Legislative Council of the Territory of Florida
One of the requirements for a United States territory to become a state of the Union is that its constitution be approved by the United States Congress. In order to fulfill that requirement, an Act was passed by the Florida Territorial Council in 1838, approved by Governor Richard Keith Call, calling for the election of delegates in October 1838 to a convention to be held at St. Joseph, Florida. The delegates were to draft a constitution and bill of rights for the Territory of Florida. The Constitutional Convention convened on December 3, 1838, with Robert R. Reid presiding as president and Joshua Knowles secretary. The work of the Convention was carried out by eighteen committees, whose members were familiar with that particular area of government. The process was a relatively simple one, since they used the constitutions of several other Southern states as models. Only on the subject of banking did much debate take place. The Convention adjourned "sine die" on January 11, 1839.
Law of Florida
The Constitution of Florida is the foremost source of state law. Legislation is enacted by the Florida Legislature, published in the "Laws of Florida", and codified in the "Florida Statutes". State agencies publish regulations (sometimes called administrative law) in the "Florida Administrative Register" (FAR), which are in turn codified in the "Florida Administrative Code" (FAC). Florida's legal system is based on common law, which is interpreted by case law through the decisions of the Supreme Court, District Courts of Appeal, and Circuit Courts, which are published in the "Florida Cases", "Southern Reporter", "Florida Law Weekly", and "Florida Law Weekly Supplement". Counties and municipalities may also promulgate local ordinances. There are also several sources of persuasive authority, which are not binding authority but are useful to lawyers and judges insofar as they help to clarify the current state of the law.