Additional information came to light last week in the case against Luigi Mangione, the 27-year-old man accused of murdering UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, during a key pretrial hearing on a motion to suppress. At issue was whether the search of Mangione’s backpack in an Altoona, PA, McDonald’s five days after the Manhattan shooting was lawful where officers had not obtained a warrant. The defense also argued that certain statements should be suppressed because officers did not Mirandize Mangione until 20 minutes had passed.
The question of whether it was lawful to search Mangione’s backpack without a warrant evokes the Fourth Circuit case of United States v. Davis, which Shea blogged about here. In Davis, the Fourth Circuitheld that the search of the defendant’s backpack was unlawful where the defendant was lying handcuffed on his stomach and thus could not plausibly reach for the backpack at the time officers searched it. This was a notable expansion of the Arizona v. Gant case beyond the context of searches of motor vehicles. However, the analysis is highly fact-dependent, as Shea’s comparison to other cases in the blog demonstrates. Small distinctions involving the relative freedom of the defendant and the potential to access the bag can make a big difference. Furthermore, investigators in the Mangione case claimed the risk that the bag contained a bomb justified the warrantless search. Additional questions surrounding inventory searches, inevitable discovery, and Pennsylvania law on search incident to arrest may come into play in the ultimate ruling. The judge indicated that he would make his decision in May after receiving written arguments from both parties.
Inside Mangione’s backpack, Altoona officers found a gun, a fully loaded magazine wrapped in wet, gray underwear, a cellphone inside a Faraday bag (designed to avoid detection by suppressing cellphone signal), as well as what appeared to be a to-do list indicating Mangione’s intentions to “keep momentum” and “pluck eyebrows.”
Read on for more criminal justice news.
Juvenile complaint trends. The deputy secretary for the North Carolina Division of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, Billy Lassiter, made a recent presentation to state legislators outlining trends in juvenile delinquency complaints. Complaints rose 14% statewide from 2022 to 2024, driven in part by a rise in vehicle break-ins and thefts of motor vehicles. As many of these break-ins involved theft of a firearm, Lassiter suggested that additional funding for programs that encourage safe storage of guns and use of gun locks would be helpful. He also urged legislators to fund community-based programs to curb recidivism and prevent the next break-in.
Lassiter stated that additional funding was needed for staff and beds at juvenile detention facilities to comply with laws requiring separation of children awaiting trial from adults.
Keeping kids away from hemp. In other news involving children, state legislators are considering laws that would prevent kids from purchasing THC products. The Child Fatality Task Force recently urged legislators to prohibit sales of hemp-derived THC to those younger than 21. Meanwhile, a new federal law banning most hemp products is scheduled to go into effect next year.
Kids bullying kids. In a lengthy piece, The New York Times Magazine chronicles a troubling pattern of bullying leading to violent attacks in the East Valley area of Phoenix, Arizona. The main victim profiled in the story was bullied persistently even after transferring to a different high school. The reporting highlights the challenges that parents, schools, and investigators face in trying to respond to organized bullying and prevent it from escalating.
New and improved juror experience. In brighter news, the Administrative Office of the Courts recently announced changes designed to improve the experience of serving as a juror in North Carolina. The first improvement will allow jurors to receive a debit card with payment for their service upon leaving the courthouse. Jurors will no longer have to wait to receive a check in the mail. The second improvement is an online portal on which prospective jurors can make requests to be excused from service. Jurors previously had to make such requests by snail mail or by phone.
The modifications are intended to ease burdens on those called to fulfill their civic duty.
Job opportunities at SOG. The SOG is hiring! We are currently looking to fill three positions:
- Assistant Professor of Family Law,
- Legal Research Associate, and
- Local Government Law Fellow.
For more details, see this post from my colleague, Sara.
Winter break. Starting today, the blog will take a brief winter hibernation for the holidays, but we will resume on January 5 (I’ll have some Court of Appeals case summaries for you then).
Best wishes and we will see you in the new year!
