Luigi Mangione may get a laptop in jail to work on his defence in murder case

Luigi Mangione, accused of fatally shooting the UnitedHealthcare chief executive Brian Thompson in New York City and leading authorities on a five-day search is scheduled, appears in court for a hearing in New York (Steven Hirsch/New York Post via AP)

A US judge has cleared the way for Luigi Mangione to get a laptop behind bars — if his jailers agree — so he can examine documents and other material in the UnitedHealthcare chief executive murder case.

New York state Judge Gregory Carro wrote that he had “no objection” to Mangione’s request for the device, which would be configured to allow him only to review case materials.

But Judge Carro noted that it is ultimately up to the federal authorities who oversee the lockup where Mangione is awaiting trial in the December shooting of Brian Thompson, the 50-year-old head of one of the biggest US health insurers.

Luigi Mangione, appears in court for a hearing in New York (AP)

Messages seeking comment were sent to the Bureau of Prisons.

Judge Carro’s order came after he met virtually with prosecutors and Mangione’s lawyers on Thursday morning.

The Associated Press unsuccessfully requested that the discussion be moved to open court.

Court spokesperson Al Baker said judges sometimes hold “off-the-record virtual or in-person conferences” with both sides’ lawyers to discuss scheduling, evidence-gathering “and other related matters”.

Mangione was not at Thursday’s conference, Mr Baker said.

Mangione’s lawyers asked on Monday that he get a laptop to view a vast amount of documents, video and other items that prosecutors have gathered and turned over to the defence so far.

Mangione’s lawyers said the material is so voluminous that he cannot reasonably view it on the lockup’s shared computers for inmates, nor go over it all during visiting hours with his lawyers, so he needs a dedicated laptop to scrutinise the material and help prepare his defence.

The Manhattan district attorney’s office, which is prosecuting the rare murder as an act of terrorism case, objected to the laptop request.

Prosecutors argued, among other things, that his lawyers could show him the key parts.

During the back-and-forth over the laptop, prosecutors disclosed that someone slipped a handwritten, heart-shaped note of encouragement into socks that were intended for Mangione to wear to court last month.

A court officer intercepted the message before the footgear got to Mangione.

His lawyers said they were unaware of the note when they brought him the clothes.

It is not clear who wrote the note or hid it in the socks.