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Law and Justice in Florida

This guide from the State Library of Florida explores law and justice, both in Florida history and in modern times. 

Links within the bibliographies take you to information in our catalog or to more information on external sites.

• Law and justice in history
• Law and justice today
  • Laws, reports and statistics
  • Professional resources

State agency services

Legal, law enforcement and correctional professionals who have a State Library card can:

• Access free e-books, online journals and other resources.
• Request scanned and certified copies of laws, rules and other materials for no charge.
• Have books and research articles delivered directly to your office.

Other researchers

If you are not employed by the state of Florida, you can request:

• Scanned and certified copies of laws, rules and other materials  for a fee.
• Most of the materials in this bibliography through your local public or law library. 

Law and justice in history

• Denham, James M. Fifty Years of Justice: A History of the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida. Gainesville, FL: University Press of Florida, 2015. 
• Florida Railroad Commission. Annual Report. Tallahassee, FL: 1888-1960. 
• Huffstodt, Jim. Everglades Lawmen: True Stories of Danger and Adventure in the Glades. Sarasota, FL: Pineapple Press, 2000. 
• Karl, Frederick B. The 57 Club: My Four Decades in Florida Politics. Gainesville, FL: University Press of Florida, 2010. 
• Manley, Walter W., E. Canter Brown, and Eric W. Rise. The Supreme Court of Florida and Its Predecessor Courts, 1821-1917. Gainesville, FL: University Press of Florida, 1997. 
• Manley, Walter W., and Canter Brown. The Supreme Court of Florida, 1917-1972. Gainesville, FL: University Press of Florida, 2006. 
• Matthew, Sidney L., ed. The Tallahassee Bar. Tallahassee, FL: Tallahassee Bar Association, 2000. 
• Rogers, William Warren, and James M. Denham. Florida Sheriffs: A History, 1821-1945. Tallahassee, FL: Sentry Press, 2001. 
• Rosen, Deborah A. Border Law: The First Seminole War and American Nationhood. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2015. 
• State Archives of Florida. “Florida Supreme Court Collection.” Florida Memory.  Florida Division of Library and Information Services. 
• State Archives of Florida. “Supreme Court Records: Florida’s Supreme Court and the Territorial Court of Appeals.” Florida Memory.  Florida Division of Library and Information Services.

Law and justice today

Law, reports and statistics

• Federal Bureau of Investigation. “Uniform Crime Reports.” FBI.gov. U.S. Department of Justice. 
• Florida Commission on Offender Review. Annual Report. Tallahassee, FL: 1941-present. 
• Florida Department of Corrections. Annual Report. Tallahassee, FL: 1977-present. 
• Florida Department of Law Enforcement. County and Municipal Arrest Data. Tallahassee, FL: 2000-present. 
• Florida Department of Law Enforcement. Crime in Florida Report. Tallahassee, FL: 1994-present. 
• Florida Department of Law Enforcement. Florida’s Annual Crime Clock. Tallahassee, FL: 2000-present. 
• Florida Office of the Attorney General. Report of the Attorney General of the State of Florida, Including Attorney General’s Opinions. Tallahassee, FL: 1889-present. 
• Florida Public Service Commission. Annual Report. Tallahassee, FL: 1965-present. 
• State Library of Florida. “Laws and Regulations.” Florida Division of Library and Information Services. 
• U.S. Office of Justice Programs. “National Criminal Justice Reference Service.” NCJRS.gov. U.S. Department of Justice.

Professional resources

• Arnold, Jason Ross. Secrecy in the Sunshine Era: The Promise and Failures of US Open Government Laws. Lawrence, KS: University Press of Kansas, 2014. 
• Bernard, Thomas J., and Megan Clouser Kurlychek. The Cycle of Juvenile Justice. 2nd ed. New York, NY: Oxford University Press, 2010. 
• Doerner, William G. Florida’s Criminal Justice System. Durham, NC: Carolina Academic Press, 2012. 
• Gaskew, Tony. Rethinking Prison Reentry: Transforming Humiliation Into Humility. Lanham, MD: Lexington Books, 2014. 
• Healey, Paul D. Legal Reference for Librarians: How and Where to Find the Answers. Chicago, IL: ALA Editions, 2014. 
• Moncrief, Gary F., and Peverill Squire. Why States Matter: An Introduction to State Politics. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, 2013. 
• Skarbek, David. The Social Order of the Underworld: How Prison Gangs Govern the American Penal System. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press, 2014. 
• Thomas, David J. Understanding Violent Criminals: Insights From the Front Lines of Law Enforcement. Santa Barbara, CA: Praeger, 2014. 
• Van Wormer, Katherine S., and Albert R. Roberts. Death by Domestic Violence: Preventing the Murders and Murder-Suicides. Westport, CT: Praeger, 2009. 
• Warner, Sara. Down to the Waterline: Boundaries, Nature, and the Law in Florida. Athens, GA: University of Georgia Press, 2005.