Free Legal Research Resources: Florida Legal Research

The Florida court system is comprised of the Supreme Court, five district courts of appeal, 20 circuit courts and 67 county courts. This website is a gateway to all of them.

The highest appellate court in Florida.

The Florida S.Ct. Records & Briefs Project is a cooperative project funded by all of the academic law libraries in Florida. The goal of the Project is to provide a full record of all Florida Supreme Court Records & Briefs dating from 1846

Florida Supreme Court oral arguments

There are five District Courts of Appeal in Florida, located respectively in Tallahassee, Lakeland, Miami, West Palm Beach and Daytona Beach. As a general rule, decisions of the district courts of appeal represent the final appellate review of litigated cases.

The Fifth District Court of Appeal is comprised of the Fifth Circuit, including Hernando, Lake, Marion, Citrus and Sumter Counties; the Seventh Circuit, including Flagler, Putnam, St. Johns and Volusia Counties; the Ninth Circuit, including Orange and Osceola Counties; and the Eighteenth Circuit, including Brevard and Seminole Counties.

The majority of jury trials in Florida take place before one judge sitting as judge of the circuit court. The circuit courts are sometimes referred to as courts of general jurisdiction, in recognition of the fact that most criminal and civil cases originate at this level.

The Ninth Judicial Circuit Court includes Orange and Osceola Counties.

The 18th Judicial Circuit Court includes Seminole and Brevard Counties.

County courts are sometimes referred to as "the people's courts," probably because a large part of the courts' work involves voluminous citizen disputes, such as traffic offenses, less serious criminal matters (misdemeanors), and relatively small monetary disputes.

Standard Jury Instructions for each type — Criminal, Civil, Jimmy Ryce (Involuntary Civil Commitment), and Contract and Business cases — are prepared by the Florida Supreme Court Standard Jury Instructions Committees and approved for publication by the Florida Supreme Court.

The official website of the Florida Legislature.

The official portal of the State of Florida

Links to local self-help centers, free and low-cost legal aid, and family law forms for use in a number of family-related situations.

Find a Clerk provides inks to county court clerk websites, for public records searching, legal forms, paying tickets, and more.

Prepared by individual members of The Florida Bar Appellate Practice Section.

All may be downloaded as free PDFs.