What happened is that the feds took an aggressive but plausible legal position, and the district court disagreed. There are concurrent federal and state prosecutions. Ordinarily, murder is a state law charge. Some nexus to the federal government is required to elevate it to a federal crime.
Here, New York doesn’t have the death penalty, so the feds invoked 18 USC 924(c) in connection with a federal stalking charge. That allows the death penalty where someone is killed with a firearm during a federal “crime of violence.” So the question is whether stalking is a “crime of violence.” Seems like it could be, right?
The term “crime of violence” is the subject of a ton of litigation: https://www.everycrsreport.com/files/2025-04-25_LSB11293_4ec.... So the feds made an aggressive argument to secure the death penalty, and the district court disagreed. There’s nothing incompetent at all. Federal prosecutors sometimes take aggressive legal positions, and federal judges sometimes reject those positions.
You didn’t mention that Bondi was Florida’s AG for 8 years. Even Democrat Senators who voted against her acknowledged she is well qualified: https://www.welch.senate.gov/welch-votes-against-advancing-p... (“Pam Bondi is qualified. She has done outstanding work as an Attorney General, both as a County Prosecutor and as the Florida Attorney General, and I actually quite admire the grit that she had to take on a challenging statewide campaign to become Attorney General”).
Which, once Mangione is convicted, will almost certainly be reviewed at the appellate level.
The appellate court cannot review something that isn't before it, and a conviction on other offenses does not bring counts 3 and 4 of the indictment before the appellate court.
Normally, I would expect there to be a process for an interlocutory appeal when a ruling is fatal to a charged offense. However, again, I'm not familiar enough with title 28 to say if that is in fact the case here.
Fair point.
I honestly considered adding that but really didn't feel the need to drag her that much given Florida is the state that has Dr. Joseph Ladapo as surgeon general.
I also left out:
U.S. District Judge Lorna Schofield’s ruling against acting U.S. Attorney John Sarcone III is the fifth time that judges have ruled that a top prosecutor appointed by Attorney General Pam Bondi was serving in the position unlawfully.
Vacancy Act litigation is just a part of dealing with changes in administrations these days: https://www.acslaw.org/expertforum/the-vacancies-act-a-prece...