Mangione plea discussion expected in federal case Friday, may reignite double jeopardy argument: Sources
Prosecutors and defense lawyers in Luigi Mangione's federal case are expected to discuss a possible plea deal during a conference scheduled for federal court on Friday, sources familiar with the matter told ABC News.
Prosecutors and defense lawyers are not commenting.
Negotiations for a possible guilty plea had also occurred prior to a hearing in June, sources said, though a deal was not reached.
If Mangione ends up pleading guilty to federal charges in connection with the 2024 killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, prosecutors in the Manhattan District Attorney's Office have said they are prepared to lobby the federal judge presiding over the case for a stiff sentence.
Mangione has pleaded not guilty to federal and state charges stemming from the assassination-style killing and is scheduled to stand trial beginning Sept. 8 in New York State Supreme Court and Jan. 5 in Manhattan federal court.
In its letter, the district attorney's office said it is aware of public reporting by ABC News and other outlets about Mangione's earlier contemplation of a guilty plea in the federal case.
"If a proposed federal guilty plea would operate to defeat a just outcome in the state prosecution, the People could advise the federal district court if that consequence, and the court should consider that fact in deciding whether to accept the plea, as well as any opposition by the victim's family to such a resolution," the letter said.
The possibility of a plea deal in the federal case could reignite defense efforts to convince a judge to dismiss the state murder charges, arguing double jeopardy.
With double jeopardy, the Constitution protects defendants from being prosecuted for the same crime twice. However, Mangione's dueling state and federal cases fall into one of the exceptions -- the federal government and state of New York are considered "separate sovereigns," and each can prosecute the same person for the same acts as if they are different crimes.
Mangione's attorneys have repeatedly raised the double jeopardy argument, but their efforts have so far been unsuccessful in stopping the state trial. In a ruling last year, Judge Gregory Carro, who oversees the state case, determined that Mangione's double jeopardy argument was "premature" because the federal case was not resolved. But Carro did signal that defense lawyers could raise the issue if Mangione struck a plea deal prior to the state trial.
Mangione raised the point himself in court in February. When his state trial was scheduled to begin before his federal case, he shouted, "One-plus-one is two -- double jeopardy, by any common-sense definition!"
"He's right that he's being tried twice for one shooting, and he's wrong that the Constitution cares," said ABC News legal contributor James Sample.
New York state has an additional law that provides more protections against double jeopardy than either the federal system or most states, including barring a second prosecution if the separate allegations are, in fact, "based upon the same act."
"If he pleads in the federal case, at least he's got this argument under New York State law that it's double jeopardy," said Dan Abrams, ABC News' chief legal analyst. Abrams cautioned that state prosecutors will likely object and press the judge to proceed with the murder trial in state court because the charges in both cases are different.
"There's no doubt, I don't think in my mind, that even if he pleads guilty in federal court, that they will try to get a state court conviction," Abrams said.
