How many jurors are on a Florida criminal jury?

Florida uses six-person juries for misdemeanors and non-capital felonies, and twelve-person juries in capital cases.

That's fewer than many states and fewer than most people expect from television.

Alternates are typically selected as well, sitting through the trial and available if a juror becomes unable to continue.

Why six matters strategically. With a smaller panel, each individual juror carries proportionally more weight. A single juror's perspective has more influence in deliberations than it would among twelve. That affects jury selection — the effort spent on any one juror is worth more.

It also affects the practical difficulty of a hung jury. Fewer people means fewer opportunities for a holdout, which cuts both ways.

Whether to waive a jury entirely and try a case before a judge is a separate strategic decision, appropriate in a narrow set of cases where the issues are legal rather than factual.