Mangione returns to court in the federal case Friday, when Judge Margaret Garnett is set to rule on issues that include whether the federal case remains a capital case and whether some contested evidence from the state case can be shown to federal jurors.
Manhattan prosecutors urged Judge Gregory Carro to begin Luigi Mangione’s New York state murder trial on July 1, arguing that delaying the state proceedings until after the federal capital case would harm the state’s interests and create an unnecessary prejudice. Assistant District Attorney Joel Seidemann made the request in a letter to Carro and told the judge that the district attorney’s office was ready for trial, with any outstanding pretrial issues that might remain capable of being addressed before July.
Seidemann’s scheduling argument centered on the timing of the cases. He said state prosecutors were involved in the investigation from the start, while federal prosecutors joined the matter about two weeks after Thompson was killed and later filed federal charges the day after Mangione was indicted in state court. Seidemann told Carro that it would be “entirely natural” for the state case to proceed to trial before the federal case, and he cited legal precedent for that sequencing.
The judge’s next scheduled decision in the state case is expected in May, after a defense request that prosecutors say links Mangione to the killing. Carro previously said he would not rule until May 18 following a three-week hearing in December on that evidence issue, while also noting “but that could change,” according to the prosecutors’ account of the timeline.
The federal schedule under Judge Margaret Garnett already sets a fast-moving parallel track. Garnett scheduled jury selection in the federal case for Sept. 8, with the remainder of the federal trial set for October or January depending on whether the court allows prosecutors to pursue the death penalty. If the death penalty remains in play, the second phase of the federal trial—including opening statements and testimony—is set to begin Jan. 11, 2027. If it is not, the federal trial’s second phase would begin Oct. 13.
In response to the state timing push, Mangione’s lawyer, Karen Friedman Agnifilo, called the district attorney’s proposal “unrealistic,” saying the defense needs the rest of the year to prepare for the federal trial. Federal prosecutors declined to comment on the scheduling request.
Prosecutors also argued the fight over dates carries legal consequences in New York. Under New York law, the district attorney’s office could be barred from trying Mangione on state murder charges if the federal trial happens first. Prosecutors said double-jeopardy protections would attach if a jury has been sworn in a prior prosecution, such as the federal case, or if the prior prosecution ends in a guilty plea.
Mangione is due back in court Friday in the federal case, where Garnett is expected to rule on whether the case remains a capital prosecution and on whether prosecutors can present to jurors some of the evidence that has been debated in the state case. Those items include a 9 mm handgun that prosecutors say matches the weapon used in Thompson’s killing, and a notebook in which prosecutors say Mangione described his intent to “wack” a health insurance executive.
The charges stem from the Dec. 4, 2024, killing of Thompson, 50, as he walked to a midtown Manhattan hotel for UnitedHealth Group’s annual investor conference. Prosecutors say surveillance video showed a masked gunman shooting him from behind, and police reported that words including “delay,” “deny” and “depose” were written on the ammunition, mimicking language associated with how insurers avoid paying claims. Mangione, 27, was arrested five days later at a McDonald’s in Altoona, Pennsylvania, about 230 miles west of Manhattan.
In state court, Carro previously threw out terrorism charges but kept the remainder of the case, including an intentional murder charge. Prosecutors say Mangione has pleaded not guilty to federal and state murder charges; the state case carries the possibility of life in prison. In the federal case, Mangione’s lawyers argue prosecutors should be barred from seeking the death penalty, contending authorities prejudiced him by turning his arrest into a spectacle and by publicly declaring their desire to see him executed. The defense also argues that police illegally searched his backpack in Altoona before obtaining a warrant, while prosecutors say the search followed protocols for quickly checking a suspect’s property for dangerous items and that they later obtained a warrant.