Manhattan DA wants Luigi Mangione state trial to start July 1, before federal case
Luigi Mangione should stand trial in State Supreme Court in New York starting July 1, at least three months ahead of when the accused killer could stand trial in federal court, the Manhattan district attorney's office said in a letter Wednesday.
Mangione has pleaded not guilty to state and federal charges stemming from the assassination-style killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in Manhattan in December 2024.
Federal judge Margaret Garnett said Mangione would stand trial in October if she eliminates the death penalty as a possible sentence, as the defense has sought. Otherwise, she said at a hearing last week, Mangione would stand trial in January. Either way, she set jury selection for Sept. 8.
The Manhattan district attorney's office said there are "significant state interests" in putting Mangione on trial sooner.
"This heinous crime happened in midtown Manhattan, one of the busiest commercial areas in this County and spread fear and shock throughout Manhattan. New York State unquestionably has a deep interest in, upholding the fundamental right to life, maintaining public order, and delivering justice for a murder committed in its jurisdiction," assistant district attorney Joel Seidemann wrote.
"Federal law supports our request that we proceed first and our right to a speedy resolution of this case would be severely compromised should the federal trial proceed first," he said.
Mangione’s defense attorney Karen Agnifilo said she needs more time to prepare for trial and called the DA's proposed July 1 trial date "unrealistic."
“This is the first that the defense is hearing about this request," she said in a statement Wednesday. "The federal government already has a firm trial date set in September. As a practical matter, Mr. Mangione’s defense team will require the remainder of the year to prepare for that trial. We will respond to the Court about this unrealistic request in the coming days."
Federal prosecutors declined to comment on the district attorney’s request for Mangione to stand trial in state court first.
Judge Gregory Carro, the judge for the state case, did not immediately respond to the DA’s letter, but he has previously expressed openness to trying Mangione before the federal court.
His thoughts on the subject came in response to a defense argument that the state case may prejudice Mangione during his federal trial.
"This court is not persuaded that proceeding to trial in the state case first will cause the defendant severe prejudice, and the defendant's claim that any state trial testimony will prejudice his federal trial is merely speculative,” Carro wrote in an opinion last year. "The court is also confident that counsel will have the capability to manage an approximately two-month state trial."
Carro is weighing a defense request to suppress evidence pulled from Mangione's backpack, including the alleged murder weapon, a notebook and writings. After a three-week hearing, the judge said he would accept written submissions by March and issue a ruling in May. The district attorney's office told Carro the case is otherwise ready for trial.
"It is entirely natural then that the state case would proceed to trial prior to the federal case," Seidemann's letter said. "And, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York has said that it expects the State case to proceed to trial first."
Mangione has been held in the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn since his return to New York from Pennsylvania, where he was arrested at an Altoona McDonald's following a five-day manhunt.
Defense attorneys have said police waited too long to read Mangione his rights and unlawfully searched his backpack without a warrant. Prosecutors have argued the Altoona police officers were justified in searching the bag because the search pertained to a lawful arrest.
