Supreme Court to weigh whether states can use 6-person juries
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Supreme Court agreed Monday to decide whether states may try criminal defendants before six-person juries instead of 12, taking up a Florida case that could unsettle convictions in six states.
The justices granted review in Kian v. Florida, No. 25-6623, one of three cases added to the docket from their June 11 conference, SCOTUSblog reported. Arguments will be heard in the fall.
The defendant and his conviction
The petitioner, Hamed Kian, 45, is a Jupiter, Fla., chiropractor. A six-person jury convicted him of five counts of practicing chiropractic medicine with a suspended license. He was sentenced to one year and one day in prison on three counts and five years' probation on the other two.
Kian's license had been suspended after three patients complained he kissed or touched them inappropriately, and prosecutors said he continued seeing patients after the suspension. Florida's Fourth District Court of Appeal affirmed his convictions on Oct. 16, 2025, according to the Associated Press.
A challenge to a 1970 precedent
Florida uses six-person juries for all criminal cases that do not involve the death penalty. Five other states — Arizona, Connecticut, Indiana, Massachusetts and Utah — also use six-member juries for some criminal trials.
Kian argues the Sixth Amendment guarantees a 12-person jury and asks the court to overrule Williams v. Florida, the 1970 decision in which the justices held, 7-1, that six-person juries pass constitutional muster. Justice Thurgood Marshall was the lone dissenter. Kian leans on Ramos v. Louisiana, the 2020 ruling that required unanimous jury verdicts in state criminal cases.
In that case the court found the Sixth Amendment’s jury-trial requirement encompasses what the term meant at the amendment’s adoption. Kian claims that term "meant trial by a jury of twelve whose verdict must be unanimous," his petition states, according to the Orlando Sentinel.
"The same reasoning applies to the historical right to a jury of twelve," Kian's lawyers wrote in their appeal, the AP reported. His lawyers also contend that smaller juries and non-unanimous verdicts trace to a Jim Crow-era effort to suppress minority voices.
Florida urges the court to stand pat
Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier urged the justices to leave the conviction in place, writing that the 1970 case was correctly decided and that overruling it "would imperil thousands of criminal convictions in Florida and five other states," according to the AP. The Orlando Sentinel reported the state has long relied on the smaller panels.
The same day it took up Kian's case, the court agreed to hear Genalo v. Black, on bond hearings in immigration detention, and Guerrero v. Johnson, on successive federal post-conviction petitions, NOLA.com reported.
A decision overturning Williams could reach across the criminal justice systems of all six states that allow smaller panels. For related coverage of the court's term, see our reports on how the justices sided with a Mississippi death row inmate over jury bias and the ruling that upheld the gun rights of marijuana users.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the question before the Supreme Court?
The court will decide whether the Sixth Amendment permits states to try criminal defendants before juries of six rather than 12 members.
Which states use six-person criminal juries?
Florida uses six-person juries in non-death-penalty criminal cases. Arizona, Connecticut, Indiana, Massachusetts and Utah use six-member juries for some criminal trials.
What precedent is being challenged?
Williams v. Florida, the 1970 ruling in which the court held 7-1 that six-person juries are constitutional. Justice Thurgood Marshall dissented.
When will the case be argued?
The court agreed Monday, June 15, 2026, to hear the case and will hear arguments in the fall.
Sources
Reporting compiled from court records and the cited source outlets.