LibGuides: Florida : Secondary Sources

Florida Legal Encyclopedia

This is the legal encyclopedia for Florida. Arranged by legal titles, it discusses the laws and how they have been interpreted in the courts, complete with citations to relevant cases. In addition to subject indexes in each volume, there is a general subject index at the end of the set. All volumes are updated by pocket parts.

Fl.Jur.2d -- Florida Jurisprudence, Second Edition -- The encyclopedia provides narrative discussion of topics with references to specific cases and statutes in the footnotes. The set includes several finding aids:

General Index
Words & Phrases
Table of Cases
Table of Laws & Rules - with cross-references to topics from specific provisions of:
- U.S. Constitution
- Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990
- National Housing Act
- Social Security Act
- U.S. Code Annotated
- U.S. Public Laws
- Code of Federal Regulation
- Federal rules (Civil Procedure, Criminal Procedure, Evidence)
- Code of Judicial Conduct
- Florida Constitution
- Florida Statutes
- Florida Laws
- Florida Administration Code
- Florida rules (Appellate Procedure, Civil Procedure, Criminal Procedure, Probate, etc.)
- Florida Administrative Orders of the 9th, 11th, and 15th Judicial Circuits
- Florida Attorney General Opinions
- Uniform Commercial Code
- Restatement Second

West's South Eastern Digest

This Key Number Digest contains all headnotes, classified according to West's® Key Number System, for Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, and West Virginia court decisions issued from 1934 to date. The topics are listed in alphabetical order. The Key Numbers within those topics are listed in numerical order. Each topic begins with scope notes about subjects included and subjects excluded and covered by other topics. Also there is an outline of the topic, which includes a list of all Key Numbers in that topic. Each volume is supplemented by a pocket part and the full set is also supplemented by interim pamphlets.

West's Florida Digest

This Key Number Digest contains all headnotes, classified according to West's® Key Number System, for Florida state and federal court decisions reported from 1935 to date. The topics are listed in alphabetical order. The Key Numbers within those topics are listed in numerical order. Each topic begins with scope notes about subjects included and subjects excluded and covered by other topics. Also there is an outline of the topic, which includes a list of all Key Numbers in that topic. Each volume is supplemented by a pocket part and the full set is also supplemented by interim pamphlets.

How to Guide

Using the West Digests

Locating Cases Using the West Digests

A digest allows you to locate cases on a specific topic. West digests utilize headnotes and key numbers to organize and summarize all cases by subject.

Step #1: Locate the proper digest for your search. Florida cases will appear not only in the Florida Digest, but also in the South Eastern Digest.

Step #2: Digest volumes are arranged alphabetically. Find your topic and locate your key number. Review paragraph excerpts of cases that discuss your topic. These excerpts will end with a citation to the case which you can retrieve from the reporters themselves or via Westlaw or LexisNexis. ( You may also use Bloomberg Law, Google Scholar and even State Judiciary sites to find these for free).

If you know the name of a case, or just part of it (only plaintiff’s name or only defendant’s name), you can find the citation to the case by using the digest’s table of cases. Party names are arranged alphabetically. It is necessary to know the jurisdiction of the court deciding the case; this information dictates which digest’s table of cases to consult for the case citation.

If you need to locate cases on a particular subject (i.e. contributory negligence) go to the Digest’s Descriptive Word Index (DWI). Find the entry for the legal topic you are researching; you will be given an abbreviation for the legal topic and a number, for example, App & E 45. To decipher what App & E stands for, a table of abbreviations is reprinted at the beginning of each index to assist you. Then locate the volume of the digest dealing with Appeal and Error by looking at the spines of the digests. Once you locate Appeal and Error, you will then turn to section 45. This section includes cases organized by KEY NUMBER 45.

Step #3: If you find cases based on their digest excerpts that you think might be helpful to your research, take note of the case citations, retrieve them from the proper reporters, and read them in full before citing them to support your claim. The excerpts in digests are reproduced as headnotes at the beginning of the case in which they are presented. Never cite to a headnote as it is not part of the official case–they are editorial enhancements to save you time and energy in locating applicable case law.

Step #4: At the beginning of the digest there is a table entitled “Closing With Cases Reported In” (often referred to as the “Closing Table”). The purpose of this table is to let the user know up to which volume of the reporters the digest covers. For cases in reporters not covered by the hardbound volumes of the digests, updates occur in pocket-parts located at the back of the hardbound digests volumes. Pocket-parts are only published annually and have Closing Tables at the beginning to let you know up to which reporter the cases covered within the pocket-part.

Step #5: At the very end of all of the digests are paperback supplements that serve to update the pocket-parts. They are published at various times throughout the year. They too have a Closing Table to inform you of its currency. These supplements are organized just like the hardbound digests. Consult them for even more recent cases on your topic.