Defense in Colorado cinema massacre case renews bid for venue change
By Keith Coffman DENVER (Reuters) - Attorneys defending Colorado cinema gunman James Holmes have renewed their effort to have his upcoming murder trial moved out of the county where 12 moviegoers were fatally shot in 2012, court filings showed on Monday. Public defenders initially asked that the trial be moved last year, citing “pervasive media coverage” and that the impact on the community compromised their client’s right to a fair trial. Arapahoe County District Court Judge Carlos Samour deferred ruling at the time, saying he would consider the issue again once lawyers for both sides questioned prospective jurors. Holmes, 27, has pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity to multiple counts of first-degree murder and attempted murder stemming from the rampage inside a Denver-area theater during a viewing of the Batman movie “The Dark Knight Rises.” Prosecutors said they will seek the death penalty for the California native if he is convicted. Defense lawyers have conceded Holmes was the lone gunman, but said he was undergoing a psychotic episode when he planned and carried out the mass shooting, which also wounded 70 people. Jury selection is underway and Samour has said he hopes to have 12 jurors and 12 alternates selected by next month. Since their initial change of venue request last year, news coverage has been “not only voluminous and intensive, but continued to include information that reflected negatively on the defense,” the defense motion said. To bolster their argument, defense lawyers submitted more that 1,000 pages of news stories, columns and other articles that appeared in local media. Additionally, the defense motion said that approximately 68 percent of the prospective jurors who completed questionnaires believe Holmes is guilty, and nearly 40 percent do not believe he is legally insane. Former Denver prosecutor and legal analyst Craig Silverman said a venue change is unlikely to be granted, and that the defense is setting the stage for an appeal. “This case made huge international news so anywhere you might go, most people would have heard about this defendant and what he did,” Silverman said. Separately on Monday, Samour granted a motion by prosecutors, and unopposed by the defense, to limit graphic autopsy and crime scene photos of victims to himself, the jury and lawyers during the trial. The gruesome images will not be seen by courtroom observers and broadcast by the media, Samour ruled, noting that no news media organizations opposed the motion. (Reporting by Keith Coffman in Denver; Editing by Dan Whitcomb and Eric Walsh)
