Time Is on My Side: Four Steps to Applying the Correct Law

It can be tricky to determine which year of Florida’s laws applies to a legal issue. The state repeals, amends, and re-adopts its statutes each year, creating different effective dates for different laws. To figure out which year of the statutes applies to your case, you can follow a four-step process. First, determine if the law at issue is procedural or substantive. Substantive laws usually apply only to future cases, while procedural laws can apply to cases that are already in progress. Then, figure out the specific date that applies to your case. After that, use that date to find the version of the statute that was in effect at that time. Finally, make sure to properly cite that statute in any legal arguments. It’s important to understand this process to make sure you’re using the right laws in your case. Substantive law is about what’s right and wrong, while procedural law is about the rules for enforcing those rights and wrongs. In criminal cases, substantive law is about what acts are crimes and how they should be punished, while procedural law is about the steps for punishing someone who breaks the law. In civil cases, substantive law creates and regulates rights that are decided by the courts.

In criminal cases, if a law changes after the crime was committed, the old law still applies to that specific crime. In civil cases, the law in effect at the time of a hearing generally applies. If a law changes before a crime is committed, the new law applies to that specific crime.

For example, if the definition of burglary changed on July 4, 2006, the new definition would apply to any burglaries committed after that date. The laws in Florida require that criminal and civil cases are treated based on the laws that were in place at the time the crime or incident occurred. This means that the laws that apply to a case are the ones that were in effect at the time of the incident. This is to make sure that people aren’t unfairly punished by new laws that were not in place at the time. It’s important to figure out the date of the incident in your case and to use the laws that were in effect at that time. If there have been recent changes to the law, you can argue for or against those changes being applied to your case, depending on whether they are favorable or unfavorable to you. In a criminal case, the date the offense occurred is important to determine which laws apply. In civil cases, the date of the incident or contract is crucial. In appeals, the date established at trial is significant. To find the applicable laws, you need to know the effective date of the statutes, which can be found by looking at the legislative process and the filing with the Secretary of State in Florida. When a new law is passed in Florida, it is written to fit with existing laws. The Secretary of State makes the new laws available to the public, and at the end of each year, the Division of Statutory Revision publishes all the new laws. The laws are then included in the Florida Statutes, which are published in bound volumes every year. This is done as part of a yearly process where all the laws are reviewed and updated. When looking up a statute for a case, first find the statute in the most recent edition of the Florida Statutes. Then, check the historical notes to see if there have been any amendments to the statute. If there was an amendment in the year the crime was committed, check the effective date of the amendment. If it’s after the date of the crime, use the previous version of the statute. If it’s before the date of the crime, use the amended version. Sometimes amendments are not included in the same year’s publication, so it’s best to check the edition for the year of the crime to be sure. Just because a law appears in a certain year’s Florida Statutes doesn’t mean it was in effect for the entire year. Some laws have effective dates after the publication of the statutes. If this affects your case, you may need to cite both the old and new versions of the law and explain the situation to the court. If the law hasn’t been changed, the text will be the same in different editions of the Florida Statutes. To be precise, you need to figure out when the statutes were reenacted in the year you’re interested in. This information can be found in certain sections of the statutes or in the 2007 edition. This will help you find the correct statute year to cite. Sometimes when the legislature makes a new law, they say when it will start being enforced. But for some laws, including the one we’re talking about, they say it will start being enforced 60 days after the end of the legislative session. This is in line with the Florida Constitution, which says that most laws start being enforced 60 days after the end of the session, unless the governor vetoes the law, in which case it starts being enforced 60 days after the veto is overturned. When the legislative session ends, it’s called “adjournment sine die.” The effective date of a statute can be found in legal publisher services or by contacting the Division of Statutory Revision. If the statute hasn’t changed, you can cite the year it was published. If it was amended, you’ll need to find out when the changes were made and cite the correct edition of the statutes. When citing a Florida statute, you need to follow specific rules. First, find the statute in the official Florida Statutes. Then, use the section symbol followed by the chapter and section number, the words “Florida Statutes,” and the edition of the Florida Statutes that was in effect on the relevant date. If the statute is part of a sentence, write out “section” and “Florida Statutes.” If it’s just a citation, use the section symbol and “Fla. Stat.” Subsequent citations can use a shorter form. If you forget these rules, you can find them in the Florida Rule of Appellate Procedure 9.800 or in the Bluebook. Citing the correct version of a law can be really important in some cases. It can affect the outcome of a trial, like a criminal getting a harsher sentence because of a law change. So, it’s important to know which laws apply when. High school students in Florida need to know about the laws in their state. The Florida Constitution protects people from having their property taken away unfairly. There are also specific laws for different situations, and they can be found in the Laws of Florida, which are published online. When a new law is passed, it becomes official when the governor signs it. It’s important to understand these laws, and it’s the job of attorneys like Kristin A. Norse to help people navigate them. She works at a law firm in Florida, and she helps with court appeals and legal support. She also volunteers and is involved in different organizations in her community.

Source: https://www.floridabar.org/the-florida-bar-journal/time-is-on-my-side-four-steps-to-applying-the-correct-law/