The Second District Court of Appeal has affirmed a man’s Hillsborough County convictions for first-degree murder, attempted first-degree murder, and two counts of felony aggravated child abuse, rejecting his argument that his conviction by a six-person jury violated his constitutional rights. The court said that argument “lacks merit under current precedent,” and in the same passage cited the U.S. Supreme Court’s grant of certiorari in Kian v. Florida, a Florida case presenting the 12-person jury question.
Jermaine Lavanda Bass, Jr., raised three issues on appeal: the denial of his suppression motion, improper comments by the prosecutor, and the six-person jury. “The first and second issues lack merit,” the court wrote. “The third issue also lacks merit under current precedent,” citing Williams v. Florida, 399 U.S. 78 (1970), and Serrano-Delgado v. State, 392 So. 3d 251 (Fla. 2d DCA 2024).
The court followed with a But see citation to Kian v. Florida, 421 So. 3d 439 (Fla. 4th DCA 2025) (table decision), and to the petition for certiorari in that case, which, according to the opinion, presents the question of whether the petitioner “was derived [sic] of his right, under the Sixth and Fourteenth Amendments, to a trial by a 12-person jury when the defendant is charged with a serious felony.” The U.S. Supreme Court’s docket shows that in No. 25-6623, Hamed Kian v. Florida, arising from Fourth District case No. 4D2024-2370, the Court granted the petition and the motion for leave to proceed in forma pauperis on June 15, 2026.
The court affirmed. Judge LaRose wrote the opinion, joined by Judges Northcutt and Sleet. The opinion does not say what effect, if any, a decision in Kian would have on Bass’s case.
Download the full opinion (PDF)
Citation: Bass v. State, No. 2D2025-0626 (Fla. 2d DCA Oct. 2, 2026).
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