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Wednesday, June 16, 2021

Florida Constitutional Law (Florida Bar Exam)

Florida Constitutional Law is always a safe bet on the Florida Bar Exam. Sometimes that bet will be wrong but it's a safe prediction, nonetheless.  Oftentimes you'll be asked to analyze the constitutionality of a Florida law and it'll be important to know all of the following.

Laws in Florida can be neither vague nor overbroad. They must be reasonably related to the general welfare. A law may cover only one subject and the subject must be briefly expressed in the act's title. A law may not be amended by reference to its title only; rather, portions of the original text must be set out in the amending act.  An enactment clause is required and it should read as the following: "Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida." 

There are two types of laws in Florida: general laws and special laws. General laws apply uniformly throughout the state. There are also general laws of local application and these laws are limited to a geographic areas that is established by population. General laws of local application are constitutional only if the subject matter of the law is reasonably related to the population classification. Special laws apply to known specific persons places or things. Importantly, special laws must be given prior public notice or be approved by referendum. 

There are certain subjects for which the Florida Constitution prohibits special laws or general laws of local applicability. There's a long list of these subjects but in general all of these subjects share one thing in common: there's a need for uniformity throughout the state on the subject and therefore a general law is more appropriate. A few examples (though not an exhaustive list) of subjects in which uniformity is required are the following: rules of evidence; election laws; punishment for crimes; divorce and adoption laws; assessment or collection of taxes for state or county purposes; and laws regarding hunting or fresh-water fishing. 



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