No. 25-6623
 
Title: Hamed Kian, Petitioner
v.
Florida
Docketed: January 20, 2026
Lower Ct: District Court of Appeal of Florida, Fourth District
   Case Numbers: (4D2024-2370)
   Decision Date: October 16, 2025
Questions Presented
 
Proceedings and Orders
Jan 09 2026 Petition for a writ of certiorari and motion for leave to proceed in forma pauperis filed. (Response due February 19, 2026)
Motion for Leave to Proceed in Forma Pauperis Petition Appendix Proof of Service
Jan 26 2026 Waiver of right of respondent Florida to respond filed.
Main Document
Jan 29 2026 DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 2/20/2026.
Feb 18 2026 Response Requested. (Due March 20, 2026)
Mar 02 2026 Motion to extend the time to file a response from March 20, 2026 to April 20, 2026, submitted to The Clerk.
Main Document
Mar 03 2026 Motion to extend the time to file a response is granted and the time is extended to and including April 20, 2026.
Apr 08 2026 Motion to extend the time to file a response from April 20, 2026 to May 20, 2026, submitted to The Clerk.
Main Document
Apr 09 2026 Motion to extend the time to file a response is granted and the time is further extended to and including May 20, 2026.
Apr 20 2026 Brief of Florida in opposition not accepted for filing. (To be resubmitted - April 27, 2026)
Apr 20 2026 Brief of respondent Florida in opposition filed. (Resubmitted)
Main Document Proof of Service Certificate of Word Count
May 06 2026 DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 5/21/2026.
May 18 2026 Rescheduled.
May 26 2026 DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 5/28/2026.
Jun 01 2026 DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 6/4/2026.
Jun 08 2026 DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 6/11/2026.
Jun 15 2026 Motion to proceed in forma pauperis and petition for a writ of certiorari GRANTED.
Jul 08 2026 Motion to dispense with printing the joint appendix filed by petitioner Hamed Kian.
Main Document
Jul 16 2026 Motion of respondent for an extension of time to file the briefs on the merits filed.
Main Document
Jul 16 2026 Response to motion for an extension of time to file the briefs on the merits from petitioner filed.
Main Document
Jul 20 2026 The time to file the joint appendix and petitioner's brief on the merits is extended to and including August 6, 2026. The time to file respondent's brief on the merits is extended to and including September 28, 2026. The reply brief shall be filed pursuant to Rule 25.3.
Aug 06 2026 Brief of petitioner Hamed Kian filed.
Main Document Certificate of Word Count Proof of Service
Aug 07 2026 Brief amicus curiae of Professor Akhil Reed Amar filed.
Main Document Proof of Service Certificate of Word Count
Aug 11 2026 Amicus brief of Maricopa County Indigent Representation Offices not accepted for filing. (To be corrected - August 19, 2026)
Aug 13 2026 Brief amici curiae of Florida Association Of Criminal Defense Lawyers, et al. filed.
Main Document Certificate of Word Count Proof of Service
Aug 13 2026 Brief amicus curiae of Professor Wanling Su filed.
Main Document Certificate of Word Count Proof of Service
Aug 13 2026 Brief amici curiae of The Innocence Project, et al. filed.
Main Document Proof of Service Certificate of Word Count
Aug 13 2026 Brief amici curiae of American Civil Liberties Union, et al. filed.
Main Document Proof of Service Certificate of Word Count
Aug 13 2026 Brief amicus curiae of Constitutional Accountability Center filed.
Main Document Proof of Service Certificate of Word Count
Aug 13 2026 Brief amicus curiae of National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers filed.
Main Document Certificate of Word Count Proof of Service
Aug 13 2026 Brief amici curiae of NAACP Legal Defense & Educational Fund, Inc., et al. filed.
Main Document Proof of Service Certificate of Word Count
Aug 13 2026 Brief amicus curiae of The Juror Project filed.
Main Document Proof of Service Certificate of Word Count
Aug 13 2026 Brief amicus curiae of Cato Institute filed.
Main Document Certificate of Word Count Proof of Service
Aug 13 2026 Brief amicus curiae of Human Rights for Kids filed.
Main Document Certificate of Word Count Proof of Service
Aug 13 2026 Brief amici curiae of 38 Current and Former Prosecutors, et al. filed.
Main Document Certificate of Word Count Proof of Service
Aug 13 2026 Brief amicus curiae of United States Conference of Catholic Bishops filed.
Main Document Proof of Service Certificate of Word Count
Aug 13 2026 Brief amici curiae of Professor Steven G. Calabresi, et al. filed.
Main Document Proof of Service Certificate of Word Count
Aug 13 2026 Brief amicus curiae of Utah Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers filed.
Main Document Certificate of Word Count Proof of Service
Aug 17 2026 Motion to dispense with printing the joint appendix filed by petitioner GRANTED.
Attorneys
Attorneys for Petitioner
Seth P. Waxman
Counsel of Record
Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr LLP
2100 Pennsylvania Ave, NW
Washington, DC 20037

SETH.WAXMAN@WILMERHALE.COM
Ph: 202-663-6800
Party name: Hamed Kian


Paul Edward Petillo
Office of the Public Defender
421 Third Street
Sixth Floor
West Palm Beach, FL 33401

ppetillo@pd15.state.fl.us
Ph: 561-355-7600
Party name: Hamed Kian


Attorneys for Respondent
David Morgan Steven Dewhirst
Counsel of Record
Office of the Solicitor General
PL-01, The Capitol
Tallahassee, FL 32399-1050

David.Dewhirst@myfloridalegal.com
Ph: 850-414-3681
Party name: Florida


Other Attorneys
Brittany Christine Carter
Counsel of Record
NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc.
40 Rector Street, 5th Floor
New York, NY 10006

bcarter@naacpldf.org
Ph: 212-965-2200
Party name: NAACP Legal Defense & Educational Fund, Inc.


Matthew P. Cavedon
Counsel of Record
Cato Institute
1000 Massachusetts Ave. NW
Washington, DC 20001

mcavedon@cato.org
Ph: 706-309-2859
Party name: Cato Institute


James Lee Dold
Counsel of Record
Human Rights for Kids
P.O. Box 5960
Washington, DC 20016

jdold@humanrightsforkids.org
Ph: 2029074826
Party name: Human Rights for Kids


Christopher A. Duggan
Counsel of Record
Smith Duggan Cornell & Gollub LLP
55 Old Bedford Road
Lincoln, MA 01773

Chris.Duggan@SmithDuggan.com
Ph: 617-228-4444
Party name: Professor Akhil Reed Amar, Sterling Professor of Law and Political Science, Yale University and Yale University School of Law


Noel John Francisco
Counsel of Record
Jones Day
51 Louisiana Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20001

NJFRANCISCO@JONESDAY.COM
Ph: (202) 879-3939
Party name: United States Conference of Catholic Bishops


Adam Scott Gershenson
Counsel of Record
Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP
1001 Boylston Street
Suite 300
Boston, MA 02115

Adam.Gershenson@weil.com
Ph: (617) 772-8310
Party name: The Innocence Project, Innocence Project of Florida, and the Miami Law Innocence Clinic


Matt Aidan Getz
Counsel of Record
Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP
333 South Grand Avenue
Los Angeles, CA 90071

mgetz@gibsondunn.com
Ph: 213-229-7754
Party name: National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers


Brianne Jenna Gorod
Counsel of Record
Constitutional Accountability Center
1730 Rhode Island Ave. NW
Suite 1200
Washington, DC 20036

BRIANNE@THEUSCONSTITUTION.ORG
Ph: 202 296 6889
Party name: Constitutional Accountability Center


Benjamin M. Miller
Counsel of Record
370 E South Temple
Suite 500
Salt Lake City, UT 84111

BEN@APPELLATEDEFENSE.COM
Ph: 3852701650
Party name: Utah Indigent Appellate Defense Division and the American Civil Liberties Union of Utah


Jacqueline Perczek
Counsel of Record
Black, Srebnick & Kornspan, PA
201 South Biscayne Blvd.
Suite 1300
Miami, FL 33131

jperczek@royblack.com
Ph: 3053716421
Party name: The Florida Association Of Criminal Defense Lawyers And The Florida Public Defender Association, Inc.


Devi Maheswari Rao
Counsel of Record
Roderick & Solange MacArthur Justice Center
501 H St. NE
Suite 275
Washington, DC 20002

DEVI.RAO@MACARTHURJUSTICE.ORG
Ph: 202-869-3434
Party name: American Civil Liberties Union, American Civil Liberties Union of Florida, The Rutherford Institute, and the MacArthur Justice Center


Jo-Ann Tamila Sagar
Counsel of Record
Hogan Lovells Cadwalader US LLP
555 Thirteenth Street, NW
Washington, DC 20004

jo-ann.sagar@hlc.com
Ph: 202-637-5600
Party name: The Juror Project


Stephen Russell Senn
Counsel of Record
Peterson & Myers, P.A.
225 East Lemon Street, Suite 300
Lakeland, FL 33801

ssenn@petersonmyers.com
Ph: 863-683-6511
Party name: Steven G. Calabresi, Shari S. Diamond, Phoebe C. Ellsworth, Samuel R. Gross, Valerie P. Hans, Stephan Landsman, Richard O. Lempert, Nancy S. Marder, Steven D. Penrod, Mary R. Rose, Michael J. Saks and Alisa Smith


Jacob Robert Steinberg-Otter
Counsel of Record
Sidley Austin LLP
1501 K Street, N.W.
Washington, DC 20005

jacob.steinbergotter@sidley.com
Ph: 202-736-8000
Party name: Professor Wanling Su


Mikel Patrick Steinfeld
Counsel of Record
Maricopa County Office of the Public Defender
620 W. Jackson, Suite 4015
Phoenix, AZ 85003

mikel.steinfeld@maricopa.gov
Ph: 602-506-7711
Party name: Maricopa County Indigent Representation Offices


Daniel Hirotsu Woofter
Counsel of Record
Russell & Woofter LLC
1701 Pennsylvania Ave NW
Suite 200
Washington, DC 20006

dw@russellwoofter.com
Ph: 202-240-8433
Party name: 38 Current and Former Prosecutors, Law Enforcement Officers, and Former Judges; Fair and Just Prosecution; and Law Enforcement Action Partnership


Dallas Brent Young
Counsel of Record
Utah County Public Defender Association
5152 N. Edgewood Dr., Suite 300
Provo, UT 84604

dallasy@utcpd.com
Ph: 801 852-1070
Party name: Utah Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers