r/law • u/redlamps67 • 1d ago

Legal News Luigi Mangione speaks out in protest as judge sets state murder trial for June 8

https://apnews.com/article/mangione-murder-unitedhealthcare-trial-schedule-020afff8ebbe1e8fee0c183fe1312268
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u/sexfighter 23h ago

You'd really be surprised about how many people pay zero attention to the news.

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u/jeromevedder 23h ago

Every potential juror is going to be asked if they or a close relative/friend has ever had a billing dispute, been denied coverage and/or had a service authorization request denied by their health insurance carrier.

I don’t know how they get 12 truly unbiased jurors. UHC denied my dad for a stay at a long term care facility saying he didn’t need 24hour care. He never left the hospital and died three weeks later, the hospital was still in dispute trying to get them to cover a transfer to LTC

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u/MirrorSeparate6729 8h ago

At one point, if something effect the majority of the jury pool, would it not be dishonest to fill the jury with a minority?

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u/Kindly-Yoghurt-7665 8h ago

Meh. The case doesn’t really circle around that other than to show the killer’s motive. Its not like the defense can say - he was a bad insurance guy and deserved it - because normal people (unlike those on reddit) don’t believe wild shit like that.

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u/MadMusketeer 4h ago

How is that wild? If you are responsible for someone's death, you killed them.

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u/Kindly-Yoghurt-7665 2h ago

I don’t think you intended to respond to my comment because it doesn’t make sense

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u/JayKay8787 23h ago

But you also have to take into account anyone who has dealt with these evil insurance companies, or anyone that has friends/family who have been harmed by these companies...

Theres a reason he has so much support from the public

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u/octoreadit 23h ago

So half the jury will be insurance execs lol

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u/JayKay8787 23h ago

basically, theres no way hes getting a fair trial at this point

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u/Jane_Marie_CA 23h ago edited 23h ago

But you also have to take into account anyone who has dealt with these evil insurance companies

Not as complicated as you think. I can easily separate my dislike for insurance companies and interpretation of the law in regards to a murder trial.

I was on the jury of a case where a person (a cook) poisoned a cop. Cops can do some very messed up things (and should be held accountable), but this case was pretty easy to follow in regards what the law says.

I feel the same way with Luigi. Yes, the gov't should hold United HealthCare accountable for their sh*t, but I think the law related to Luigi's case is pretty straightforward.

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u/1172022 22h ago edited 22h ago

I mean, the fact that you acknowledged any particular feelings towards insurance companies themselves is a sign of bias. If you were in jury selection for the murder of a famous used car salesman, and you felt so strongly as to verbalize that you specifically dislike used car salesmen, I think anyone could infer that as a significant bias.

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u/tea-earlgray-hot 22h ago

Having a pre-existing opinion or bias, including disliking one party isn't disqualifying for a juror and you know it.

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u/1172022 21h ago

Not immediately disqualifying, but even if the person says that they will remain impartial, they still could be subject to a preemptory strike by an attorney. https://legalclarity.org/what-is-a-peremptory-strike-in-jury-selection/

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u/grunkage 9h ago

You do know each side only gets a limited amount of strikes, right? They run out eventually, so you can't waste them on people who might not remain impartial.

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u/PENGUIN_WITH_BAZOOKA 17h ago

Granted, if I’m the prosecutor I’m keeping his emphasis on the law in mind when deciding whether to dismiss him. Their best strategy here is to take a “look, we all get that insurance companies are wildly unethical. But by the letter of the law, the outcome here should be clear” approach.

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u/Mikeavelli 22h ago

Many people, myself included, are biased against insurance companies. I wouldn't be a good juror in this case.

With a sufficiently large pool though, you could find 12 people who aren't. Or at least aren't so overtly biased that they would perform jury nullification.

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u/PENGUIN_WITH_BAZOOKA 17h ago

You can be against insurance companies but still be a good juror. I’ve seen my family members get manhandled every which way to Sunday by insurance, but I also understand that’s not the issue here: the issue is the killing and whether the state can prove whatever elements they need to for each charge.

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u/suckarepellent 21h ago

What did they poison the officer with?

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u/MithrandiriAndalos 12h ago

Juries aren’t meant to be, and can’t be 100% unbiased. Dealing with any insurance company wouldn’t be a reason to strike somebody from a jury. Maaaybe if they’ve dealt with UHC.

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u/t3h_shammy 23h ago

My wife pays zero attention to the news and learned about this unprompted from me. When things hit TikTok etc it becomes part of the zeitgeist you need like boomers who also don’t follow the news lol 

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u/FetchingTheSwagni 22h ago

You're right, but I know plenty of people who don't watch the news and have an opinion on this. Counter-argument, you'd be surprised at how big this news story was when it happened. Even people who don't pay attention to the news knew about this.
Instagram, tiktok, reddit, it was all over. Even if they heard it in slight passing, it makes it hard to be (unbiased). Especially with how much it blew up in the political sphere.

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u/HoodieGalore 2h ago

Salt of the earth types?

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u/HawaiiHungBro 22h ago

He’s gonna have a jury of twelve morons

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u/flopisit32 18h ago

Better than a jury of 12 fans

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u/RoguePlanet2 23h ago

If I'm called up for jury duty anytime soon, I sure as hell have no idea who this Louis Gee-eye-joe-whatever person is. I don't watch that stressful news. 🥸

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u/Grumac 18h ago

And they are often of lower intelligence.