HOPKINS
v.
STATE OF FLORIDA
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A conviction by a six-person jury does not violate a defendant's constitutional rights.
[1] A conviction by a six-person jury does not violate a defendant's constitutional rights under current Florida and federal precedent.
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceWilliam Hopkins was convicted of sexual assault on a child under twelve years old and appealed, challenging the use of a six-person jury rather than a…
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DISTRICT COURT OF APPEAL OF FLORIDA
SECOND DISTRICT
WILLIAM CARLTON HOPKINS, Appellant,
v.
STATE OF FLORIDA, Appellee.
No. 2D2025-2443
November 6, 2026
Appeal from the Circuit Court for Pasco County; Mary M. Handsel, Judge.
Blair Allen, Public Defender, and Nicholas Martino, Special Assistant Public Defender, Bartow, for Appellant.
James Uthmeier, Attorney General, Tallahassee, and James A. Hellickson, Assistant Attorney General, Tampa, for Appellee.
SILBERMAN, Judge.
William Hopkins appeals his judgment for sexual assault on a child under twelve years old. He raises several issues, none of which warrants reversal. As to his argument that the circuit court erred in its use of a six-person jury rather than a twelve-person jury, existing precedent does not support his argument. See Williams v. Florida, 399 U.S. 78, 86 (1970) (holding that six-member jury panel did not violate Williams's
constitutional rights); Bass v. State, 51 Fla. L. Weekly D2053, D2053-54 (Fla. 2d DCA Oct. 2, 2026) (concluding that conviction by a six-person jury did not violate Bass's constitutional rights). However, we note that the United States Supreme Court has accepted certiorari review in a case challenging Williams's holding that a six-person jury is not a violation of the constitution. See Kian v. Florida, 146 S. Ct. 2732 (2026).
Accordingly, we affirm Hopkins's judgment and sentence.
MORRIS and ATKINSON, JJ., Concur.
Opinion subject to revision prior to official publication.