§ 90.205, Fla. Stat. — Denial of a Request for Judicial Notice
Plain English
A small but useful procedural protection. If a court refuses to take judicial notice of something a party asked it to notice, then on counsel’s request the court must tell the parties at the earliest practicable time and note the denial in the record. Why it matters: a denial that’s actually on the record is one you can challenge on appeal — an unrecorded refusal is much harder to attack.
From the Courtroom
If the judge won’t notice what you asked, get the denial on the record — 90.205 entitles you to it. A clean record of the request and the ruling is what lets the appellate court even reach the issue. “Make your record” is the whole lesson.
Key Points & Authority
- § 90.205, Fla. Stat. — On request, when a court denies a request to take judicial notice, it must inform the parties at the earliest practicable time and indicate the denial for the record.
- The recorded denial preserves the issue for appellate review.
- Federal parallel: Fed. R. Evid. 201 (judicial-notice procedure).
Federal Parallel
The federal counterpart is the procedure within Fed. R. Evid. 201 governing how courts handle judicial-notice requests and rulings; Florida adds this explicit record-keeping step on denial.
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.
Free consultation: (904) 444-4444 · About John Phillips
Educational only — not legal advice.
Rule Text (verbatim from the Florida Supreme Court)
Upon request of counsel, when a court denies a request to take judicial notice of any matter, the court shall inform the parties at the earliest practicable time and shall indicate for the record that it has denied the request.
Educational reference. Educational only — not legal advice.
What this rule means in plain English
Section 90.205 requires a court, on request, to inform the parties at the earliest practicable time and indicate for the record when it denies a request to take judicial notice — preserving the issue for appeal.