10.  FLORIDA CASES

10.1  Official Reporter

     Always cite to the official Southern Reporter, if possible. However, for cases decided between 1886 and 1948, a citation to the official Florida Reports is appropriate if a Southern Reporter is not readily available. For all cases decided before 1886, cite to the official Florida Reports. See Bluebook Table T.1.

10.2  Unofficial Reporter

     Cite to the Florida Law Weekly only if the opinion does not yet appear in the Southern Reporter. See Bluebook Table T.1.

10.3  Courts

     When referring to a court in text, capitalize according to the rules in Rule 1.4(a).

10.4  In Footnotes or Stand-Alone Cites

(a) Florida Supreme Court

     Cite to the Southern Reporter, Southern Reporter Second, or Southern Reporter Third, if therein. Otherwise, cite to Florida Reportsfor cases from 1846-1948 not in the Southern Reporter, or cite to the Florida Law Weeklyfor opinions not yet in an official reporter. Examples are below.

     Citation to Southern Reporter, Southern Reporter Second, or Southern Reporter Third:

►    Sawyer v. State, 113 So. 736 (Fla. 1927).

►    Lanier v. State, 908 So. 2d 332 (Fla. 2005).

►    State v. Dorsett, 158 So. 3d 557 (Fla. 2015).

     Citation to Florida Reports:

►    Livingston v. L’Engle, 22 Fla. 427 (1886).

     Citation to Florida Law Weekly (for Opinions Not Yet Published in an Official Reporter):

►    Hojan v. State, 42 Fla. L. Weekly S117a (Fla. Feb. 2, 2017).

(b) Florida District Courts of Appeal

     The Bluebookrecommends using “(Fla. Dist. Ct. App.)” as the parenthetical identifier when citing to a district court of appeal decision. This form, however, does not indicate to which of Florida’s five district courts of appeal the citation refers. Thus, Florida Rule of Appellate Procedure 9.800 provides that the specific district court should be indicated by number, followed by the abbreviation “DCA.” Fla. R. App. P. 9.800(b).

►    Paramo v. Floyd, 154 So. 3d 477 (Fla. 2d DCA 2015).

     For recent opinions not yet published in an official reporter:

►   Barnes v. State, 42 Fla. L. Weekly D310a (Fla. 5th DCA Feb. 3, 2017).

(c) Florida Circuit Courts

►    Davis v. State, 24 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. 595a (Fla. 11th Cir. Ct. Nov. 4, 2016).

(d) Florida County Courts

►    State v. Powell, 24 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. 633a (Fla. Flagler Cty. Ct. Oct. 19, 2016).

(e) Slip Opinions

     Cite to the slip opinion only if the decision has not been published in the Southern Reporter or Florida Law Weekly. Alternatively, cite to a commercial electronic database as provided in Bluebook Rule 10.9(a)(ii).

►    Medina v. State, No. SC00-280 (Fla. Mar. 14, 2002).

►    Gipson v. State, No. 2D15-4671, 2017 WL 456668, at *1 (Fla. 2d DCA Feb. 3, 2017).

10.5   Court Orders

     In legal documents or scholarly works, cite to orders issued by Florida courts by giving the title of the order, if titled, along with the location of the material, followed by the case name and case number. Include a parenthetical indicating the name of the court and the date the order was issued. If the order is not titled, simply title it as “Order” and include a parenthetical describing the order.

►    Order at 1, Hernandez v. State, No. SC08-2449 (Fla. Jan. 6, 2009) (order dismissing the case).

►    Order for Petitioner – Appellant Motion for Extension, Simmons v. Dept. of Bus. & Prof’l Reg., No. 1D02-980 (1st DCA Jul. 8, 2002).

Order Granting Motion to Intervene,Fla. Hometown Democracy, Inc v. Browning, No. 07-CA-2278 (Fla. 2d Cir. Ct. Oct. 22, 2007).