On Wednesday, April 1, a federal judge in Manhattan reworked the timetable for jury selection in the Luigi Mangione prosecution, stopping short of the defence’s request for a wholesale adjournment into January 2027 but stating that the overlap with the New York state case posed fairness concerns.
Mangione faces dual federal and New York State charges for the December 4, 2024 murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO, Brian Thompson.
Judge Margaret Garnett of the Southern District of New York left the federal prosecution on track for the Autumn, while moving the juror-questionnaire process out of late June and July and into September.
Under the revised timetable outlined in court, prospective jurors are now expected to begin completing questionnaires on September 8 or 9, with in-person voir dire due to begin on October 5 and the presentation of evidence expected on October 26 or November 2.
The scheduling row arose because defence counsel had argued in a March 18 filing that Mangione could not realistically review around 800 federal jury questionnaires while simultaneously standing trial in state court which was slated to begin June 8.
Prosecutors opposed a full adjournment, saying more modest changes to the questionnaire schedule could address the defence’s logistical concerns without derailing the federal trial.
Garnett said some of the defence’s arguments had substance, but not enough to justify moving the case to January 2027.
She made clear that her central concern was not ordinary trial preparation, which she described as manageable in a case that was “not a particularly complex homicide,” but whether Mangione could meaningfully participate in jury selection and whether questionnaire responses would be distorted if they were completed while intense publicity surrounded the nearby state proceedings.
The hearing also featured an unusual ex parte element. Garnett disclosed that she had received a private March 22 letter from the defence and had met counsel just before the public conference to discuss matters that, she said, touched directly on defence strategy and confidential client communications in both the state and federal cases.
She kept that letter and the transcript of the private discussion under seal, while confirming on the record that Mangione had knowingly waived his right to be present for that exchange.
At the close of the hearing, Garnett approved the government’s request to exclude speedy-trial time until November 2, effectively giving both sides additional room to prepare under the revised schedule.
The next federal conference on jury questionnaires is set for June 5.
Hours after federal court adjourned, Judge Gregory Carro moved the state trial to September 8, the original start date of the federal trial.
