Chapter 90 — Chapter 90
88 sections in this chapter.
Fla. Stat. § 90.101 Short title
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This chapter shall be known and may be cited as the “Florida Evidence Code.”
Fla. Stat. § 90.102 Construction
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This chapter shall replace and supersede existing statutory or common law in conflict with its provisions.
Fla. Stat. § 90.103 Scope; applicability
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(1) Unless otherwise provided by statute, this code applies to the same proceedings that the general law of evidence applied to before the effective date of this code.(2) This act shall apply to criminal proceedings related to crimes committed after the effective date of this cod…
Fla. Stat. § 90.104 Rulings on evidence
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(1) A court may predicate error, set aside or reverse a judgment, or grant a new trial on the basis of admitted or excluded evidence when a substantial right of the party is adversely affected and:(a) When the ruling is one admitting evidence, a timely objection or motion to stri…
Fla. Stat. § 90.105 Preliminary questions
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(1) Except as provided in subsection (2), the court shall determine preliminary questions concerning the qualification of a person to be a witness, the existence of a privilege, or the admissibility of evidence.(2) When the relevancy of evidence depends upon the existence of a pr…
Fla. Stat. § 90.106 Summing up and comment by judge
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A judge may not sum up the evidence or comment to the jury upon the weight of the evidence, the credibility of the witnesses, or the guilt of the accused.
Fla. Stat. § 90.107 Limited admissibility
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When evidence that is admissible as to one party or for one purpose, but inadmissible as to another party or for another purpose, is admitted, the court, upon request, shall restrict such evidence to its proper scope and so inform the jury at the time it is admitted.
Fla. Stat. § 90.108 Introduction of related writings or recorded statements
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(1) When a writing or recorded statement or part thereof is introduced by a party, an adverse party may require him or her at that time to introduce any other part or any other writing or recorded statement that in fairness ought to be considered contemporaneously. An adverse par…
Fla. Stat. § 90.201 Matters which must be judicially noticed
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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.(2) Florida rules of court that have statewide application, its own rules, and the rules of United State…
Fla. Stat. § 90.202 Matters which may be judicially noticed
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A court may take judicial notice of the following matters, to the extent that they are not embraced within s. 90.201:(1) Special, local, and private acts and resolutions of the Congress of the United States and of the Florida Legislature.(2) Decisional, constitutional, and public…
Fla. Stat. § 90.203 Compulsory judicial notice upon request
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A court shall take judicial notice of any matter in s. 90.202 when a party requests it and:(1) 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.(2) Furnishes the court…
Fla. Stat. § 90.2035 Judicial notice of information taken from web mapping services, global satellite imaging sites, or Internet mapping tools
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(1)(a) Upon request of a party, a court may 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, if such image, map, location, distan…
Fla. Stat. § 90.204 Determination of propriety of judicial notice and nature of matter noticed
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(1) When a court determines upon its own motion that judicial notice of a matter should be taken or when a party requests such notice and shows good cause for not complying with s. 90.203(1), the court shall afford each party reasonable opportunity to present information relevant…
Fla. Stat. § 90.205 Denial of a request for judicial notice
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Upon request of counsel, when a court denies a request to take judicial notice of any matter, the court shall inform the parties at the earliest practicable time and shall indicate for the record that it has denied the request.
Fla. Stat. § 90.206 Instructing jury on judicial notice
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The court may instruct the jury during the trial to accept as a fact a matter judicially noticed.
Fla. Stat. § 90.207 Judicial notice by trial court in subsequent proceedings
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The failure or refusal of a court to take judicial notice of a matter does not preclude a court from taking judicial notice of the matter in subsequent proceedings, in accordance with the procedure specified in ss. 90.201-90.206.
Fla. Stat. § 90.301 Presumption defined; inferences
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(1) For the purposes of this chapter, a presumption is an assumption of fact which the law makes from the existence of another fact or group of facts found or otherwise established.(2) Except for presumptions that are conclusive under the law from which they arise, a presumption …
Fla. Stat. § 90.302 Classification of rebuttable presumptions
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Every rebuttable presumption is either:(1) A presumption affecting the burden of producing evidence and requiring the trier of fact to assume the existence of the presumed fact, unless credible evidence sufficient to sustain a finding of the nonexistence of the presumed fact is i…
Fla. Stat. § 90.303 Presumption affecting the burden of producing evidence defined
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In a civil action or proceeding, unless otherwise provided by statute, a presumption established primarily to facilitate the determination of the particular action in which the presumption is applied, rather than to implement public policy, is a presumption affecting the burden o…
Fla. Stat. § 90.304 Presumption affecting the burden of proof defined
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In civil actions, all rebuttable presumptions which are not defined in s. 90.303 are presumptions affecting the burden of proof.
Fla. Stat. § 90.401 Definition of relevant evidence
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Relevant evidence is evidence tending to prove or disprove a material fact.
Fla. Stat. § 90.402 Admissibility of relevant evidence
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All relevant evidence is admissible, except as provided by law.
Fla. Stat. § 90.4025 Admissibility of paternity determination in certain criminal prosecutions
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If a person less than 18 years of age gives birth to a child and the paternity of that child is established under chapter 742, such evidence of paternity is admissible in a criminal prosecution under ss. 794.011, 794.05, 800.04, and 827.04(3).
Fla. Stat. § 90.4026 Statements expressing sympathy; admissibility; definitions
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(1) As used in this section:(a) “Accident” means an occurrence resulting in injury or death to one or more persons which is not the result of willful action by a party.(b) “Benevolent gestures” means actions that convey a sense of compassion or commiseration emanating from human …
Fla. Stat. § 90.403 Exclusion on grounds of prejudice or confusion
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Relevant evidence is inadmissible if its probative value is substantially outweighed by the danger of unfair prejudice, confusion of issues, misleading the jury, or needless presentation of cumulative evidence. This section shall not be construed to mean that evidence of the exis…
Fla. Stat. § 90.404 Character evidence; when admissible
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(1) CHARACTER EVIDENCE GENERALLY.—Evidence of a person’s character or a trait of character is inadmissible to prove action in conformity with it on a particular occasion, except:(a) Character of accused.—Evidence of a pertinent trait of character offered by an accused, or by the …
Fla. Stat. § 90.405 Methods of proving character
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(1) REPUTATION.—When evidence of the character of a person or of a trait of that person’s character is admissible, proof may be made by testimony about that person’s reputation.(2) SPECIFIC INSTANCES OF CONDUCT.—When character or a trait of character of a person is an essential e…
Fla. Stat. § 90.406 Routine practice
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Evidence of the routine practice of an organization, whether corroborated or not and regardless of the presence of eyewitnesses, is admissible to prove that the conduct of the organization on a particular occasion was in conformity with the routine practice.
Fla. Stat. § 90.407 Subsequent remedial measures
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Evidence of measures taken after an injury or harm caused by an event, which measures if taken before the event would have made injury or harm less likely to occur, is not admissible to prove negligence, the existence of a product defect, or culpable conduct in connection with th…
Fla. Stat. § 90.408 Compromise and offers to compromise
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Evidence of an offer to compromise a claim which was disputed as to validity or amount, as well as any relevant conduct or statements made in negotiations concerning a compromise, is inadmissible to prove liability or absence of liability for the claim or its value.
Fla. Stat. § 90.409 Payment of medical and similar expenses
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Evidence of furnishing, or offering or promising to pay, medical or hospital expenses or other damages occasioned by an injury or accident is inadmissible to prove liability for the injury or accident.
Fla. Stat. § 90.410 Offer to plead guilty; nolo contendere; withdrawn pleas of guilty
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Evidence of a plea of guilty, later withdrawn; a plea of nolo contendere; or an offer to plead guilty or nolo contendere to the crime charged or any other crime is inadmissible in any civil or criminal proceeding. Evidence of statements made in connection with any of the pleas or…
Fla. Stat. § 90.501 Privileges recognized only as provided
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Except as otherwise provided by this chapter, any other statute, or the Constitution of the United States or the State Constitution, no person in a legal proceeding has a privilege to:(1) Refuse to be a witness.(2) Refuse to disclose any matter.(3) Refuse to produce any object or…
Fla. Stat. § 90.5015 Journalist’s privilege
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(1) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this section, the term:(a) “News” means information of public concern relating to local, statewide, national, or worldwide issues or events.(b) “Professional journalist” means a person regularly engaged in collecting, photographing, recording, wri…
Fla. Stat. § 90.502 Lawyer-client privilege
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(1) For purposes of this section:(a) A “lawyer” is a person authorized, or reasonably believed by the client to be authorized, to practice law in any state or nation.(b) A “client” is any person, public officer, corporation, association, or other organization or entity, either pu…
Fla. Stat. § 90.5021 Fiduciary lawyer-client privilege
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(1) For the purpose of this section, a client acts as a fiduciary when serving as a personal representative or a trustee as defined in ss. 731.201 and 736.0103, an administrator ad litem as described in s. 733.308, a curator as described in s. 733.501, a guardian or guardian ad l…
Fla. Stat. § 90.503 Psychotherapist-patient privilege
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(1) For purposes of this section:(a) A “psychotherapist” is:1. A person authorized to practice medicine in any state or nation, or reasonably believed by the patient so to be, who is engaged in the diagnosis or treatment of a mental or emotional condition, including alcoholism an…
Fla. Stat. § 90.5035 Sexual assault counselor-victim privilege
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(1) For purposes of this section:(a) A “rape crisis center” is any public or private agency that offers assistance to victims of sexual assault or sexual battery and their families.(b) A “sexual assault counselor” is any employee of a rape crisis center whose primary purpose is t…
Fla. Stat. § 90.5036 Domestic violence advocate-victim privilege
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(1) For purposes of this section:(a) A “domestic violence center” is any public or private agency that offers assistance to victims of domestic violence, as defined in s. 741.28, and their families.(b) A “domestic violence advocate” means any employee or volunteer who has 30 hour…
Fla. Stat. § 90.5037 Human trafficking victim advocate-victim privilege
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(1) For purposes of this section, the term:(a) “Anti-human trafficking organization” means a registered public or private agency that offers assistance to victims of the offense of human trafficking, as defined in s. 787.06(2).(b) “Human trafficking victim” means a person who con…
Fla. Stat. § 90.504 Husband-wife privilege
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(1) A spouse has a privilege during and after the marital relationship to refuse to disclose, and to prevent another from disclosing, communications which were intended to be made in confidence between the spouses while they were husband and wife.(2) The privilege may be claimed …
Fla. Stat. § 90.505 Privilege with respect to communications to clergy
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(1) For the purposes of this section:(a) A “member of the clergy” is a priest, rabbi, practitioner of Christian Science, or minister of any religious organization or denomination usually referred to as a church, or an individual reasonably believed so to be by the person consulti…
Fla. Stat. § 90.5055 Accountant-client privilege
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(1) For purposes of this section:(a) An “accountant” is a certified public accountant or a public accountant.(b) A “client” is any person, public officer, corporation, association, or other organization or entity, either public or private, who consults an accountant with the purp…
Fla. Stat. § 90.506 Privilege with respect to trade secrets
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A person has a privilege to refuse to disclose, and to prevent other persons from disclosing, a trade secret owned by that person if the allowance of the privilege will not conceal fraud or otherwise work injustice. When the court directs disclosure, it shall take the protective …
Fla. Stat. § 90.507 Waiver of privilege by voluntary disclosure
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A person who has a privilege against the disclosure of a confidential matter or communication waives the privilege if the person, or the person’s predecessor while holder of the privilege, voluntarily discloses or makes the communication when he or she does not have a reasonable …
Fla. Stat. § 90.508 Privileged matter disclosed under compulsion or without opportunity to claim privilege
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Evidence of a statement or other disclosure of privileged matter is inadmissible against the holder of the privilege if the statement or disclosure was compelled erroneously by the court or made without opportunity to claim the privilege.
Fla. Stat. § 90.509 Application of privileged communication
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Nothing in this act shall abrogate a privilege for any communication which was made prior to July 1, 1979, if such communication was privileged at the time it was made.
Fla. Stat. § 90.510 Privileged communication necessary to adverse party
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In any civil case or proceeding in which a party claims a privilege as to a communication necessary to an adverse party, the court, upon motion, may dismiss the claim for relief or the affirmative defense to which the privileged testimony would relate. In making its determination…
Fla. Stat. § 90.601 General rule of competency
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Every person is competent to be a witness, except as otherwise provided by statute.
Fla. Stat. § 90.603 Disqualification of witness
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A person is disqualified to testify as a witness when the court determines that the person is:(1) Incapable of expressing himself or herself concerning the matter in such a manner as to be understood, either directly or through interpretation by one who can understand him or her.…