Free spirited backpacker and accused murderer Luigi Mangione has hired big shot lawyer Avraham Moskowitz, described in a court filing as “a member of the SDNY Capital Panel and has frequently been found learned in the law of capital cases. In arriving at the recommendation, I have contacted the government and defense counsel and have reviewed the conflict list. Mr Moskowitz is available and does not appear to have any conflict,” JustSecurity’s Adam Klasfeld reports.
Obviously just taking a plea deal would be cheaper given the lack of any reasonable doubt of his guilt, but equally obvious is Mangione’s intent to “put the system on trial” (provided a judge will put up with that) or just roll the dice for on jury nullification in both his federal and state-level cases.
For any other defendant that’s a bad bet, but Luigi may just be a white OJ Simpson.