Leonard P Gonzalez Jr. v. State of Florida, 253 So. 3d 526

Gonzalez was convicted of two 2009 murders; jury recommended death sentences (10–2) and this Court affirmed on direct appeal.
He filed a Rule 3.851 postconviction motion, later amended to include Hurst-based relief; the postconviction court granted a new penalty phase on Hurst grounds but denied other claims.
On appeal from the partial denial, Gonzalez asserts two ineffective-assistance-of-counsel claims: (1) failure to renew/change venue motion and (2) failure to challenge the indictment based on alleged grand-jury interference by the sheriff.
The venue claim rests on allegedly inflammatory local media coverage and an assertedly cursory voir dire; trial counsel did move for change of venue, used questionnaires, excused two biased jurors for cause, and Gonzalez personally accepted the jury.
The indictment claim alleges Sheriff Morgan greeted prospective jurors (on Mondays/Tuesdays) and thus may have influenced the grand jury; the claim was speculative and offered no legal basis to challenge an already-empaneled grand jury under Florida law.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Ineffective assistance for failing to renew/change venue	Gonzalez: counsel inadequately argued venue motion, failed to present inflammatory media articles, voir dire was cursory so jurors may have been biased	State: counsel moved for venue, voir dire and questionnaires addressed publicity, biased jurors were excused and Gonzalez accepted jury	Denied — record positively refutes claim; counsel’s performance was reasonable and Gonzalez showed no prejudice
Ineffective assistance for failing to challenge indictment/grand jury	Gonzalez: sheriff’s practice of greeting jurors could have influenced grand jury; counsel should have challenged indictment	State: allegation speculative; no legal basis to challenge an empaneled grand jury; Christian inapplicable to a sheriff	Denied — claim legally insufficient and speculative; Florida law bars post-empanelment objections absent selection defects

Gonzalez v. State, 136 So. 3d 1125 (Fla. 2014) (direct-appeal opinion setting out facts and affirming convictions and sentences)
Hurst v. Florida, 136 S. Ct. 616 (U.S. 2016) (holding Sixth Amendment requires jury to find facts necessary for death sentence)
Hurst v. State, 202 So. 3d 40 (Fla. 2016) (applying Hurst to Florida capital sentencing)
Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668 (U.S. 1984) (two-prong standard for ineffective assistance of counsel)
Mann v. State, 112 So. 3d 1158 (Fla. 2013) (postconviction evidentiary-hearing standards)
Marek v. State, 8 So. 3d 1123 (Fla. 2009) (when claims may be summarily denied)
Dillbeck v. State, 964 So. 2d 95 (Fla. 2007) (requirements for demonstrating counsel’s failure to seek change of venue)
Seay v. State, 286 So. 2d 532 (Fla. 1973) (limitations on challenging a grand jury after empanelment)
Rudd v. State ex rel. Christian, 310 So. 2d 295 (Fla. 1975) (state attorney influence on grand jury may warrant setting aside an indictment)
Maxwell v. Wainwright, 490 So. 2d 927 (Fla. 1986) (standards for demonstrating counsel deficiency)
Griffin v. State, 866 So. 2d 1 (Fla. 2003) (factors for change of venue review)
Rolling v. State, 695 So. 2d 278 (Fla. 1997) (voir dire rehabilitation and pervasive community bias analysis)
Ellerbee v. State, 232 So. 3d 909 (Fla. 2017) (postconviction burden and speculation insufficiency)