# Florida Evidence Trip-Wires

Canonical: https://www.barprepplay.com/attack-outlines/evidenceFl/
Byline: BarPrepPlay
Last reviewed: March 12, 2026
Subject: Evidence
Jurisdiction: Florida-aware

## Step 1. No general spousal testimonial privilege

- Florida does NOT recognize a general spousal immunity / testimonial privilege
- Only § 90.504 confidential MARITAL COMMUNICATIONS privilege exists — covers private statements made during the marriage; survives divorce; either spouse may invoke
- Common trap: a spouse may be compelled to testify about observations or non-confidential interactions, but a private marital conversation remains protected

## Step 2. Prior inconsistent under oath is SUBSTANTIVE

- § 90.801(2)(a) — prior inconsistent statement is substantive (not hearsay) when given under oath subject to perjury at a trial, hearing, other proceeding, or in a deposition
- Florida courts have read the oath/perjury trigger broadly; check whether the prior statement was sworn even outside a formal proceeding

## Step 3. Dying declaration in ALL criminal cases

- § 90.804(2)(b) — admissible in ANY criminal case + civil cases
- Federal FRE 804(b)(2) limit to homicide prosecutions + civil cases does NOT apply in Florida state court

## Step 4. Daubert under § 90.702 (2019)

- Legislature amended § 90.702 to adopt the federal Daubert standard in 2013; the Florida Supreme Court reaffirmed adoption as a procedural rule in 2019 (In re Amendments to the Florida Evidence Code)
- No more Frye pure-opinion carve-out — judge is the gatekeeper as in federal court

## Step 5. Child victim hearsay — § 90.803(23)

- Statement by a child victim with a physical, mental, emotional, or developmental age of 17 OR LESS describing child abuse, neglect, sexual abuse, child-abuse offenses, or unlawful sexual acts performed in the presence of, with, by, or on the declarant child
- Two prongs: (a) judicial reliability hearing (time, content, circumstances), and (b) child testifies OR is unavailable + corroboration
- Findings on the record
- NO direct federal equivalent — federal courts fall back on the residual exception (FRE 807)

## Step 6. No Dead Man's Statute in current Chapter 90

- Florida no longer has a Dead Man's Statute in Chapter 90
- Interested parties are competent to testify if otherwise qualified; analyze ordinary competency, hearsay, relevance, privilege
- Common trap: do not exclude estate testimony just because the witness is interested

## Step 7. Williams Rule — § 90.404(2)

- Florida's version of FRE 404(b) — same MIMIC purposes (motive, intent, mistake, identity, common plan)
- 10-DAY WRITTEN NOTICE before trial (absent good cause)
- Broader admissibility in child-molestation and domestic-violence cases under § 90.404(2)(b)-(c)
- Heightened factual-similarity threshold under Florida case law

## Step 8. Confrontation Clause overlay — FL state courts

- Florida follows Crawford / Davis / Melendez-Diaz / Bullcoming
- A § 90.803(6) business-record or § 90.803(8) public-record foundation does NOT override the Confrontation Clause requirement to produce the testing analyst for a forensic certificate
- Forfeiture by wrongdoing under § 90.804(2)(f) defeats both hearsay and Confrontation Clause objections if the Giles intent requirement is met

## Gated app actions

- [Open this outline in BarPrepPlay](https://www.barprepplay.com/?seo_slug=outline-evidenceFl&seo_action=drill&seo_page_type=outline&seo_subject=Evidence&seo_label=Florida+Evidence+Trip-Wires)
- [Found an issue?](https://www.barprepplay.com/?seo_slug=outline-evidenceFl&seo_action=report&seo_page_type=outline&seo_subject=Evidence&seo_label=Florida+Evidence+Trip-Wires)