A federal judge decided Monday that the scheduling crunch in the cases against Luigi Mangione in the killing of health care executive Brian Thompson has become unworkable. District Judge Margaret Garnett pushed Mangione's federal trial to January, as his lawyers wanted, citing the need to clear room for his separate state murder trial set to start in September. She had wanted to begin the federal proceedings this fall, but said Monday it would be impossible for Mangione and his lawyers to juggle both trials at once, the New York Times reports. Mangione, 28, is charged in parallel state and federal cases tied to the December 2024 shooting of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson outside a Midtown Hilton hotel.
Jury selection in the federal case is now slated to begin Jan. 5, with opening statements expected Jan. 25; the trial is projected to last two to three weeks. The reshuffle follows months of what Mangione's attorneys have described as a tug-of-war between prosecutors over scheduling. Federal prosecutors previously dropped two of four counts, including a firearms murder charge that carried a possible death sentence. Mangione has pleaded not guilty in both courts. Monday's hearing was delayed, as well, when the elevator car carrying the defendant in the Manhattan courthouse became stuck, per NBC News. Crews freed Mangione, whose hands and feet were shackled the entire time, and he entered the courtroom more than 30 minutes late.
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