§ 90.2035, Fla. Stat. — Judicial Notice of Web Mapping & Satellite Imagery
Plain English
Google Maps is now everyday courtroom evidence, and this 2022 rule gives it a clean on-ramp. A court may take judicial notice of an image, map, location, distance, calculation, or other information from a widely accepted web mapping service, satellite imaging site, or internet mapping tool — if the information shows the date it was created. The offering party must file notice (a copy plus the internet address/pathway to inspect it). The other side can object. In civil cases there’s a rebuttable presumption the information should be noticed, overcome only if the court finds by the greater weight of the evidence that it doesn’t fairly and accurately portray what it’s offered to prove. If the objection is overruled, the court must both notice and admit it. In criminal cases, the jury is instructed it may or may not treat the noticed facts as conclusive.
From the Courtroom
Distances, sightlines, intersections, the layout of a parking lot — 90.2035 lets you prove them without hiring a surveyor. Notice it, attach the dated screenshot and the URL, and in a civil case it’s presumptively in. The date stamp is the catch: undated map imagery doesn’t qualify, so capture it correctly.
Key Points & Authority
- § 90.2035(1), Fla. Stat. — A court may judicially notice dated information from a widely accepted web mapping/satellite/internet mapping tool, on filed notice including a copy and the internet pathway.
- (2)–(3): civil cases carry a rebuttable presumption favoring notice (overcome by the greater weight showing it’s inaccurate/inadmissible); if overruled, the court must notice and admit it; in criminal cases the jury may or may not accept the noticed facts as conclusive.
- Federal parallel: Fed. R. Evid. 201 governs judicial notice generally; Florida codifies the mapping-specific procedure.
Federal Parallel
The federal counterpart is Fed. R. Evid. 201 (judicial notice of adjudicative facts). Federal courts routinely notice mapping data case-by-case under that general rule; Florida’s § 90.2035 spells out a specific notice-and-presumption procedure for it.
About this rule walkthrough
Part of The Evidence Code, hosted by John M. Phillips — Board Certified Civil Trial Lawyer, Court TV analyst, admitted in 8 states + 9 federal districts + SCOTUS.
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Educational only — not legal advice.
Rule Text (verbatim from the Florida Supreme Court)
(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 information indicates the date on which the information was created. (b) A party intending to offer such information must file notice within a reasonable time or as defined by court order, including a copy of the information and specifying the Internet address or pathway where it may be accessed and inspected.
(2)(a) A party may object within a reasonable time or as defined by court order. (b) In civil cases, there is a rebuttable presumption that the information should be judicially noticed; it may be overcome if the court finds by the greater weight of the evidence that the information does not fairly and accurately portray what it is offered to prove or otherwise should not be admitted under the Florida Evidence Code. (c) If the court overrules the objection, the court must take judicial notice of the information and admit it into evidence.
(3) In criminal cases, the court must instruct the jury that the jury may or may not accept the noticed facts as conclusive. (4) This section does not affect, expand, or limit standards for any matters that may otherwise be judicially noticed.
Educational reference. Educational only — not legal advice.
What this rule means in plain English
Section 90.2035 lets a court take judicial notice of dated information from web mapping/satellite/internet mapping tools (e.g., Google Maps) on filed notice, with a rebuttable presumption favoring notice in civil cases and a may-or-may-not-conclusive instruction in criminal cases.