Jury selection for Luigi Mangione’s federal trial will begin on Sept. 8, Judge Margaret Garnett said on Friday.

If the judge excludes the death penalty as a possible sentence, the trial will begin on Oct. 13. If the judge allows the case to proceed as a capital case, the trial will begin on Jan. 11, 2027.

Garnett is considering a defense request to take the death penalty off the table.

Mangione is accused of shooting and killing UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in Manhattan in December 2024. He was arrested days later at a McDonald’s in Altoona, Pennsylvania.

Mangione has pleaded not guilty to state and federal charges. 

The scheduled jury selection date comes as Garnett weighs whether Mangione’s backpack was lawfully seized and searched after his arrest at the Altoona McDonald’s.

Federal prosecutors contend the Altoona Police Department’s search of Mangione’s backpack followed departmental procedures and evidence recovered from the bag should be admissible. 

During a hearing Friday, Deputy Altoona Police Chief Nathan Snyder explained how officers are trained in search and seizure policies using “task sheets” that outline the process step by step.

“We’re not dealing with a 10-year veteran who may understand the lingo. This is a brand-new guy fresh out of the academy,” Snyder said.

Mangione’s lawyers have argued the backpack search was illegal. They contend that if the arresting officers had followed the procedures, they would not have had immediate access to the items in the bag, including the alleged murder weapon, a notebook and writings.

“There’d be no reason to read entries in a notebook or journal?” defense attorney Marc Agnifilo asked.

“Typically not something that would be done,” Snyder responded.

“There’d be no reason to read each page?” Agnifilo followed up.

“I’d say that’s correct,” Snyder answered.

Body camera footage showed that officers also pulled a firearm magazine from the backpack during a preliminary search at the McDonald’s.

“If you found something illegal,” Agnifilo asked, “would you do anything other than continue?” 

Snyder responded that the search would likely stop and officers would “probably get a search warrant.”

When prosecutor Dominic Gentile asked specifically about something dangerous, like a firearm magazine, Snyder said the search would “surely” continue without a warrant so officers could make sure there was “nothing in here that can hurt us.”