[1] Established upon statehood in 1845, the Florida Supreme Court is headquartered across Duval Street from the state capitol in Tallahassee.

The Court can provide an advisory opinion upon a request by the governor to address uncertainties about legal issues involving the executive branch's powers.

It also can issue advisory opinions to the Florida Attorney General about citizens' initiatives to amend the state Constitution.

However, for this last type of advisory opinion, the Court only determines whether the citizens' initiative meets two legal requirements: its ballot summary fairly advises the voters of its effect; and it only contains a single subject.

[10] For an example in which a "per curiam affirmed" decision was reviewed by the United States Supreme Court and reversed, see Ibanez v. Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation, 512 U.S. 136 (1994).

The Supreme Court also has the authority to impose discipline on state judges for ethical breaches, which can range from a public televised reprimand to removal from office.

Justices must be an elector (a qualified, registered voter) of the state and must have been a member in good standing of the Florida Bar for at least ten years.

The intent behind this procedure is to eliminate any concern that temporary associate justices are appointed because of their personal views on legal issues.

Justices must meet four requirements to qualify for appointment to the Court: they must be an elector (a qualified, registered voter) of the state, they must reside in the territorial jurisdiction of the state when they assume office, they must be members of the Florida Bar for at least ten years, and they must be under 75 years of age.

[11] Following a constitutional amendment passed by referendum in November 2018, mandatory retirement for Florida Supreme Court justices occurs upon reaching age 75.

[12][13] The Florida Constitution states, "No justice or judge shall serve after attaining the age of seventy-five years except upon temporary assignment.

They can be disciplined upon the recommendation of the Judicial Qualifications Commission, at which time the Court may remove a justice or impose a lesser penalty such as a fine or reprimand; and justices may be impeached by a two-thirds vote of the Florida House of Representatives and convicted by a two-thirds vote of the Senate.

[16] In 1999, a dissenting opinion by Justice Leander J. Shaw Jr. sparked a worldwide debate over the use of Old Sparky, Florida's electric chair, which helped lead to events that caused the Florida Legislature to adopt lethal injection as the state's method of execution only a few months later.

In 2006, the Court struck down a law passed by the Florida Legislature that had created the first statewide education voucher program in the United States.

That same year in Engle v. Liggett Group,[22] it also ordered decertification of a class action lawsuit against big tobacco companies that effectively reversed the largest punitive damage jury award, $145 billion, in U.S. history.

In 2013, Governor Rick Scott signed the Timely Justice Act (HB 7101)[23] which overhauled the processes for capital punishment.

[24] The United States Supreme Court struck down part of this law in January 2016 in Hurst v. Florida, declaring that a judge determining the aggravating facts to be used in considering a death sentence with only a non-binding recommendation from the jury based on a majority vote was insufficient and violated the Sixth Amendment guarantee of a jury trial.

An estimated one-quarter of the entire fleet of satellite trucks used by broadcasters in North America was present in Tallahassee at the height of the controversy.

[32] Former chief justice Charles T. Wells, who presided over the two historic cases argued at the state highest court, wrote a first person account of the controversy, Inside Bush v. Gore, published in 2013.

[34] It was not until 1956, under section 25.341 of the Florida Statutes, that the Supreme Court had a separate librarian administering the library including reference.

Some examples are court decisions, statutes, regulations, jury instructions, legal periodicals, and treatises, in both print and online format.