Colorado Batman shooter in court 'mini-trial'
James Holmes, the man who allegedly shot dead 12 people in a cinema in Aurora, Colorado during a screen of the Batman film The Dark Knight Rises is due to appear in court, for a so-called 'mini trial.
James Holmes faces more than 160 counts including first-degree murder and attempted murder Photo: AP/Getty Images
9:14AM GMT 07 Jan 2013
The hearing, six months after the tragedy, and amid a fierce debate on gun laws in the US, might be the closest thing to a trial victims and their families will get to see.
Holmes, a former neuroscience graduate student, is charged with killing 12 people and injuring 70 by opening fire during a premiere of the Batman film in the Denver suburb last July.
The Century 16 cinema in Denver where the shooting took place during a screening of the Batman film The Dark Knight Rises (AP)[/SUP]
At a week long preliminary hearing starting today, prosecutors will outline their case against Holmes, the first official public disclosure of their evidence. The judge will then determine whether to send the case to trial.
Legal analysts say that the evidence appears to be so strong that Holmes may well accept a plea agreement before trial. In such cases, the preliminary hearing can set the stage for a deal by letting each side assess the other's strengths and weaknesses, said Laurie Levenson, a former federal prosecutor and now a professor at Loyola Law School in Los Angeles.
Preliminary hearings "are often the first step to resolving the case, a mini-trial so both sides can see the writing on the wall," Mr Levenson said.
Judges rarely throw out a case at this stage because prosecutors must only meet a "probable cause" standard – much lower than the "beyond a reasonable doubt" standard for a guilty verdict at trial, said Mimi Wesson, a professor of law at the University of Colorado Law School.
(Clockwise from top left): John Larimer, Jessica Ghawi, Matt McQuinn, Alex Teves, Jon Blunk, Alex Sullivan, AJ Boik and Micayla Medek, who were shot dead in the cinema
Holmes, who faces more than 160 counts including first-degree murder and attempted murder, could have waived his right to a preliminary hearing, allowing lawyers on both sides to prepare for trial. But defence lawyers sometimes go through with the hearing because it gives them a clearer picture of the prosecution's evidence.
"In this case, I think it likely that the genuine purpose of the hearing would be information-gathering by the defence," Wesson said.
Court officials expect many survivors and family members of the dead to attend the preliminary hearing, along with scores of spectators and reporters. At least two overflow rooms are being prepared where the hearing can be observed by video and audio feeds.
District Judge William B. Sylvester has imposed a gag order on attorneys and investigators, and many court documents have been filed under seal, so little is known about Holmes' path from promising graduate student to suspect in a mass murder. The few details that have been made public suggest a disturbing descent.
Holmes enrolled in the University of Colorado, Denver Ph.D. program in neuroscience in 2011. In the spring of 2012, authorities say, he began buying weapons, high-capacity magazines, ammunition, explosives and combat gear. At some point in the school year, he began seeing a university psychiatrist. He failed an oral exam on June 7 and withdrew from the university three days later.
Firefighters and law enforcement personnel remove equipment from the roof of the apartment of the alleged gunman James Holmes (AP)
[/SUP]He was arrested outside the theatre shortly after the July 20 shootings. Federal authorities have said he entered the theatre with a ticket and is believed to have propped open a door, slipped out to his car and returned with his weapons. Hours later, investigators found his apartment booby-trapped with potentially deadly explosives, police said.
In previous hearings – many witnessed by victims and survivors – Holmes' appearance and behaviour ranged from bizarre to unremarkable. On his first day in court, his hair was a shocking orange-red, his face was covered with stubble and he seemed to be in a daze.
Holmes could get the death penalty or life in prison without parole if he goes to trial and is convicted of murder. He could avoid the death penalty if his lawyers argue he is mentally ill or innocent by reason of insanity. Holmes' mental health is expected to be a major factor whether his case ends in a plea agreement or goes to trial.
His lawyers have told the judge that Holmes was mentally ill, and court records indicate they may call witnesses in the preliminary hearing to testify about his mental health. The defence team has not said whether Holmes would enter an insanity plea.
An insanity plea is different from the competency argument used for Jared Loughner, who pleaded guilty to killing six people and wounding 13, including then-Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, in Arizona in 2011.
A judge ruled in May 2011 that Loughner was mentally incompetent to stand trial and ordered him to undergo psychiatric treatment. After Loughner spent more than a year in treatment, the judge ruled he had become competent, and Loughner accepted a plea agreement that carried a sentence of life in prison without parole instead of execution.
If prosecutors do not seek the death penalty, and if Holmes is convicted of or pleads guilty to first-degree murder charges, he would face a mandatory sentence of life without parole.
Source: AP
