Jury internet research
Leo Louis Kaczmar, III v. Florida
In brief
- Where it stands
- Dismissed
Petition denied.
- What it’s about
- Leo Louis Kaczmar III asks the Supreme Court to review jury instructions in his death-penalty case, including whether jurors had to be warned not to research the case online and whether his lawyer should have challenged an instruction about an earlier jury’s death recommendation.
- Who it affects
- The denial ends Kaczmar's request for Supreme Court review without deciding whether the instructions or his lawyer's actions violated his rights.
Summary: written with AI from the case record.

What it's about
He argues that limits on interviewing jurors prevent him from showing whether those instructions mattered to the jury, which affects his claim that his lawyer handled the case improperly.
Kaczmar's petition challenged instructions about online research and an earlier jury's death recommendation, and argued that limits on interviewing jurors blocked proof that those instructions mattered.
Question presented
1. Does the Sixth Amendment right to a properly instructed jury and the right to Due Process under the Fifth Amendment include the right to have the jury instructed on the prohibition against using electronic media to investigate the case when every jurisdiction in the United States, state and federal, requires this instruction? 2. Does the failure to properly instruct the jury as outlined above, coupled with the trial court’s refusal to allow jury interviews about the effect of that failure to instruct the jury, obviate the need to satisfy the prejudice requirement under Strickland when such a regime makes an inquiry impossible? 3. Does the failure to object to a prohibited instruction regarding a prior jury’s recommendation of death likewise require a finding of ineffective assistance of counsel when no inquiry on the effect of the instruction on the jury (the prejudice component of Strickland ) is permitted?
Documents
Docket activity
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AI analysis generated: Case Briefing
AI analysis generated: Decision Record
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Brief added: Petition
Sources
Primary materials plus reporting. Best-effort analysis: this explainer relies on a mix of primary materials and trusted secondary sources. Official filings and opinions remain authoritative.