Mangione’s State and Federal Murder Trials Delayed by Judges (1)

Luigi Mangione’s federal and New York state trials over the killing of a UnitedHealth Group Inc. executive Brian Thompson were pushed back Wednesday, with the first case set to start on Sept. 8.

New York State Supreme Court Judge Gregory Carro on Wednesday moved Mangione’s murder trial to September from June 8. A few hours earlier, US District Judge Margaret Garnett had postponed jury selection in the federal stalking trial until Oct. 5 from an original start date of Sept. 8.

Defense lawyer Karen Friedman Agnifilo asked that the federal trial be postponed until at least January, arguing that it would be difficult to find an impartial jury while Mangione’s state murder trial was underway. The cases are now scheduled to be even closer together, with a one-month gap rather than three.

Both state and federal authorities are prosecuting Mangione for the December 2024 slaying of Thompson outside a Manhattan hotel. The federal case originally included a charge that carried the death penalty, but Garnett dismissed that count in January. Mangione has pleaded not guilty in both cases.

Carro didn’t cite any reason for his rescheduling order. It wasn’t clear if the state trial would be concluded by the time jury selection in the federal case is scheduled to begin on Oct. 5. At a hearing on Wednesday, Friedman Agnifilo told Garnett the state murder case could last as long as six weeks, which would overlap with the federal stalking trial.

Spokespeople for Friedman Agnifilo and Manhattan US Attorney Jay Clayton didn’t immediately return emails seeking comment. A spokesman for Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg declined to comment.

‘Same Defendant’

At the hearing, Garnett agreed to delay the federal case, citing Mangione’s right to a fair trial and the publicity of a state murder case that would occur just two blocks north of the federal courthouse in Manhattan.

“Whether we like it or not, we are at the mercy of the state case,” Garnett said. “There is really no way around taking into account the events in the state case involving the same defendant.”

Federal prosecutors had objected to any delay in the federal trial. “The public has a right to a speedy trial, as well, especially in a case as significant as this,” prosecutor Dominic Gentile argued Wednesday.

Mangione’s legal team said it would be difficult to mount a defense against state charges while facing an imminent US trial.

He would be in the “impossible position” of having to find impartial jurors who have been “constantly bombarded” with news reports and social media about the case, Friedman Agnifilo had said. She also said Mangione wouldn’t be able to review the juror questionnaires while also being on trial in the state case.

Garnett agreed. She said her primary concern was to “ensure Mangione’s right to a fair trial,” which could be hindered by the state trial that “inevitably affects the way we structure things here.”

The judge said opening statements and testimony in the federal case could start on Oct. 26 or Nov. 2.

The case is US v. Mangione, 25-cr-0176, US District Court for the Southern District of New York (Manhattan).

(Updates to include state case being delayed.)

To contact the reporters on this story:
Patricia Hurtado in Federal Court in Manhattan at pathurtado@bloomberg.net;
David Voreacos in New York at dvoreacos@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story:
Ben Bain at bbain2@bloomberg.net

Steve Stroth, Elizabeth Wasserman

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