No. 25-5895

Rickey Johnson, aka Sealed Defendant 1, aka Neil Dawn Defarren v. United States

Lower Court: Second Circuit
Docketed: 2025-10-15
Status: Pending
Type: IFP
IFP
Tags: circuit-split constitutional-law criminal-procedure harmless-error jury-trial sixth-amendment
Key Terms:
Privacy ClassAction JusticiabilityDoctri
Latest Conference: 2026-02-20
Question Presented (AI Summary)

Whether an 11-person federal criminal jury verdict can be considered harmless error under the Sixth Amendment, contrary to historical jury practice

Question Presented (OCR Extract)

L. Whether the acknowledged violation of a federal criminal defendant’s right to a jury of 12, under Fed. R. Crim. P. 23(b), can be harmless, a question that divides the circuits. I. Whether this Court should overrule Williams v. Florida, 399 U.S. 78 (1970), and hold, consistent with Ramos v. Louisiana, 590 U.S. 83 (2020), that the Sixth Amendment right to trial by jury means a jury of 12. i

Docket Entries

2026-01-29
DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 2/20/2026.
2026-01-28
Reply of Rickey Johnson submitted.
2026-01-28
Reply of petitioner Rickey Johnson filed. (Distributed)
2026-01-14
Brief of United States in opposition submitted.
2026-01-14
Brief of respondent United States in opposition filed.
2025-12-10
Motion to extend the time to file a response is granted and the time is further extended to and including January 14, 2026.
2025-12-08
Motion of United States for an extension of time submitted.
2025-12-08
Motion to extend the time to file a response from December 15, 2025 to January 14, 2026, submitted to The Clerk.
2025-11-05
Motion to extend the time to file a response is granted and the time is extended to and including December 15, 2025.
2025-11-04
Motion of United States for an extension of time submitted.
2025-11-04
Motion to extend the time to file a response from November 14, 2025 to December 15, 2025, submitted to The Clerk.
2025-10-10
Petition for a writ of certiorari and motion for leave to proceed in forma pauperis filed. (Response due November 14, 2025)

Attorneys

Rickey Johnson
Colleen P. CassidyFederal Defenders of New York, Inc., Petitioner
Colleen P. CassidyFederal Defenders of New York, Inc., Petitioner
Colleen P. CassidyFederal Defenders of New York, Inc., Petitioner
United States
D. John SauerSolicitor General, Respondent
D. John SauerSolicitor General, Respondent
D. John SauerSolicitor General, Respondent