Follow the golden rule of legal research: Start with secondary sources! What are secondary sources? Secondary sources analyze or interpret the law. They include legal encyclopedias, treatises, and law review journals. Secondary sources are persuasive authority, they are not binding.
Florida Jurisprudence 2d (Florida Jur. 2d) includes a general index, a table of citations to the Florida Constitution, Florida Administrative Code, Florida and federal statutes, and Florida and federal rules of court.
Books written by a particular scholar or expert in that field. See Ken Svengalis' The Legal Information Buyers' Guide and Reference Manual ; The Florida Bar's Guide to Florida Legal Research.
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TYPE OF AUTHORITY |
MANDATORY (BINDING) |
PERSUASIVE (NONBINDING)
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PRIMARY (legal rules) |
Constitutional provisions, statutes, and regulations in force within a jurisdiction are mandatory for courts within the same jurisdiction. Decisions from higher courts within a jurisdiction are mandatory authority for lower courts within the same jurisdiction. |
Decisions from courts in one jurisdiction are persuasive authority for courts within another jurisdiction.
Decisions from lower courts within a jurisdiction are persuasive authority for higher courts within the same jurisdiction. |
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SECONDARY (anything that is not primary authority, usually commentary on the law) |
Secondary authority is not mandatory authority. |
Secondary authority is persuasive authority.
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Florida Appellate Practice by Philip J. Padovano - consider by practioners the top book on Florida appellate practice. Available in Weslaw online.
