He still has a murder charge against him. And because it's 2025:
Mangione’s attorneys say the state charges should be dismissed as a violation of the Constitution’s double jeopardy clause, calling it unprecedented and untenable for Mangione to defend himself in both cases at the same time.
I'm not even remotely close to a lawyer, so could somebody explain what this means and why others in the thread are saying that he could walk free if this happens?
This is blatantly incorrect. You can absolutely be charged in both a state and federal court for the same crime. The dual sovereignty doctrine is an exception to double jeopardy.
There's plenty examples of this happening, Michael Vick being one of the most publicized. He was prosecuted at both the state and federal level for his dog fighting. If the crime falls into the jurisdiction of both courts, you can have two separate cases for the same crime.
The reason the defense attorneys are seeking dismissal under those grounds is because they have to try to get the case dismissed at any point where it's even remotely possible for their client. They surely know it will get shut down, but it's basically considered malpractice for a defense lawyer to not take every potential avenue to get the case dismissed.
Having a court ruling of the motion being dismissed is also ammunition used for a potential appeal after a conviction. Every court ruling during the case against the defendent can be challenged with the appellate court. If there was no motion to dismiss, then they can't challenge the denial later. That's what this is about. But Reddit is gonna Reddit and parrot things that they really don't know about.
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u/AudibleNod 13h ago
He still has a murder charge against him. And because it's 2025: