By Michele Evans | NY Weekly Record
August 11, 2026
Crime & Courts | Manhattan
Luigi Mangione returned to Manhattan Supreme Court Tuesday as Justice Gregory Carro addressed press access, jury selection, protective orders and other remaining issues ahead of the September start of Mangione’s state murder trial.
The proceeding offered a preview of the extraordinary public and press interest surrounding the case. More than 80 news organizations have been approved to cover the trial.
The NY Weekly Record was among the news organizations granted a reserved press seat for coverage of the case and was inside Part 32 for Tuesday’s proceeding.
Inside the Courtroom
Before Mangione entered, the atmosphere on the two sides of the courtroom offered a noticeable contrast.
Veteran Manhattan Assistant District Attorney Joel Seidemann, who is prosecuting the state case, arrived appearing somber as the prosecution team prepared at counsel table. Seidemann is joined in the prosecution by Assistant District Attorneys Kristin Bailey and Zachary Kaplan, according to court records.
Several men wearing badges entered the courtroom and took seats near the front.
Mangione’s defense attorneys arrived in considerably lighter spirits.
Karen Friedman Agnifilo entered wearing a black suit with a collarless tan shirt and carrying a large tan bag decorated with opposing lions. The bag was placed upright on the defense table.
Then came one of those distinctly human courtroom moments that will never appear in a judicial decision.
Friedman Agnifilo reached into the bag, pulled out a pink hairbrush and casually brushed her hair while sitting at the defense table.
Mangione later entered wearing a gray suit, white collared shirt and eyeglasses. He looked around the gallery after entering the courtroom.
His defense team includes Friedman Agnifilo, Marc Agnifilo and Jacob Kaplan.
Media Access and an Overflow Courtroom
A significant portion of Tuesday’s proceeding concerned access to a trial expected to draw enormous interest.
Mangione’s defense had challenged restrictions surrounding media and public access, including the availability of an overflow courtroom.
Carro was adamant that the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office had no role in determining which news organizations were granted reserved press seats. The judge made clear that decisions about which press entities received reserved courtroom seating were made by the court — not prosecutors — and firmly pushed back on any suggestion that the District Attorney’s Office controlled or influenced that process.
The NY Weekly Record was among the news organizations granted a reserved press seat for coverage of the case and was inside Part 32 for Tuesday’s proceeding.
Carro also rejected suggestions that there had been an effort to exclude the press from the proceedings.
The Manhattan District Attorney’s Office had raised concerns about an overflow courtroom, particularly the possibility that images could be secretly recorded and disseminated. The court ultimately approved an overflow room with live audio rather than video.
The arrangements underscore the unusual logistical challenge confronting the court: maintaining meaningful public access while conducting a criminal trial that has generated international attention.
Anonymous Jury
Carro also announced Tuesday that the jury will be anonymous.
The judge directed prosecutors and defense attorneys to work together on proposed jury questions, identify areas of agreement and disagreement, and return unresolved questions to the court for a decision.
“We will have jurors on the 8th,” Carro said, according to reports from inside the courtroom.
The anonymous-jury ruling followed concerns raised by prosecutors about potential harassment or intimidation of jurors and witnesses because of the extraordinary attention surrounding Mangione and the intense following the case has generated.
Protective Orders and Remaining Motions
The court also addressed an outstanding protective order and restrictions governing material in the case.
Carro indicated that some protective-order matters remained unresolved. Friedman Agnifilo said the defense would consent so long as the order contained a provision covering paralegals.
Seidemann also raised the need for signatures on two additional protective orders.
The lawyers approached the bench for a conference as Mangione remained at the defense table.
Afterward, Carro said the bench discussion had included jury selection and outstanding motions that still needed to be filed and decided, preferably before September 8.
The State Trial Begins Next Month
Mangione, 28, is accused of fatally shooting UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson outside a Manhattan hotel on December 4, 2024. He was arrested five days later in Altoona, Pennsylvania.
He has pleaded not guilty to the remaining state charges, including second-degree murder and weapons offenses. Separate federal charges remain pending, with the federal trial now scheduled to follow the state proceeding.
Tuesday’s hearing ended without the fireworks that have accompanied some earlier proceedings. Instead, the focus was largely on the mechanics of conducting what is likely to become one of New York’s most closely watched criminal trials.
Carro adjourned the case until September 8 for jury selection.
By then, the jury questionnaires, protective orders and outstanding motions are expected to be resolved.
And amid arguments over anonymous jurors, press access, protective orders and overflow courtrooms, one of the morning’s most unexpected images came from the defense table:
A tan bag decorated with lions — and a pink hairbrush.
Photos from Tuesday’s Proceeding
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