Holmes’ lawyers say firearms science is unreliable

AURORA | Scientific analysis that links bullets back to the guns that fire them is so subjective it shouldn’t be allowed in court, lawyers for accused theater shooter James Holmes argued Wednesday.

The defense is asking Judge Carlos Samour, Jr. not to allow several experts, including a firearms and metals expert, to testify at the trial.

During testimony Wednesday from Dale Higashi, a Colorado Bureau of Investigation firearms examiner who studied more than 150 bullets and  fragments taken from the Century Aurora 16 theater, Holmes’ lawyers said the science relied too heavily on the examiner’s hunches.

Public Defender Daniel King said because there isn’t a statistical calculation that says whether a bullet came from a particular gun, jurors are forced to simply take the word of analysts.

“We ultimately either have to trust you or not,” King said.

But Higashi said the error rate on the sort of testing he does on bullets is less than 1 percent. He also said every piece of evidence is meticulously studied under a microscope.

“It is not taken lightly,” he said.

In Holmes’ case, Higashi said all of the fragments tested linked back to the three weapons Holmes fired in the shooting that night — a shotgun, Glock pistol and AR-15 rifle. A second Glock pistol found in Holmes’ car was not fired at the scene, he said.

Higashi said he took over the examination after another CBI technician misplaced a quarter-inch sized piece of bullet jacketing.

Samour said he will rule in the coming days whether to allow the experts to testify at the trial, which is scheduled to start in December.

Holmes, who has pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity, sat quietly throughout the two days of hearings.

The next court date in the case is set for Aug. 25.