The start date for the long-awaited trial in the Aurora movie theater shooting is in doubt again, after defense attorneys said Monday that one of the lawyers representing James Holmes has suffered a medical emergency.
Defense attorney Daniel King said at a hearing Monday that a key defense investigator has also suffered a medical emergency. Neither King nor Judge Carlos Samour named the attorney or investigator, and they did not explain further the nature of the emergencies. Defense attorney Tamara Brady, who has represented Holmes since , was absent in court Monday.
Samour said he would take a couple of days to decide whether to delay the trial. If he does, it would be the sixth time that a trial date has been set in the more than two-year-old case.
“This is new information,” Samour said. “I need to analyze it and think about it.”
Monday’s hearing was the last one scheduled before jury selection starts in the case in late January. The defense has already filed a motion and the trial. Opening statements in the case are currently scheduled for late May or early June.
King said Monday that attorneys recently received 5,000 pages of documents related to the of Holmes, whose defense rests on the contention that he was insane when he killed 12 people and wounded 70 others inside the Century Aurora 16 movie theater in July 2012. King said defense attorneys need more time to review the documents and get advice from experts.
“We’re trying to jam all this work into the small amount of time at the end of this case,” King said.
Prosecutors oppose a trial delay.
The remainder of Monday’s hearing focused on logistical issues surrounding jury selection and the start of trial. King said he plans to share his opening statement at trial with defense attorney Katherine Spengler. Spengler, who previously represented killer Austin Sigg, has made appearances on Holmes’ defense team before but has not publicly played as prominent of a role as either King or Brady.
Court administrators plan to send out 9,000 jury summonses in the case — meaning people on the jury rolls in Arapahoe County have a roughly of receiving one. Twelve jurors and 12 alternates will be picked for the trial, which could last four or five more months.
Holmes faces the death penalty if convicted.
John Ingold: 303-954-1068, jingold@denverpost.com or twitter.com/johningold
