This document does not reflect the intent or official position of the bill sponsor or House of Representatives.
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DATE: 3/17/2022
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES STAFF FINAL BILL ANALYSIS
BILL #: CS/HB 677 Judicial Notice
SPONSOR(S): Judiciary Committee, Robinson, W. and others
TIED BILLS: IDEN./SIM. BILLS: CS/CS/SB 634
FINAL HOUSE FLOOR ACTION: 112 Y’s
0 N’s GOVERNOR’S ACTION: Pending
SUMMARY ANALYSIS
CS/HB 677 passed the House on March 4, 2022, as CS/CS/SB 634.
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. Evidence to be judicially noticed 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 cause an unnecessary burden.
The Florida Evidence Code authorizes a court to take judicial notice of various items, including 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.
The bill authorizes 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 creates a rebuttable presumption in civil cases that
the information sought to be judicially noticed should be judicially noticed. For criminal cases, the bill requires
the court to instruct the jury that it may or may not accept the noticed fact as conclusive.
The bill does not appear to have a fiscal impact on state or local governments.
Subject to the Governor’s veto powers, the effective date of this bill is July 1, 2022.
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I. SUBSTANTIVE INFORMATION
A. EFFECT OF 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 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 various items, including
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 is used to save time and
resources, as formally presenting evidence in certain situations may cause an unnecessary burden. For
example, it would be a waste of time and effort to require 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.
Judicial notice “should be exercised with great caution” and “must be of common and general
knowledge [and] authoritatively settled and not doubtful.”
3
An 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 ultimately vacated by the Ohio Supreme Court, which found that despite
Bud Lite meeting the “common, everyday understanding” of the term “beer,” this meaning was different
than the statutory language 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 elicit testimony from 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 Feb. 8, 2022).
2
Legal Information Institute, Cornell Law School, https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/judicial_notice, (last visited Feb. 8, 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.
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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 a Florida court 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
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).
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applicable to all proceedings in Florida courts,
13
including actions based on federal claims.
14
Statutes
that contain procedural elements, such as those amending the Evidence Code, must generally be
approved by the Supreme Court.
15
Effect of the Bill
The bill authorizes 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 in civil
cases that the information sought to be judicially noticed should be judicially noticed. This presumption
may be overcome if the court determines by the 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.
For criminal cases, the bill requires the court to instruct the jury that it may or may not accept the
noticed fact as conclusive.
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.
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:
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.”).
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).
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The bill may have a positive fiscal impact on litigating parties who otherwise would have to spend time
and money to authenticate information that could be admitted by judicial notice.
D. FISCAL COMMENTS:
None.