Luigi Mangione will be in a New York City federal courtroom Wednesday as his lawyers push for his federal trial to be delayed.<\/p>\n
His lawyers will ask for the start of his federal trial<\/a> on interstate stalking charges to be postponed. Mangione is being tried in state and federal court for the December 2024 murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson<\/a>. He has pleaded not guilty in both cases.<\/p>\n The defense says the delay is needed because they are representing Mangione in multiple cases at the same time.<\/p>\n Judge Margaret Garnett set a Sept. 8 trial date for the federal case<\/a> with opening statements on Oct. 13. Meanwhile, the judge in the state trial set a June 8 date<\/a>.<\/p>\n Mangione’s lawyers previously said the state trial is too soon because they need the rest of the year to prepare for the federal trial.\u00a0<\/p>\n Federal murder charge dropped<\/p>\n Garnett dismissed a federal murder charge<\/a> in January that\u00a0enabled prosecutors to seek capital punishment<\/a>. She also threw out a gun charge, but left in place stalking charges that carry a maximum sentence of life in prison.<\/p>\n The state charges also carry the possibility of life in prison.<\/p>\n Mangione spoke out against the prospect of back-to-back trials at a recent hearing.\u00a0<\/p>\n “It’s the same trial twice. One plus one is two. Double jeopardy by any commonsense definition,” he told the state judge.<\/p>\n Legal expert Rich Schoenstein, who isn’t affiliated with the case, said it’s not double jeopardy because Mangione isn’t being prosecuted in two different courts.<\/p>\n “If he goes to trial in one of these courts and then a jury is sworn in in another court, that is a potential double jeopardy situation, but he’s not subject to double jeopardy yet,” Schoenstein said. \u00a0<\/p>\n Federal prosecutors said they won’t appeal the judge’s ruling that bars them from seeking the death penalty<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n Mangione accused of gunning down UnitedHealthcare CEO<\/p>\n Thompson, 50,\u00a0was killed on Dec. 4, 2024<\/a>, while walking to a midtown Manhattan hotel for a UnitedHealth Group conference. Surveillance video\u00a0showed a masked gunman shooting him in the head from behind<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n Police said\u00a0“delay,” “deny” and “depose” were written on the ammunition<\/a>, mimicking a phrase used to describe how insurers avoid paying claims.<\/p>\n Mangione,\u00a0a University of Pennsylvania graduate<\/a>, was arrested five days later after\u00a0he was spotted eating breakfast at a McDonald’s in Pennsylvania<\/a>, about 230 miles west of the city.<\/p>\n He is also facing multiple lower-level charges in Pennsylvania tied to his arrest, including possession of an unlicensed gun and forgery.\u00a0<\/p>\n