A New York state judge on Monday effectively postponed the murder trial of Luigi Mangione, 28, who is accused of fatally shooting UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson outside a Manhattan hotel on Dec. 4, 2024. Justice Gregory Carro, presiding over the state case, ordered prosecutors to respond by Oct. 9 to a defense motion seeking dismissal of the state charges, and set Mangione's next state court appearance for Dec. 10, pushing the trial well past its previously scheduled Sept. 8 start date.

Mangione's defense attorneys filed the 32-page dismissal motion on Friday, one day after he pleaded guilty in federal court to interstate stalking resulting in death and stalking through use of interstate facilities resulting in death. The defense argued that proceeding with the state case would constitute double jeopardy, characterizing Mangione as a 'pawn in parallel prosecutions.' The Manhattan District Attorney's office, which brought the state charges, declined to comment Monday but said in a Friday statement that it was prepared to litigate the motion and remained 'committed to seeking justice for Mr. Thompson and his family.'

In the state case, Mangione faces charges of second-degree murder, multiple weapons counts and forgery, and has pleaded not guilty. During last week's federal hearing, Mangione admitted to planning and carrying out Thompson's killing, telling the court he was motivated by frustrations with the health insurance system and his own difficulty obtaining treatment for severe back pain. He also revealed that he had posed as an investment manager overseeing more than $50 billion in assets in an email to UnitedHealthcare leadership in order to confirm the location of the investor conference Thompson was attending when he was shot.

Legal experts say the double jeopardy argument faces significant hurdles. New York state's double jeopardy statute is considered more defendant-friendly than federal law, barring successive prosecutions for the same course of conduct, but it includes exceptions when the charges involve substantially different elements or aim to prevent different types of harm. Pace University law professor Bennett Gershman noted that the elements of federal stalking and state murder are 'very, very distinguishable,' since the stalking charges require intent to kill but not that a death actually occur. Prosecutors have indicated they will fight the motion at least until the outcome of Mangione's federal sentencing, which is scheduled for Dec. 18, at which point the Justice Department has said it will seek a life sentence.