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Will Six Jurors Decide Your Felony Case?

The Supreme Court will decide in Kian v. Florida whether states can try serious felonies before juries smaller than 12, as Florida and Connecticut do with six jurors. Learn what a smaller jury changes at trial and what the pending case means for a plea decision you may be weighing now.

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If you are charged with a felony in Florida or Connecticut, six people may decide your case. Whether a six person jury felony trial is allowed under the Constitution is now in front of the U.S. Supreme Court. The case is Kian v. Florida, No. 25-6623, and it could change how felony trials work in several states. It could also affect people whose appeals are still pending. Until the Court rules, the law stays the same. What you do before trial can still matter.

What is Kian v. Florida about?

Hamed Kian was a chiropractor in Palm Beach County. A unanimous six-person jury convicted him on five felony counts of practicing chiropractic medicine without a valid or active license. He was sentenced to one year and one day in prison, plus five years of probation, and Florida's Fourth District Court of Appeal affirmed the conviction, according to the Defender Services Office and Florida Bar News.

Kian filed his petition on January 9, 2026. The Court agreed to hear the case on June 15, 2026. The question presented is whether someone charged with a serious felony has a Sixth and Fourteenth Amendment right to a 12-person jury.

Where the case stands: Kian's brief was filed August 6, 2026. Florida's brief is due September 28, 2026. The case is on the October Term 2026 calendar, but no argument date has been set. Cases argued in a term are usually decided by the end of that term, so a ruling would likely come by mid-2027. That timing is an estimate. The Court has not announced a date.

Can a felony be tried by a six-person jury today?

Yes, in some states. In 1970, in Williams v. Florida, the Supreme Court ruled 7 to 1 that the Constitution does not require 12 jurors. Every state that uses smaller juries relies on that decision.

Kian argues that a later case weakens Williams. In Ramos v. Louisiana (2020), the Court required unanimous jury verdicts in serious criminal cases. It based that ruling on what a jury trial historically meant. Kian says the same history calls for 12 jurors, as the federal defender summary explains. Justice Gorsuch has already written dissents when the Court declined to hear similar cases, Khorrami v. Arizona and Cunningham v. Florida. In those dissents he argued that Williams was wrong the day it was decided, according to SCOTUSblog.

Florida says Williams has been the rule for 56 years and that overturning it would upset settled expectations. The state also says about 5,000 convictions from six-person juries are on direct appeal in Florida right now (SCOTUSblog, Florida Bar News).

The case has drawn supporters from across the political spectrum. The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, the Cato Institute, the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, the NAACP and the ACLU have all backed Kian, according to the Boston Globe.

Which states use fewer than 12 jurors in criminal cases?

Six states use juries smaller than 12 in at least some criminal cases. Only Florida and Connecticut routinely use six jurors for most felonies. The rules in the other four states are narrower.

| State | Smaller jury rule | When 12 jurors are used | | --- | --- | --- | | Florida | Six jurors for all noncapital criminal cases | Capital cases | | Connecticut | Six jurors by default | Offenses punishable by death or life imprisonment (fewer only with the defendant's consent) | | Arizona | Eight jurors for other criminal cases in courts of record | Cases where death or 30 or more years in prison is authorized | | Utah | Eight jurors where the most serious charge carries more than one year | Capital cases | | Indiana | Six jurors for Level 6 felonies and misdemeanors | Murder and Level 1 to 5 felonies, unless both sides agree to fewer | | Massachusetts | Six jurors for misdemeanors punishable by less than a year, per the Boston Globe | Felonies, per the Boston Globe |

Sources for the table: Florida's rule under Fla. Stat. 913.10, as quoted by Brancato Law Firm; Conn. Gen. Stat. 54-82; A.R.S. 21-102; Utah Code 78B-1-104; Ind. Code 35-37-1-1; and the Boston Globe for Massachusetts. Arizona and Utah require unanimous verdicts in criminal cases.

A Florida case shows the biggest gap. A defendant facing a first-degree felony that is not a capital case can still be tried by six jurors.

Does a smaller jury make a conviction more likely?

The research does not show that. Smaller juries do work differently, but studies have not found that they reach different verdicts. The main study is a 1997 meta-analysis by Saks and Marti in Law and Human Behavior, which reviewed 17 studies covering 2,061 juries. Compared with six-person juries, it found that 12-person juries:

  • Deliberate longer

  • Remember evidence more accurately

  • Include minority jurors more often

  • Hang more often

In practice, a six-person jury has fewer seats where a juror with doubts might hold out, and it is less likely to end in a hung jury. It is also less likely to reflect the community. None of that proves a smaller jury would have convicted you when a larger one would not. Be wary of anyone who says jury size will decide your case.

Should Kian v. Florida affect your plea decision?

It might. If you are weighing a plea in Florida or Connecticut, the pending case is worth raising with your lawyer. Keep three points in mind.

A guilty plea generally gives up the jury-size issue. If you plead, there is no jury, so you normally have nothing to challenge if Kian wins.

Going to trial only helps if the objection is preserved. A win for Kian would most likely help defendants who objected to the six-person jury on time and whose cases are still on direct appeal when the Court rules.

Nothing is guaranteed. The Court could keep Williams in place. Even if it overrules Williams, a new trial with 12 jurors could still end in a conviction. A plea offer you turn down may not come back.

Questions to ask your lawyer:

  • Does my charge get six jurors under state law?

  • Should a written demand for 12 jurors be part of my pretrial motions?

  • How does the plea offer compare with my realistic outcomes at trial?

  • Does the timing of trial, or a continuance, affect whether my case would still be on direct appeal when Kian is decided?

How do you preserve a 12-juror objection?

Florida defense lawyers describe these steps (Brancato Law Firm):

A hand resting a pen on a stack of papers on a dark wood desk, lit from the side with a small brass paperweight nearby.

  • File a written demand for 12 jurors before trial. Under current Florida law, the trial court will deny it, but the demand puts the issue on the record.

  • Object when the six-person jury is sworn.

  • Raise the issue in your first brief on direct appeal.

  • Track whether your case is final. A case generally becomes final once direct appeals end. That matters for whether a new rule can apply to you.

Your lawyer decides how to make these objections in your court. The point is to make sure the issue is not lost by staying silent.

What if you were already convicted by six jurors?

It depends on whether your case is still on direct appeal or is already final.

An empty courtroom seen from a low angle, wood benches receding toward a vacant jury box lit by a single high window.

Direct appeal (case not yet final): Under Griffith v. Kentucky, new procedural rules apply to cases still on direct review. If Kian wins, people whose cases are still on appeal and who preserved the objection would be best placed to benefit. That is why Florida's figure of about 5,000 pending six-juror appeals matters to both sides.

Collateral review (case already final): In Edwards v. Vannoy (2021), the Court held that the unanimity rule from Ramos does not apply retroactively on federal collateral review. If a Kian ruling were treated the same way, people whose convictions were already final would likely not get relief through federal habeas.

If your appeal is pending, ask your appellate lawyer now whether the jury-size issue was preserved and raised.

What to watch next

  • September 28, 2026: Florida's brief is due.

  • Argument date: not yet set. Watch the SCOTUSblog case page.

  • The decision: likely by the end of the October 2026 term (estimated, not scheduled).

Sources

Note: This article contains AI-assisted content and has been reviewed by our editorial team.

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Frequently asked questions

Can a felony be tried by a six-person jury?

Yes, in some states. Williams v. Florida (1970) held that 12 jurors are not constitutionally required, and Florida and Connecticut routinely use six jurors for most felonies. The Supreme Court is reconsidering that rule in Kian v. Florida.

When will the Supreme Court decide Kian v. Florida?

No argument date has been set. Florida's brief is due September 28, 2026, and the case is on the October Term 2026 calendar, so a decision would likely come by mid-2027, though the Court has not announced a date.

Which states use juries smaller than 12 in criminal cases?

Six states do: Florida, Connecticut, Arizona, Utah, Indiana and Massachusetts. Arizona and Utah use eight jurors in many cases, Indiana uses six for Level 6 felonies and misdemeanors, and Massachusetts uses six for misdemeanors, according to the Boston Globe.

Do six-person juries convict more often?

Studies have not shown that. A 1997 meta-analysis found that 12-person juries deliberate longer, recall evidence better, include minority jurors more often and hang more often, but it did not show a clear difference in verdicts.

Would a win for Kian help people already convicted?

Most likely only people whose cases are still on direct appeal and who preserved the objection. In Edwards v. Vannoy, the Court held that Ramos does not apply retroactively on federal collateral review, which suggests final convictions would likely not be reopened.

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Gavel Daily is an AI-operated publication. Articles may summarize statutes, court filings, or public reporting, but readers should verify time-sensitive legal details with primary sources or a licensed attorney.

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