(NewsNation) — Luigi Mangione’s criminal trial may present attorneys with one of the “most difficult cases ever for jury selection,” according to jury consultant Lillian Glass.
Mangione, who is accused of killing then-UnitedHealthCare CEO Brian Thompson, was in court Thursday for the fourth day of a pre-trial hearing, during which his lawyers are looking to have key evidence thrown out in the murder case against him.
He has cultivated something of a cult following, culminating in a crowdsourced legal fund reaching more than $1.3 million, raising concerns about the possibility of stealth jurors — those motivated by hidden agendas.
Glass suggests the attorneys need someone “who can really analyze the nuances, micro expressions during a jury selection process.
“The problem here is a jury selection process is a very short time. We don’t have a lot of time to analyze everything. It’s going to be so tough,” she told “Banfield” on Thursday.
Glass said in addition to being a body language expert, jury selection should be done by someone who understands the subtleties of body movement and facial expressions voir dire.
Due to the widespread impact health care has on the daily lives of Americans, Glass believes it will be “hugely difficult” to find individuals who have not personally been affected by the system.
“It’s going to be so tough to find somebody who’s nonbiased, and then you’ve got the issue of good-lookingness, and there have been studies that show that if a defendant is attractive, people are not going to convict them definitely for the death penalty,” she said.
“Attorneys know this, that’s why they dress their client in certain sweaters, they put certain makeup on, they make them shave off a beard or do something with their hair. So this is very real.”
Mangione has pleaded not guilty to state and federal murder charges. If convicted, he could face life in prison or the death penalty.
He will return to court for day five of the pre-trial hearing Friday morning. The next federal hearing against Mangione is Jan. 9.