, or jurisdiction of the United States.
Records of any Florida court or of any court of record of the United States or of any state,
territory, or jurisdiction of the United States.
Rules of Florida court of this state or of any court of record of the United States or of any other
state, territory, or jurisdiction of the United States.
Provisions of all municipal and county charters and charter amendments within Florida, provided
they are available in printed copies or as certified copies.
Rules promulgated by Florida governmental agencies which are published in the Florida
Administrative Code or in bound written copies.
Duly enacted ordinances and resolutions of municipalities and counties located in Florida,
provided such ordinances and resolutions are available in printed copies or as certified copies.
Facts that are not subject to dispute because they are generally known within the territorial
jurisdiction of the court.
Facts that are not subject to dispute because they are capable of accurate and ready
determination by resort to sources whose accuracy cannot be questioned.
Official seals of governmental agencies and departments of the United States and of any state,
territory, or jurisdiction of the United States.
A court may take judicial notice of a matter listed under s. 90.202, F.S., if the requesting party:
Gives each adverse party timely written notice of the request, and
Provides the court with sufficient information to enable it to take judicial notice of the matter.
8
In determining whether to judicially notice a matter, the court must allow each party reasonable
opportunity to present information relevant to the propriety of taking judicial notice and of the nature of
the matter or material to be noticed.
9
A court may use any source of reliable information in making its
determination to judicially notice a matter, regardless of whether the information is provided by a party
or obtained by the court independently.
10
The Florida Evidence Code and Separation of Powers
The Florida Evidence Code specifies what types of evidence and testimony are admissible in court.
11
Generally, Florida’s separation of powers principle teaches that the legislature may enact substantive
law, and the judiciary may enact procedural rules.
12
The Florida Evidence Code contains both
procedural and substantive law. Depending on the type of proceeding, the Evidence Code is generally
applicable to all proceedings in Florida courts,
13
including actions based on federal claims.
14
Statutes
7
S. 90.202, F.S.
8
S. 90.203, F.S.
9
S. 90.204(1), F.S.
10
S. 90.204(2), F.S.
11
Ch. 90, F.S.
12
See Art. II, s. 3, Fla. Const.; art. V, s. 2(a), Fla. Const.; DeLisle v. Crane Co., 258 So. 3d 1219, 1228 (Fla. 2018).
13
S. 90.103, F.S.
14
Byrd v. BT Foods, Inc., 26 So. 3d 600, 605 (Fla. 4th DCA 2009) (“[S]tate evidence codes control evidentiary questions presented in
state court. This is so even where federal claims are litigated, unless the state rules would affect substantive federal rights.”). STORAGE NAME: h0677a.CIV PAGE: 4
DATE: 1/27/2022
that contain procedural elements, such as those amending the Evidence Code, must generally be
approved by Supreme Court.
15
Effect of Proposed Changes
HB 677 creates s. 90.2035, F.S., authorizing a court, upon request of a party, to take judicial notice of
an image, map, location, distance, calculation, or other information taken from a widely accepted web
mapping service, global satellite imaging site, or internet mapping tool. To be judicially noticed, the
information must include the date on which the information was created. Further, a party seeking
judicial notice of such matters must file a notice of intent to do so. The notice of intent must include a
copy of the information sought to be judicially noticed and must specify the internet address or specific
pathway where the information may be accessed and inspected.
Under the bill, a party may object to the court’s taking judicial notice of the matter in question within a
reasonable time or as established by court order. The bill establishes a rebuttable presumption that the
information sought to be judicially noticed should be judicially noticed. This presumption may be
overcome if the court determines by a greater weight of the evidence that the information does not fairly
and accurately portray what it is being offered to prove or that it would be inadmissible under the
Evidence Code. If the court overrules the objection, the court must then take judicial notice of the
information and admit it into evidence.
The bill clarifies that the new section it creates “does not affect, expand, or limit standards for any
matters that may otherwise be judicially noticed.”
The bill provides an effective date of July 1, 2022.
B. SECTION DIRECTORY:
Section 1: Creates s. 90.2035, F.S., relating to judicial notice of information taken from web mapping
services, global satellite imaging sites, or internet mapping tools upon request of a party.
Section 2: Provides an effective date of July 1, 2022.
II. FISCAL ANALYSIS & ECONOMIC IMPACT STATEMENT
A. FISCAL IMPACT ON STATE GOVERNMENT:
1. Revenues:
None.
2. Expenditures:
None.
B. FISCAL IMPACT ON LOCAL GOVERNMENTS:
1. Revenues:
None.
2. Expenditures:
None.
C. DIRECT ECONOMIC IMPACT ON PRIVATE SECTOR:
15
See, e.g., In re Florida Evidence Code, 372 So. 2d 1369 (Fla. 1979); In re Amendments to Florida Evidence Code, 278 So. 3d 551
(Fla. 2014). STORAGE NAME: h0677a.CIV PAGE: 5
DATE: 1/27/2022
The bill may have a positive fiscal impact on parties to litigation who otherwise would have had to
spend time and financial resources to authenticate such information that could easily be admitted by
judicial notice.
D. FISCAL COMMENTS:
None.
III. COMMENTS
A. CONSTITUTIONAL ISSUES:
1. Applicability of Municipality/County Mandates Provision:
None.
2. Other:
To ensure the separation of powers, the Legislature has the authority to enact substantive laws and
the judiciary branch has the authority to create procedural rules. To the extent the bill touches on any
procedural subjects, the Florida Supreme Court may decide to adopt such provisions.
16
B. RULE-MAKING AUTHORITY:
None.
C. DRAFTING ISSUES OR OTHER COMMENTS:
None.
IV. AMENDMENTS/COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE CHANGES
16
See In re Florida Evidence Code, 372 So. 2d 1369 (1979).