Luigi Mangione’s lawyers have asked a judge to postpone his federal trial in the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson until early next year and say they will seek to have his state murder trial delayed until September. In a Wednesday letter to U.S. District Judge Margaret Garnett, Mangione’s lawyers said the current schedule — the state trial in June and the federal trial in September — puts him “in the position of needing to prepare for two complicated and serious trials at the same time.” They asked Garnett to delay the federal trial until January 2027 so that they can then have an opportunity to ask to move the state trial from June 8 to Sept. 8.

The Vatican appeals tribunal has declared a mistrial in the Holy See’s big “trial of the century.” It’s a stunning blow to both Pope Francis’ legacy and Vatican prosecutors who had prosecuted a cardinal and several other people on alleged financial crimes. In a 16-page ruling, the appeals court ruled that Francis and Vatican prosecutors both made procedural errors that nullified the original indictment of Cardinal Angelo Becciu and required a new trial. The court set a June 22 as the date for the new trial to begin. Defense lawyers say such a ruling is enormously significant if not historic, since it amounts to a Vatican court declaring an act of the pope had no effect.

The Justice Department has moved to dismiss charges against an Army veteran who set fire to an American flag near the White House last year to protest President Donald Trump’s executive order on flag burning. Jay Carey of Arden, North Carolina, was arrested in August after he set fire to a flag in Lafayette Park. Earlier that day, Trump signed an executive order requiring the Justice Department to investigate and prosecute people for burning the American flag. Carey was charged with two misdemeanors that aren’t focused on the act of burning a flag and pleaded not guilty. Carey says he hopes the victory "can help the next person who takes a stand.”