Luigi Mangione, the 26-year-old man accused of fatally shooting United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson, is facing federal murder and stalking charges.
Mangione is also facing state murder and terror charges in New York as well as charges in Pennsylvania, where he was arrested on Dec. 9.
People on social media have recently claimed the judge presiding over Mangione’s case is married to a former executive at the pharmaceutical company Pfizer, suggesting a conflict of interest.
“OPEN CORRUPTION: The judge for Luigi Mangione’s case is married to a former healthcare executive and has MILLIONS of stock in the healthcare industry,” one of the viral social media posts reads.
The posts suggest that the judge will also preside over Mangione’s criminal trial.
THE QUESTION
Is the judge overseeing Luigi Mangione’s trial married to a former Pfizer executive?
THE SOURCES
- U.S. Department of Justice
- Journalist Ken Klippenstein’s report published to his Substack page on Dec. 23
- LinkedIn page for Bret Parker
- Article written by Bret Parker
- U.S. Courts
- Federal Judicial Center
- American Bar Association article written by two legal experts
- News reports published by The Independent and ABC News
THE ANSWER
The judge overseeing Luigi Mangione’s pretrial hearings in his federal case is married to a former Pfizer executive. But she won’t oversee his federal criminal trial.
WHAT WE FOUND
Claims the judge overseeing Luigi Mangione’s case is married to a former Pfizer executive are missing context.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Katharine H. Parker, who is married to a former Pfizer executive, is overseeing Mangione’s pretrial hearings in his federal case. But she won’t oversee his federal criminal trial. Parker also will not oversee any of Mangione’s criminal trials at the state level.
That’s because magistrate judges like Parker can oversee some matters in felony cases like Mangione’s, such as deciding whether to set bail or order pretrial detention, before they go to trial. But they don’t oversee felony trials – that’s a district judge’s role.
Mangione appeared before Magistrate Judge Katharine Parker in Manhattan federal court on Thursday, Dec. 19, the Department of Justice said.
The claims about Parker’s connection to Pfizer stem from a report published on journalist Ken Klippenstein’s Substack on Dec. 23. The report says the judge is married to Bret Parker, who left Pfizer in 2010 after serving as vice president and assistant general counsel at the pharmaceutical company.
A LinkedIn page under Bret Parker’s name confirms that he worked for Pfizer until 2010. He currently serves as executive director of the New York City Bar Association, according to his LinkedIn page.
VERIFY also found an article Parker previously wrote about his battle with Parkinson’s disease that says his wife, Katharine, is a federal magistrate judge.
But, contrary to what the viral online claims appear to suggest, Judge Katharine Parker won’t preside over Mangione’s federal criminal trial.
That’s because there are different types of federal judges who have different responsibilities.
In criminal cases, magistrate judges like Parker conduct preliminary court proceedings, such as initial appearance and arraignments – when a defendant is brought before a court to hear the charges against them and enter a plea.
But magistrate judges cannot be in charge of felony criminal trials, according to two federal governmentwebsites.
“Although magistrate judges cannot preside at felony criminal trials, they can dispose of petty offense and misdemeanor cases and conduct preliminary and post-conviction proceedings in felony cases,” two legal experts wrote for the American Bar Association (ABA).
District judges are the only ones who hear felony trials, rather than magistrate judges like Parker, according to U.S. Courts.
The selection process for district and magistrate judges also differs. Under the Constitution, district court judges are nominated by the president and confirmed by the United States Senate. Magistrate judges, on the other hand, are appointed by a majority vote of all active district judges, the ABA article explains.
If Mangione’s federal case goes to trial, it’s unclear who will preside over it. As of right now, Mangione is expected to appear in federal court again on Jan. 18, according to newsreports.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.