Florida Statute 90.609 - Full Text and Legal Analysis

The 2025 Florida Statutes

Title VII
EVIDENCE

Chapter 90
EVIDENCE CODE

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F.S. 90.609

90.609 Character of witness as impeachment.—A party may attack or support the credibility of a witness, including an accused, by evidence in the form of reputation, except that:

(1) The evidence may refer only to character relating to truthfulness.

(2) Evidence of a truthful character is admissible only after the character of the witness for truthfulness has been attacked by reputation evidence.

History.—s. 1, ch. 76-237; s. 1, ch. 77-77; ss. 15, 22, ch. 78-361; ss. 1, 2, ch. 78-379.

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Amendments to 90.609

Annotations, Discussions, Cases:

Cases Citing Statute 90.609

Total Results: 37

Morrison v. State

818 So. 2d 432, 2002 WL 432561

Supreme Court of Florida | Filed: Mar 21, 2002 | Docket: 1169841

Cited 103 times | Published

impermissible opinion evidence. Pursuant to section 90.609, Florida Statutes (1997), a party may use character

Larzelere v. State

676 So. 2d 394, 1996 WL 137097

Supreme Court of Florida | Filed: Jul 11, 1996 | Docket: 1318100

Cited 83 times | Published

deprived the appellant of a fair trial. Under section 90.609, Florida Statutes (1991), a party may attack

Ibar v. State

938 So. 2d 451, 2006 WL 560586

Supreme Court of Florida | Filed: Mar 9, 2006 | Docket: 421577

Cited 76 times | Published

on the opinions of a small number of people. Section 90.609, Florida Statutes (1999), provides as follows:

Jaggers v. State

536 So. 2d 321, 1988 WL 137176

District Court of Appeal of Florida | Filed: Dec 20, 1988 | Docket: 1759626

Cited 41 times | Published

attack in accordance with the provisions of section 90.609, which states that "[a] party may attack or

Antone v. State

382 So. 2d 1205

Supreme Court of Florida | Filed: Mar 27, 1980 | Docket: 2052498

Cited 38 times | Published

Florida Evidence Code, effective July 1, 1979. § 90.609, Fla. Stat. (Supp. 1978). [5] In a federal prosecution

Washington v. State

737 So. 2d 1208, 1999 WL 534733

District Court of Appeal of Florida | Filed: Jul 27, 1999 | Docket: 1709666

Cited 21 times | Published

the witness in accordance with the provisions of § 90.609 or § 90.610. (4) Showing a defect of capacity

Lott v. State

695 So. 2d 1239, 1997 WL 268911

Supreme Court of Florida | Filed: May 22, 1997 | Docket: 425341

Cited 20 times | Published

reputation for untruthfulness. Pursuant to section 90.609, Florida Statutes (1993), a party may use character

Lawhorne v. State

500 So. 2d 519, 12 Fla. L. Weekly 24

Supreme Court of Florida | Filed: Dec 30, 1986 | Docket: 1295171

Cited 20 times | Published

evidence of reputation for truthfulness under section 90.609, Florida Statutes (1983). Nor do the provisions

Gelabert v. State

407 So. 2d 1007

District Court of Appeal of Florida | Filed: Dec 23, 1981 | Docket: 467510

Cited 20 times | Published

the witness' reputation for untruthfulness by section 90.609 or evidence of a prior conviction by section

Jackson v. State

545 So. 2d 260, 1989 WL 61547

Supreme Court of Florida | Filed: Jun 8, 1989 | Docket: 1345287

Cited 19 times | Published

granting the motion in limine. First, under section 90.609, Florida Statutes (1985), a party may attack

Pantoja v. State

59 So. 3d 1092, 36 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. 91, 2011 Fla. LEXIS 519, 2011 WL 722374

Supreme Court of Florida | Filed: Mar 3, 2011 | Docket: 60299563

Cited 14 times | Published

has a poor reputation for truthfulness under section 90.609. Accordingly, we cannot agree with the Second

Reyes v. State

580 So. 2d 309, 1991 WL 87226

District Court of Appeal of Florida | Filed: May 28, 1991 | Docket: 407315

Cited 11 times | Published

Suttons' testimony was properly admitted under section 90.609(2), Florida Statutes (1989). That section permits

Carter v. State

485 So. 2d 1292

District Court of Appeal of Florida | Filed: Apr 16, 1986 | Docket: 1276083

Cited 11 times | Published

"[y]ou couldn't believe anything she said." Section 90.609, Florida Statutes (1983), provides in relevant

Midtown Enterprises, Inc. v. Local Contractors, Inc.

785 So. 2d 578, 2001 Fla. App. LEXIS 4747, 2001 WL 356946

District Court of Appeal of Florida | Filed: Apr 11, 2001 | Docket: 450187

Cited 10 times | Published

admissible by way of reputation evidence. See § 90.609, Fla. Stat. (1999). Likewise, it is inadmissible

Dupont v. State

556 So. 2d 457, 1990 WL 6568

District Court of Appeal of Florida | Filed: Jan 31, 1990 | Docket: 1528368

Cited 9 times | Published

irrelevant[1] and failed to meet the test. Section 90.609, Florida Statutes (1987), specifically requires

Lusk v. State

531 So. 2d 1377, 1988 WL 99738

District Court of Appeal of Florida | Filed: Sep 30, 1988 | Docket: 544137

Cited 9 times | Published

v. State, 407 So.2d 1007 (Fla. 5th DCA 1981); § 90.609, Fla. Stat. (1985). This evidence was also admissible

Arias v. State

593 So. 2d 260, 1992 WL 4083

District Court of Appeal of Florida | Filed: Jan 14, 1992 | Docket: 446300

Cited 6 times | Published

drafters was to maintain the existing law in Section 90.609(2). C. Ehrhardt, Florida Evidence, § 611.2

In Re Commitment of DeBolt

19 So. 3d 335, 2009 Fla. App. LEXIS 1929, 2009 WL 530391

District Court of Appeal of Florida | Filed: Mar 4, 2009 | Docket: 1651274

Cited 5 times | Published

argument he made in his motion for new trial. Section 90.609, Florida Statutes (2006), provides that the

Nelson v. State

739 So. 2d 1177, 1999 WL 512051

District Court of Appeal of Florida | Filed: Jul 21, 1999 | Docket: 1688755

Cited 5 times | Published

the character of witnesses is authorized by section 90.609, Florida Statutes. Addressing both sections

State Farm Mut. Auto. Ins. Co. v. Lynch

661 So. 2d 1227, 1995 Fla. App. LEXIS 10198, 1995 WL 566521

District Court of Appeal of Florida | Filed: Sep 27, 1995 | Docket: 532486

Cited 4 times | Published

community must be in strict compliance with section 90.609, Florida Statutes (1989). We affirm in part

Roosevelt v. State

42 So. 3d 293, 2010 Fla. App. LEXIS 11282, 2010 WL 3023314

District Court of Appeal of Florida | Filed: Aug 4, 2010 | Docket: 1647433

Cited 3 times | Published

the expert’s formal disciplinary proceedings: Section 90.609, Florida Statutes (2006), provides that the

Pantoja v. State

990 So. 2d 626, 2008 WL 4073348

District Court of Appeal of Florida | Filed: Sep 4, 2008 | Docket: 1293249

Cited 3 times | Published

testified to by the witness being impeached. Section 90.609(1) permits credibility attacks in the form

PINTADO v. State

970 So. 2d 857, 2007 WL 3355092

District Court of Appeal of Florida | Filed: Nov 14, 2007 | Docket: 1323370

Cited 2 times | Published

309, 310 n. 4 (Fla. 3d DCA 1991) (noting that Section 90.609(2), Florida Statutes, permits only the admission

Robertson v. State

780 So. 2d 94, 2000 WL 368468

District Court of Appeal of Florida | Filed: Apr 12, 2000 | Docket: 1708736

Cited 2 times | Published

attacked in accordance with the provisions of section 90.609 or 90.610. In further support of its section

General Telephone Co. v. Wallace

417 So. 2d 1022

District Court of Appeal of Florida | Filed: Jul 2, 1982 | Docket: 1382929

Cited 2 times | Published

are embodied in the Florida Evidence Code at section 90.609, Florida Statutes (1981). That section provides:

Rivera v. State

274 So. 3d 537

District Court of Appeal of Florida | Filed: Jun 21, 2019 | Docket: 64718356

Cited 1 times | Published

Likewise, where a witness is being impeached under section 90.609 based upon his or her reputation in the community

& SC13-2330 Michael A. Hernandez, Jr. v. State of Florida and Michael A. Hernandez, Jr. v. Julie L. Jones, etc.

180 So. 3d 978, 2015 WL 5445655

Supreme Court of Florida | Filed: Sep 17, 2015 | Docket: 2816844

Cited 1 times | Published

of character relating to truthfulness under section 90.609(1), Florida Statutes, and relating to evidence

Wyon Dale Childers v. Willie L. Floyd, Warden-Glades Correctional Institution

736 F.3d 1331, 2013 WL 6169275, 2013 U.S. App. LEXIS 23019

Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit | Filed: Nov 14, 2013 | Docket: 142762

Cited 1 times | Published

the witness in accordance with the provisions of § 90.609 or § 90.610. (4) Showing a defect of capacity

Welch v. State

940 So. 2d 1244, 2006 WL 3103152

District Court of Appeal of Florida | Filed: Nov 3, 2006 | Docket: 1523873

Cited 1 times | Published

deals with "[w]ho may impeach" a witness and section 90.609 defines the "[c]haracter of witness as impeachment

Gonzalez v. State

871 So. 2d 1010, 2004 Fla. App. LEXIS 5458, 2004 WL 840237

District Court of Appeal of Florida | Filed: Apr 21, 2004 | Docket: 64830113

Cited 1 times | Published

a sufficient community” to be permissible. Section 90.609, Florida Statutes (2002) permits a party to

Rivera v. State

274 So. 3d 537

District Court of Appeal of Florida | Filed: Jun 21, 2019 | Docket: 64718357

Published

Likewise, where a witness is being impeached under section 90.609 based upon his or her reputation in the community

Kareem Daniel Farrell v. State of Florida

186 So. 3d 1046, 2015 Fla. App. LEXIS 7069, 2015 WL 2214148

District Court of Appeal of Florida | Filed: May 13, 2015 | Docket: 2679347

Published

admitting evidence in the form of reputation (under section 90.609) or conviction of certain crimes (under section

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

may only be introduced in one form— reputation. § 90.609, Fla. Stat. (2012). This form of evidence is thought

Washington v. State

737 So. 2d 1208, 1999 Fla. App. LEXIS 10059

District Court of Appeal of Florida | Filed: Jul 27, 1999 | Docket: 64789652

Published

the witness in accordance with the provisions of § 90.609 or § 90.610. (4) Showing a defect of capacity

Moton v. State

697 So. 2d 1271, 1997 Fla. App. LEXIS 9277, 1997 WL 461186

District Court of Appeal of Florida | Filed: Aug 13, 1997 | Docket: 64775374

Published

exception is when that character has been attacked. § 90.609, Fla. Stat. Proof of the characteristic is limited

Allright of Miami, Inc. v. Oesterle

507 So. 2d 771, 12 Fla. L. Weekly 1339, 1987 Fla. App. LEXIS 8439

District Court of Appeal of Florida | Filed: May 26, 1987 | Docket: 64627376

Published

v. Wallace, 417 So.2d 1022 (Fla.2d DCA 1982); § 90.609(2), Fla.Stat. (1985). Accordingly, we reverse

Mohorn v. State

462 So. 2d 81, 10 Fla. L. Weekly 126, 1985 Fla. App. LEXIS 11791

District Court of Appeal of Florida | Filed: Jan 4, 1985 | Docket: 64609255

Published

Evidence § 1104 (Rev. ed. 1972). See also section 90.609(2), Florida Statutes (1983). We cannot say