DENVER | The judge in the Colorado theater shooting case has rejected a request by defense attorneys to attend the suspect’s court-ordered psychiatric examination.
James Holmes has pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity in a movie theater attack that killed 12 and injured 70 in Aurora on July 20.
Judge Carlos Samour ruled Wednesday that Holmes doesn’t have a constitutional right to have his attorneys and an investigator at his sanity examination. Samour noted concerns that the examination’s validity could be undermined if others attend.
Separately, he granted a request by Holmes’ attorneys to be given a videotape of Holmes undergoing psychiatric care at a hospital. Court documents indicate Holmes was taken from jail to the hospital in November after he was deemed a danger to himself.
Samour also rejected defense attorneys’ request to let potential jurors who can’t understand English be in the jury pool.
Holmes’ attorneys had suggested translators could be provided and had argued that Holmes should have a jury composed of a fair cross-section of the community.