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Florida Statute 90.105 - Full Text and Legal Analysis
Florida Statute 90.105 | Lawyer Caselaw & Research
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The 2025 Florida Statutes

Title VII
EVIDENCE
Chapter 90
EVIDENCE CODE
View Entire Chapter
90.105 Preliminary questions.
(1) Except as provided in subsection (2), the court shall determine preliminary questions concerning the qualification of a person to be a witness, the existence of a privilege, or the admissibility of evidence.
(2) When the relevancy of evidence depends upon the existence of a preliminary fact, the court shall admit the proffered evidence when there is prima facie evidence sufficient to support a finding of the preliminary fact. If prima facie evidence is not introduced to support a finding of the preliminary fact, the court may admit the proffered evidence subject to the subsequent introduction of prima facie evidence of the preliminary fact.
(3) Hearings on the admissibility of confessions shall be conducted out of the hearing of the jury. Hearings on other preliminary matters shall be similarly conducted when the interests of justice require or when an accused is a witness, if he or she so requests.
History.s. 1, ch. 76-237; s. 1, ch. 77-77; s. 22, ch. 78-361; s. 1, ch. 78-379; s. 471, ch. 95-147.

F.S. 90.105 on Google Scholar

F.S. 90.105 on CourtListener

Amendments to 90.105


Annotations, Discussions, Cases:

Cases Citing Statute 90.105

Total Results: 42

Terry v. State

668 So. 2d 954, 1996 WL 2056

Supreme Court of Florida | Filed: Jan 4, 1996 | Docket: 1686964

Cited 247 times | Published

...esponse to facts disclosed to the expert at or before the trial. § 90.704, Fla.Stat. (1993). Section 90.702 requires that before an expert may testify in the form of an opinion, two preliminary factual determinations must be made by the court under section 90.105....

Westerheide v. State

767 So. 2d 637, 2000 WL 1434081

District Court of Appeal of Florida | Filed: Sep 29, 2000 | Docket: 1661448

Cited 54 times | Published

...A witness may be qualified as an expert by either knowledge, skill, experience, training, or education or any combination thereof. See id.; see also Fla. R. Civ. P. 1.390(a). Whether a witness is sufficiently qualified as an expert is a matter to be resolved by the trial court. See § 90.105(1), Fla....

Cox v. State

966 So. 2d 337, 2007 WL 1932134

Supreme Court of Florida | Filed: Jul 5, 2007 | Docket: 505115

Cited 40 times | Published

...in this day and age of watching CSI." With regard to the admissibility of expert testimony, this Court has stated: Section 90.702 requires that before an expert may testify in the form of an opinion, two preliminary factual determinations must be made by the court under section 90.105....

Anderson v. State

863 So. 2d 169, 2003 WL 22207892

Supreme Court of Florida | Filed: Sep 25, 2003 | Docket: 1728613

Cited 36 times | Published

...to the expert at or before the trial. § 90.704, Fla. Stat. (1999). Section 90.702, Florida Statutes (1999), requires that before an expert may testify in the form of an opinion, two preliminary factual determinations must be made by the court under section 90.105, Florida Statutes (1999)....

American Tobacco Co. v. State

697 So. 2d 1249, 1997 WL 408527

District Court of Appeal of Florida | Filed: Jul 23, 1997 | Docket: 1776645

Cited 31 times | Published

...Deason, 632 So.2d 1377, 1383 (Fla.1994) (citations omitted, emphasis added.) When a party opposes the attorney-client privilege through the assertion that the communications fell within the crime-fraud exception, the court must determine the issue in the first instance. See § 90.105(1), Fla....
...rial court applied the incorrect, and overly lenient, burden in determining the issue. The petitioners claim that Florida law clearly requires that a preponderance of the evidence test be applied to the determination of the existence of a privilege. Section 90.105(1) provides that it is the trial court which determines preliminary issues, including that of the existence of a privilege....
...171, 107 S.Ct. 2775, 97 L.Ed.2d 144 (1987), for its analysis of the burden of proof to establish a preliminary fact. Romani v. State, 528 So.2d 15, 20 (Fla. 3d DCA 1988). In Bourjaily, analyzing Federal Rule of Evidence 104(a) *1254 (on which our Rule 90.105(1) is patterned), Chief Justice Rehnquist, writing for the Court, acknowledged that while the rule placed determination of preliminary fact issues with the trial court, it did not specify the burden of proof which should be applied to such determinations....
...And, as is noted in Laser Industries, Ltd. v. Reliant Technologies., Inc., 167 F.R.D. 417, 436 (N.D.Cal.1996), none of the federal circuit cases discussing the problem of the burden of proof of the crime-fraud exception have discussed Rule 104(a), the federal counterpart of our Rule 90.105(1), in concluding that a prima facie evidence standard applies....

Pierce v. State

718 So. 2d 806, 1997 WL 227452

District Court of Appeal of Florida | Filed: May 7, 1997 | Docket: 466461

Cited 19 times | Published

...The State then proffered the computer animation as a demonstrative exhibit to help Detective Babcock explain his opinion to the jury and also as substantive evidence. The trial court ruled the computer animation admissible as a demonstrative exhibit only. As a preliminary fact, pursuant to section 90.105, Florida Statutes (1995) (substantively identical to 1991 version), the trial court found that the original source data, the basis of the State's computer animation, was "reasonably trustworthy and reliable." Noting the issue to be one...

First Union Nat. Bank v. Turney

824 So. 2d 172, 2001 WL 1485659

District Court of Appeal of Florida | Filed: Nov 26, 2001 | Docket: 1729434

Cited 17 times | Published

preponderance of the evidence standard.[10]See § 90.105(1), Fla. Stat. (1999) ("[T]he court shall determine

Boyd v. State

389 So. 2d 642

District Court of Appeal of Florida | Filed: May 14, 1980 | Docket: 1683051

Cited 17 times | Published

...The Federal Rules of Evidence became effective July 1, 1975, two years after the decision in Apollo. But the Apollo rule lives on in Florida. The Florida Evidence Code (Chapter 90, Florida Statutes, 1979) is similar to the Federal Rules of Evidence in many respects; Section 90.105 of the Code is a counterpart of Federal Rule of Evidence 104....

Perry v. State

675 So. 2d 976, 1996 WL 279211

District Court of Appeal of Florida | Filed: May 29, 1996 | Docket: 1322518

Cited 15 times | Published

...Jano, 524 So.2d 660 (Fla.1988) (quoting 1 C. Ehrhardt, Florida Evidence § 802.2 at 473-74 (2d ed.1984)). The issue of whether the necessary state of mind exists in the person making such a remark is a question of fact for the court to determine preliminarily. Jano. See generally, § 90.105, Florida Statutes....

Dempsey v. Shell Oil Co.

589 So. 2d 373, 1991 WL 231855

District Court of Appeal of Florida | Filed: Nov 13, 1991 | Docket: 1441826

Cited 14 times | Published

...We have a question of is it reasonable to observe the intersection, or are we looking always at the envelope of light. And I just think there are too many variables under these circumstances. Three sections of the Florida Evidence Code deal with the subject of the admissibility of opinion evidence given by an expert. Section 90.105 states that the trial court shall determine preliminary questions concerning the admissibility of evidence....

Tengbergen v. State

9 So. 3d 729, 2009 Fla. App. LEXIS 3450, 2009 WL 1066016

District Court of Appeal of Florida | Filed: Apr 22, 2009 | Docket: 1221405

Cited 14 times | Published

...State, 668 So.2d 954, 960 (Fla.1996); Gold, Vann & White, P.A. v. DeBerry, 639 So.2d 47, 55 (Fla. 4th DCA 1994). As the supreme court has explained: Section 90.702 requires that before an expert may testify in the form of an opinion, two preliminary factual determinations must be made by the court under section 90.105....

Thigpen v. United Parcel Services, Inc.

990 So. 2d 639, 2008 Fla. App. LEXIS 13824, 2008 WL 4146663

District Court of Appeal of Florida | Filed: Sep 10, 2008 | Docket: 1687449

Cited 10 times | Published

...[2] Here, the order granting a new trial was based on the trial court's finding that Findeisen's testimony was not relevant, and if relevant, was more prejudicial than probative. Preliminary questions concerning these findings require a resolution of issues that are both legal and factual in nature. See § 90.105, Fla....

Mariano v. State

933 So. 2d 111, 2006 WL 1476171

District Court of Appeal of Florida | Filed: May 31, 2006 | Docket: 1712271

Cited 10 times | Published

...misrepresentation." Charles W. Ehrhardt, Florida Evidence § 803.2 (2003 ed.). Whether the necessary state of mind exists in the declarant to qualify the statement as an excited utterance is a preliminary fact for the court to determine pursuant to § 90.105, Florida Statutes, and the court's rulings are reviewed for an abuse of discretion....

Agrofollajes, S.A. v. E.I. Du Pont De Nemours & Co.

48 So. 3d 976, 2010 Fla. App. LEXIS 18327, 2010 WL 4870149

District Court of Appeal of Florida | Filed: Dec 1, 2010 | Docket: 1927248

Cited 10 times | Published

...appellate court will not overturn that decision absent a clear abuse of discretion." The non-party witnesses, whose testimony the plaintiffs proposed to introduce, were growers who had brought Benlate claims against Du Pont in 1992. Consistent with section 90.105, Florida Statutes (2001), it was the plaintiffs' burden to prove outside of the jury's presence, substantial similarity between the claims and those in the non-parties' suit, so as to demonstrate that such notice was relevant....

Tucker v. State

884 So. 2d 168, 2004 WL 1635615

District Court of Appeal of Florida | Filed: Jul 23, 2004 | Docket: 1683025

Cited 9 times | Published

...The fact that a call is placed on a 911 line does not, standing alone, qualify it for admission under section 90.803. State v. Skolar, 692 So.2d 309, 311 (Fla. 5th DCA 1997). Because of these three factual preconditions to the admission of an excited utterance, the procedures for preliminary questions outlined in section 90.105(1), Florida Statutes (2002), apply when a party seeks to introduce an excited utterance into evidence over the objection of the opposing party....
...outside the presence of the jury to consider the necessary evidence and make the findings of fact essential to determine whether the statement constitutes an admissible excited utterance. This is not a situation of conditional relevance governed by section 90.105(2), Florida Statutes (2002), in which the evidence can be admitted based on prima facie proof of the condition....
...e-fraud exception applies to *174 communications otherwise protected by attorney-client privilege); see also Bourjaily v. United States, 483 U.S. 171, 175-76, 107 S.Ct. 2775, 97 L.Ed.2d 144 (1987) (holding Federal Rule of Evidence 104(a), upon which section 90.105(1) is modeled, requires trial judge considering admissibility of statement of coconspirator to first determine whether proponent of evidence has proved by preponderance of evidence that statement was made by coconspirator during course of and in furtherance of conspiracy)....

Saavedra v. State

421 So. 2d 725

District Court of Appeal of Florida | Filed: Nov 10, 1982 | Docket: 1719541

Cited 8 times | Published

...State, 389 So.2d 642, 647-48 (Fla. 2d DCA 1980): The failure to give any instruction at all on the subject of conspiracy may not be prejudicial to a defendant, since it effectively eliminates one theory upon which a jury could find him guilty. (Citation omitted.) Second, section 90.105(1), Florida Statutes (1979), is patterned after Federal Rule of Evidence 104(a) and imposes the responsibility of determining preliminary questions as to the admissibility of evidence upon the trial judge....

Phillips v. State

591 So. 2d 987, 1991 WL 265073

District Court of Appeal of Florida | Filed: Dec 13, 1991 | Docket: 1528133

Cited 8 times | Published

...l crime. [3] Williams v. State, 110 So.2d 654 (Fla. 1959). [4] But cf. Huddleston v. United States, 485 U.S. 681, 108 S.Ct. 1496, 99 L.Ed.2d 771 (1988), wherein the United States Supreme Court viewed the issue under Federal Rule 104(b) — similar to section 90.105, Florida Statutes — as not requiring the determination of the defendant's involvement in the other act or wrong by either a clear and convincing or preponderance of the evidence standard....

Brock v. GD Searle & Co.

530 So. 2d 428, 1988 WL 89036

District Court of Appeal of Florida | Filed: Aug 30, 1988 | Docket: 1267475

Cited 8 times | Published

...FDA's continued approval of the Cu-7 in January 1982 had been obtained or retained through fraud; absent such a proffer, any evidence purporting to show that the Cu-7 was unsafe or improperly labeled would be inadmissible as a matter of law. Citing section 90.105(2), [2] Florida Statutes, Searle requested the trial court to exercise its discretion and require appellants to establish preliminarily that the FDA's approval was obtained by the fraudulent nondisclosure of material information by Searle to the FDA....
...Accordingly, we reverse the trial court's order and final judgment and remand the cause for further proceedings on appellants' claim. SMITH, C.J., and WENTWORTH, J., concur. NOTES [1] The "federal law and regulation" referenced by the trial court are 21 U.S.C. § 355 and 21 CFR § 310, et seq., respectively. [2] Section 90.105(2) provides: When the relevancy of evidence depends upon the existence of a preliminary fact, the court shall admit the proffered evidence when there is prima facie evidence sufficient to support a finding of the preliminary fact....

Donaldson v. State

561 So. 2d 648, 1990 WL 58566

District Court of Appeal of Florida | Filed: May 9, 1990 | Docket: 2546015

Cited 7 times | Published

...irements of law. Whether to admit test results is not a question of which rule of criminal procedure applies, but a question of applying the correct rule of evidence. A court determines preliminary questions concerning the admissibility of evidence. § 90.105 Fla....

Huck v. State

881 So. 2d 1137, 2004 WL 1584336

District Court of Appeal of Florida | Filed: Jul 16, 2004 | Docket: 1466241

Cited 7 times | Published

...He ruled out death by natural causes partly on the basis of the victim's age, health and medical history and partly on his autopsy findings. Thus, the medical examiner's conclusions in the instant case were most assuredly based partly on facts outside the ordinary experience of the jury and were, therefore, admissible under section 90.105, Florida Statutes (2003)....
...sent a clear showing of error. See Anderson v. State, *1149 863 So.2d 169, 179 (Fla.2003). Section 90.702, Florida Statutes, requires that before an expert may render an opinion, two preliminary factual determinations must be made by the court under section 90.105, Florida Statutes....
...First, the court must determine whether the subject matter will assist the trier of fact in understanding the evidence or in determining a fact in issue. Second, the court must determine whether the witness is adequately qualified to express an opinion on the matter. Id. Here, both requirements of section 90.105 were fully satisfied with respect to the testimony of the medical examiner....

State v. Ellis

723 So. 2d 187, 1998 WL 716702

Supreme Court of Florida | Filed: Oct 15, 1998 | Docket: 1319920

Cited 6 times | Published

...[2] Several decisions of the Court address perjury prior to enactment of the above statutes. See, e.g., Hirsch v. State, 279 So.2d 866 (Fla.1973); Wolfe v. State, 271 So.2d 132 (Fla.1972); Gordon v. State, 104 So.2d 524 (Fla.1958); Rader v. State, 52 So.2d 105 (Fla.1951). [3] See, e.g., § 90.105(1), Fla. Stat. (1993) ("[T]he court shall determine preliminary questions concerning the qualification of a person to be a witness, the existence of a privilege, or the admissibility of evidence."); § 90.105(3), Fla....

Romani v. State

528 So. 2d 15, 1988 WL 50675

District Court of Appeal of Florida | Filed: May 24, 1988 | Docket: 1367920

Cited 5 times | Published

...ers of the conspiracy, and (3) the statements were made in the course and in furtherance of the conspiracy. 590 F.2d at 582. In Florida the fourth district in Saavedra v. State, 421 So.2d 725 (Fla. 4th DCA 1982), concluded that Florida Evidence Code section 90.105(1) [9] was patterned after Federal *20 Rule 104(a) and likewise imposed the same responsibility of determining preliminary questions of admissibility on the trial judge....
...eliminary determinations. [13] "As a practical matter, it would be impossible for a judge to follow all the rules of evidence in making preliminary determinations." 31 U.Miami L.Rev. 951, 954 (1977). The fourth district, in Saavedra, recognized that section 90.105(1) is patterned after Federal Evidence Rule 104(a)....
...1st DCA 1977); accord Sike v. Seaboard Coast Line R. Co. 429 So.2d 1216 (Fla. 1st DCA 1983); Dinter v. Brewer, 420 So.2d 932 (Fla. 3d DCA 1982). Having found no authority to the contrary, we find the commentators' arguments to be persuasive in construing section 90.105(1)....
...[8] Federal Evidence Rule 104(a) states: "(a) Preliminary questions concerning ... the admissibility of evidence shall be determined by the court... . In making its determination it is not bound by the rules of evidence except those with respect to privilege." [9] Section 90.105(1) provides in pertinent part that: "the court shall determine preliminary questions concerning ......

Pierce v. State

671 So. 2d 186, 1996 WL 106372

District Court of Appeal of Florida | Filed: Mar 13, 1996 | Docket: 1248138

Cited 5 times | Published

...The state then proffered the computer animation as a demonstrative exhibit to help Detective Babcock explain his opinion to the jury, and also as substantive evidence. The trial court ruled the computer animation admissible as a demonstrative exhibit only. As a preliminary fact, pursuant to section 90.105, Florida Statutes (1991), the trial court found that the original source data, the basis of the State's computer animation, was "reasonably trustworthy and reliable." Noting the issue to be one of first impression, the trial court dete...

Georges v. State

723 So. 2d 399, 1999 WL 9790

District Court of Appeal of Florida | Filed: Jan 13, 1999 | Docket: 1319934

Cited 4 times | Published

...he defense argument that the questions were proper to establish the "motive" or "bias" of the victim. This ruling was correct, since the defense did not demonstrate a preliminary basis for the questions, even assuming that their form was proper. See § 90.105(1), Fla....

Partin v. State

82 So. 3d 31, 36 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. 705, 2011 Fla. LEXIS 2796, 2011 WL 5984445

Supreme Court of Florida | Filed: Dec 1, 2011 | Docket: 60306206

Cited 4 times | Published

proven by a preponderance of the evidence. See § 90.105(1), Fla. Stat. (2002); Charles W. Ehrhardt, Florida

Moncus v. State

69 So. 3d 341, 2011 Fla. App. LEXIS 14062, 2011 WL 3903062

District Court of Appeal of Florida | Filed: Sep 7, 2011 | Docket: 2359126

Cited 3 times | Published

...lish a sentence enhancement, but to impeach Moncus's character. Whether or not the past convictions were in fact Moncus's was an issue of fact. Preliminary questions of fact concerning the admissibility of evidence are determined by the trial court. § 90.105(1), Fla....

Roop v. State

228 So. 3d 633, 2017 WL 4393245

District Court of Appeal of Florida | Filed: Oct 4, 2017 | Docket: 6163423

Cited 2 times | Published

procedures for preliminary questions outlined in section 90.105(1), Florida Statutes (2002), apply when a party

Shorter v. State

98 So. 3d 685, 2012 WL 4511305, 2012 Fla. App. LEXIS 16720

District Court of Appeal of Florida | Filed: Oct 3, 2012 | Docket: 60312524

Cited 2 times | Published

the predicates for admissibility have been met. § 90.105(1), Fla. Stat. (2010). Because the affidavit of

State Farm Florida Insurance Co. v. Buitrago

100 So. 3d 85, 2012 Fla. App. LEXIS 10547, 2012 WL 2471601

District Court of Appeal of Florida | Filed: Jun 29, 2012 | Docket: 60226083

Cited 2 times | Published

admissibility of the recommendation pursuant to section 90.105, and the court may consider possible exclusion

Van Den Borre v. State

596 So. 2d 687, 1992 Fla. App. LEXIS 548, 1992 WL 12174

District Court of Appeal of Florida | Filed: Jan 29, 1992 | Docket: 1358972

Cited 2 times | Published

...We hold that appellant had a reasonable opportunity to investigate the authenticity and accuracy of the waiver note which eliminated the need for a final certification. Lastly, the trial court made a preliminary finding that the notes were authentic. See § 90.105(2), Fla....

Arnett v. State

843 So. 2d 340, 2003 WL 1913720

District Court of Appeal of Florida | Filed: Apr 23, 2003 | Docket: 2539715

Cited 2 times | Published

...ued by the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles. In determining whether the hearsay exception of section 90.803(6)(a) applies, the trial court must make a preliminary factual determination of the admissibility of evidence pursuant *343 to section 90.105(1)....

State v. Hampton

44 So. 3d 661, 2010 Fla. App. LEXIS 14538, 2010 WL 3813183

District Court of Appeal of Florida | Filed: Oct 1, 2010 | Docket: 1928023

Cited 1 times | Published

...See, e.g., DeLong v. Williams, 232 So.2d 246 (Fla. 4th DCA 1970) (unauthenticated transcript of prior hearing not admissible). This preliminary requirement falls within the category of conditional relevancy and is governed by the procedure set forth in § 90.105(2) granting the court the power to admit evidence subject to the introduction of evidence sufficient to support a finding of relevancy....

Bowers v. State

23 So. 3d 767, 2009 Fla. App. LEXIS 17231, 2009 WL 3837251

District Court of Appeal of Florida | Filed: Nov 18, 2009 | Docket: 60282058

Cited 1 times | Published

that approach relies on federal rule 104(a)). Section 90.105(1), Florida Statutes (2008), is similar to

Essex v. State

958 So. 2d 431, 2007 WL 1264004

District Court of Appeal of Florida | Filed: May 2, 2007 | Docket: 1734977

Cited 1 times | Published

...5th DCA 2006) (applying section 90.804(1)(e) to decide whether a witness was "unavailable" for the purposes of the Confrontation Clause). Whether the state made a sufficient showing of B.D.'s unavailability to admit her former testimony is a preliminary question "concerning . . . the admissibility of evidence" under section 90.105(1), Florida Statutes (2006)....

McDade v. State

114 So. 3d 465, 2013 WL 2451347, 2013 Fla. App. LEXIS 8996

District Court of Appeal of Florida | Filed: Jun 7, 2013 | Docket: 60231945

Cited 1 times | Published

hearing that should have been conducted under section 90.105, Florida Statutes (2011), to determine whether

Elizabeth Sentz v. Bonefish Grill, LLC

District Court of Appeal of Florida | Filed: Nov 15, 2023 | Docket: 68008456

Published

concerning “the admissibility of evidence” under section 90.105(1), Florida Statutes (2020). The party seeking

Alvarez v. La Associacion I.N.E.D., Inc.

524 So. 2d 502, 1988 Fla. App. LEXIS 1853, 1988 WL 45250

District Court of Appeal of Florida | Filed: May 10, 1988 | Docket: 64634541

Published

v. Morris, 143 Fla. 189, 196 So. 472 (1940); § 90.105(1), Fla.Stat. (1987); 4 Fla.Jur.2d *503Evidence

Livingston v. State

219 So. 3d 911, 2017 WL 1202398, 2017 Fla. App. LEXIS 4371

District Court of Appeal of Florida | Filed: Mar 31, 2017 | Docket: 4667149

Published

predicate findings before admitting the evidence. See § 90.105(1), Fla. Stat. (2013); Morrison v. State, 161

Johnson v. State

108 So. 3d 707, 2013 WL 757198, 2013 Fla. App. LEXIS 3301

District Court of Appeal of Florida | Filed: Mar 1, 2013 | Docket: 60229208

Published

preponderance of the evidence, pursuant to section 90.105. Ehrhardt, supra, § 105.1. In this regard,

Leonard Bros. Industrial Contractors v. Burke Co.

529 So. 2d 779, 13 Fla. L. Weekly 1777, 1988 Fla. App. LEXIS 3391, 1988 WL 75979

District Court of Appeal of Florida | Filed: Jul 26, 1988 | Docket: 64636387

Published

M. Corp., 368 So.2d 91, 92 (Fla. 3d DCA 1979); § 90.105(2) law revision council note, Fla.Stat.Ann. (1979);

Cynthia L. Jackson v. Household Finance Corporation III

Supreme Court of Florida | Filed: Jul 2, 2020 | Docket: 17317801

Published

(“While the trial judge has the duty under section 90.105(1) to make a factual determination that the

Allen v. State

157 So. 3d 540, 2015 Fla. App. LEXIS 2459, 2015 WL 735677

District Court of Appeal of Florida | Filed: Feb 23, 2015 | Docket: 60246102

Published

fact for the court to determine pursuant to Section 90.105, Florida Statutes, and the court’s rulings

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