Like Many High-Profile Cases Before His, Luigi Mangione's Trial Could Be Televised
An application requesting video during one of Luigi Mangione's hearings was denied. His trial could follow suit.
Published Feb. 22 2025, 7:50 p.m. ET
The judicial process has always been a source of fascination for people who are not actively participating in it. In August 1892, Andrew Borden and his wife Abby Durfee Gray Borden were brutally killed in their home, in Fall River, Mass. A little over a year later, Andrew's younger daughter Lizzie was on trial for their murder. Despite the fact that the courtroom was stiflingly hot, it was packed with spectators every day.
Almost exactly 100 years later, the first televised trial was Pamela Smart's. She was later "found guilty of conspiracy to commit murder, accomplice to first-degree murder, and witness tampering in connection with the death of her husband, Greggory Smart," per the New Hampshire Bar Association.
Since then we've watched Jeffrey Dahmer, the Menendez brothers, and O.J. Simpson answer for their crimes. That brings us to Luigi Mangione. Will his trials be televised? Here's what we know.
Will Luigi Mangione's trial be televised? Two of them could be.
Because Mangione has criminal cases in New York, Pennsylvania, and federal court, he will have three trials. According to Reuters, as of November 2024, cameras are not permitted in federal criminal trials. Regarding his two state trials, they are not protected under the First or Sixth amendments. However, states "may permit cameras in their courtrooms only if the defendant's rights to due process and a fair trial are protected," per the U.S. Department of Justice.
On Feb. 21, 2024, Mangione was in New York for a hearing where his lawyer brought up search and seizure issues, reported ABC News. Karen Friedman Agnifilo cited concerns over how the police in Altoona, Penn. obtained evidence. She also said it was "shocking" to see NYPD's chief of detectives and New York City Mayor Eric Adams give an interview in a documentary that aired this week. Both were discussing evidence his legal team had yet to see.
In a press conference after the hearing, Agnifilo said she wanted to provide information due to the fact that "the application for video of today's proceeding was denied." This doesn't bode well for his actual trial.
It's possible the courts will want to keep cameras out due to the support Mangione has received from the general public. His next hearing is scheduled for Feb. 24, 2025.