Evidence Center · Judicial Notice
Some facts the court can simply notice — on the statutes' terms.
Not everything needs a witness. Florida's judicial-notice statutes let courts accept certain matters directly — the law itself, court records, and (with its own conditions) the web-map distances family cases argue about constantly. The lane has mechanics: a request, written notice to the other side, and a chance to be heard. All of it is quoted below, verbatim.
The shall/may split
“A court shall take judicial notice of: (1) Decisional, constitutional, and public statutory law and resolutions of the Florida Legislature and the Congress of the United States.”“A court may take judicial notice of the following matters, to the extent that they are not embraced within s.”Section 90.201 is mandatory — the law itself, statewide court rules. Section 90.202 is permissive, and its family workhorse is the records lane: records of Florida courts and of other states' courts of record sit on the may-notice list, which is one of the routes prior orders travel (alongside certification).
How a party asks — § 90.203
“Gives each adverse party timely written notice of the request, proof of which is filed with the court, to enable the adverse party to prepare to meet the request.”Two conditions, both the requester's to meet: timely WRITTEN notice to each adverse party (with proof filed), and enough information for the court to actually take the notice. Miss either and the compulsory lane closes — the improper-judicial-notice objection is exactly this checklist read back. Section 90.204 adds the fairness half: each party gets a reasonable opportunity to be heard on whether notice is proper.
The family flagship — § 90.2035
How far apart are the homes? How long is the school run? What would 60 more miles mean? Timesharing and relocation cases argue distances constantly, and this statute built a lane for exactly that evidence:
“widely accepted web mapping service, global satellite imaging site, or Internet mapping tool, if such image, map, location, distance, calculation, or other information indicates the date on which the information was created.”“must file notice of such intent within a reasonable time or as defined by court order.”- · The image must show the date it was created — the statute's own condition.
- · A party intending to offer it files notice with a copy and the Internet address where it can be inspected.
- · The other side may object — the statute carries its own objection mechanics.
The capture habits live on the maps & satellite images foundation.
Where this page stops
Whether notice is proper for a given matter — and what the noticed fact actually proves in your case — is the court's determination after both sides are heard. Independent attorney review is the route for judgment; the Procedure Matrix maps the surrounding machinery.
Statutory excerpts are verbatim from the hash-verified corpus; statutory text renders in English as enacted. Legal information, not legal advice.