In November 2007, an article titled “Off the Record,” which was co-authored by one of this article’s authors, was published in this Journal. It began by saying “[e]very good appellate lawyer knows that an appeal is constrained by the record formed below.” It quoted a 1988 decision of the First District reprimanding a lawyer who sought to “amend” the record to include matters not before the trial court, and declaring in this regard that the fact “an appellate court may not consider matters outside the record is so elemental there is no excuse for an attorney to attempt to bring such matters before the court.”

Originally published by the Florida Bar - December 1, 2016.