Failure of State Prosecutor To Follow Paperwork Trail Results in Mangione’s Absence at Court

The man accused of fatally shooting the CEO of UnitedHealthcare, Brian Thompson, did not appear in court on Tuesday. The New York County District Attorney’s Office failed to notify the jail where Luigi Mangione is being held about his expected appearance. The presiding judge postponed the hearing to Wednesday. “It’s on us,” the New York County assistant district attorney prosecuting the case, Joel Seidemann, told the judge. “We got the writ signed but we failed to serve it.”“That’s unfortunate,” New York Supreme Court Justice Gregory Carro replied.Mr. Mangione is being held in the Metropolitan Detention Center at Brooklyn, a federal jail, because he is being charged in federal court in addition to two state courts in Pennsylvania and New York. The 28-year-old Ivy League graduate faces three trials in three jurisdictions related to the murder of Thompson, a father of two who was gunned down on a Midtown Manhattan street in December 2024.Mr. Mangione has been charged with forgery and carrying a weapon without a license, among other charges, in Pennsylvania, where he was arrested five days after the shooting. He faces second-degree murder and numerous firearm charges in Manhattan criminal court. He also faces stalking charges at the Southern District of New York, where federal prosecutors accuse him of stalking his victim, who had traveled to New York from his home state of Minnesota to attend an annual investor conference. The defendant has pleaded not guilty to all charges. Because Mr. Mangione is being held at a federal jail, state prosecutors cannot simply issue a standard warrant to the detention facility to produce the inmate. Instead, they must submit a Writ of Habeas Corpus and Special Request for Production, specifically a writ ad prosequendum — Latin meaning “for the purpose of prosecuting” — to the U.S. Marshals Service.The Marshals Service is not required to honor the writ, and according to a 1981 ruling from the Department of Justice as detailed on the U.S. Marshals’ website, its “jurisdiction is not waived when the government produces or arranges the production of a federal prisoner in state court.” Effectively, that means when a defendant is transferred via a writ state authorities are borrowing the prisoner for their court appearances. The Marshals Service retains custody of the defendant at all times during the state proceeding and must be returned to the federal detention facility immediately after the hearing is done. Further complicating Tuesday’s appearance was the failure to direct jailers to clothe Mr. Mangione in suitable attire. If Mr. Mangione wishes to wear civilian clothing for his state appearances, he must seek permission from the district judge who presides over his federal case, Margaret Garnett.The court docket shows that Judge Garnett signed an order on Monday directing the jail to “accept the following clothing” for Mr. Mangione’s Tuesday court appearance: “1 suit; 1 shirt; 1 pair of socks; and 1 pair of shoes without laces.”Everything was arranged from the federal bench, but the state’s prosecutor failed to deliver that order to the federal detention center, which did not then have him dressed in civilian clothes to appear at the state court. “These things happen,” Mr. Mangione’s lead defense attorney, Karen Friedman Agnifilo, said on her way out of the courthouse absent her client.“He’s human,” she added, referring to Mr. Seidemann.Mr. Seidemann was less forgiving toward the defense. The judge told the parties that they should be “working on a questionnaire” for jury selection, which is scheduled to begin with in-person questioning on September 8. The prosecutor was quick to blame defense attorneys for not having provided their first draft to him yet. “I understand that in federal court they have already exchanged theirs,” Mr. Seidemann said, referring to the federal trial that is to follow the state trial and is currently slated for late October.The judge also indicated on Tuesday that he would issue a ruling on Wednesday related to a secret hearing he held on June 3, which neither the public nor the press was allowed to attend. Court officials told reporters that the judge’s ruling on the “pending matter” would be made public, though it is unclear whether that will occur in the courtroom on Wednesday.

Failure of State Prosecutor To Follow Paperwork Trail Results in Mangione’s Absence at Court

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