“It is entirely natural then that the state case would proceed to trial prior to the federal case,” the prosecutor wrote, citing legal precedent. Under New York law, the district attorney’s office would be barred from trying Mangione on state murder charges if his federal case goes to trial first. The state’s double jeopardy protections kick in if a jury has been sworn in a prior prosecution, such as a federal case, or if that prosecution ends in a guilty plea. Mangione has pleaded not guilty to federal and state murder charges; the state charges carry the possibility of life in prison. He is due back in court for a conference in the federal case on Friday.