CENTENNIAL — Thirteen more prospective jurors were released Wednesday from the pool of people summoned for the James Holmes trial as t they will receive during the selection process came into clear focus.
Ten people were dismissed because they don’t live in Arapahoe County, aren’t U.S. citizens or don’t speak English. Three were dismissed for medical reasons.
All told, 272 people showed up at the courthouse Wednesday for jury service, adding to the 135 who arrived the day before, , Judge Carlos Samour said.
On Thursday, Samour and attorneys on both sides of the Aurora theater massacre case will start going over the 407 questionnaires those jurors filled out, but Samour on Wednesday said in court that it will take agreement from both sides to dismiss jurors from service based on their answers in the questionnaires. Many will be called back .
That cautious scrutiny matches Samour’s decision Wednesday to question under oath two of the jurors who said they don’t live in Arapahoe County.
“Do you have any other residences?” Samour asked one juror who said she now lives in Denver, making her ineligible for service in the case. The woman said she didn’t.
“Do you have any intention of going back to a residence in Arapahoe County?” Samour persisted.
Both ultimately were released from service. But another — a woman who Samour said arrived at the courthouse Wednesday morning vomiting and so “violently ill” that she requested an ambulance — was not released from service. Instead, after consulting with the lawyers, Samour decided she should be asked to come back at a later date.
Although 9,000 summonses went out to jurors in the case — of which 7,000 were delivered — attorneys said they were wary about letting too many people go at the start.
“In a case of this magnitude,” defense attorney Dan King said to Samour, “you have to consider the fact that people may not want to sit on this jury.”
Holmes faces the death penalty if convicted of killing 12 people and trying to kill 70 more inside the Century Aurora 16 theater in July 2012. His trial is expected to last four or five months.
Despite some hiccups — one juror was caught Wednesday apparently taking a cellphone picture of his juror questionnaire, a no-no — Samour said he was pleased with the turnout rate.
“I think we’re getting good numbers,” Samour said as snow fell Wednesday, “especially considering the conditions outside.”
John Ingold: 303-954-1068, jingold@denverpost.com or twitter.com/johningold
