Jury selection for the Aurora movie theater murder trial will begin Tuesday, after the judge overseeing the case denied the latest motion to postpone the start date.
Judge Carlos Samour ruled that defense attorneys have had sufficient time to prepare for trial.
“This case is ready to proceed to trial,” Samour wrote bluntly in the order. “The Court will not allow it to be unnecessarily and improperly delayed simply because it is a death penalty case.”
In , Samour ruled that defense attorneys for James Holmes cannot show jurors or videotaped statements made by people whom they don’t plan to call at trial. He also ruled defense attorneys cannot show jurors passages from a book by an author writing about struggling with mental illness. Samour said the evidence is irrelevant or hearsay, because prosecutors won’t be able to cross-examine it. Samour said the defense should call witnesses who can testify in person about the evidence.
The first of 9,000 summoned jurors are scheduled to start arriving at the Arapahoe County courthouse Tuesday afternoon, the first step in what is expected to be a four-month jury selection process.
Defense attorneys to prepare for trial because prosecutors continue to turn over new documents that they must review. In , prosecutors revealed they are still piecing their case together, noting that one witness they now expect to call at trial, “was a person mentioned to the prosecution by another trial witness for the first time this week.”
But Samour said he’s confident the defense can deal with the new information.
“Part of being an experienced trial lawyer includes the ability to adjust to change, including during trial,” Samour wrote.
