Florida’s early law was administered by circuit riders, a tradition begun in 12th century England by King Henry II.
Florida law goes back more than a millennium to English Common Law. When Spain ceded Florida to the United States in 1821, the first government of Florida, in a burst of patriotic fervor, adopted English Common Law as it existed on July 4, 1776.
The Constitution of 1838, drawn up when Florida was still a Territory, announced the government’s intention to become a state.
Orange and Osceola counties, which today make up the Ninth Judicial Circuit, were once part of a large tract of land below St. Johns County that in 1824, was dubbed Mosquito County.
In the first half of the 20th century, Florida was said to have more different kinds of trial courts than any state except New York.