CENTENNIAL — The judge said he was going to read the list of charges in the case, and the recitation lasted for 91 minutes.
“Count 1, murder in the first degree,” Judge Carlos Samour Jr. began. “On or about July 20, 2012, James Eagan Holmes unlawfully, feloniously, after deliberation … “
If the jurors who will decide whether Holmes is guilty of murder for the Aurora movie theater shooting had underestimated the magnitude of the case before them, that changed Monday. During a day of detailed instructions and questions, the magnitude of the trial that will begin on April 27 was clear.
It took so long for Samour to read all the charges and then educate jurors on how to interpret the law that he and the attorneys on both sides ran out of time to pick the final jury. The 93 jurors who remain in a pool that once numbered 9,000 will return to the Arapahoe County courthouse Tuesday morning for more questioning before the 12 jurors and up to 12 alternates who will hear the case are selected. It’s been 12 weeks since jurors first arrived to answer questionnaires.
Samour released 19 jurors during questioning on Monday, and another three did not show up for jury duty. Samour began the day by praising those who did appear, telling them they were performing “one of the most important constitutional duties that we will ever do in our lives.”
“You are the reason we have this system of justice that we have,” he said.
But Monday’s questioning also showed the cost of that service.
One juror, who said the stress of possibly serving on the jury had likely contributed to an escalating series of arguments with his wife, revealed he had recently been placed on a psychiatric hold. He was released.
Another juror broke down in tears describing the panic attack she suffered after her earlier individual questioning session with the judge and attorneys. She was retained after she said she could keep her emotions from affecting her judgment.
And one question from Samour sowed a seed of marital awkwardness for a juror and her husband, both of whom are in the jury pool. One of them would be released, Samour told her, and the juror’s husband had said earlier it should be his wife.
The juror answered hesitantly.
“It would be easier — I’m sorry, honey — it would be easier on the family if he served,” she said.
Holmes is charged with 166 counts of murder, attempted murder and other offenses — a deceptively tidy summary for one of the worst mass shootings in American history. For the first time in months, Samour said the names of the victims in court as he recited the charges.
Jonathan Blunk. Alexander Boik. Jesse Childress. Gordon Cowden. Jessica Ghawi. John Larimer. Matthew McQuinn. Micayla Medek. Veronica Moser-Sullivan. Alex Sullivan. Alexander Teves. Rebecca Wingo.
And when he was done reading the charges, Samour sat back in his chair and took a breath. It was only lunchtime.
John Ingold: 303-954-1068, jingold@denverpost.com or twitter.com/johningold
