James Eagan Holmes, the suspected shooter in the Aurora movie-theater killings, is scheduled to appear in Arapahoe County court Monday morning for an initial advisement.
After that, it could be months until he is tried in the shooting of 71 people, 12 of whom died. In between, he could face a competency evaluation and a decision on whether the district attorney will seek the death penalty.
But Monday starts the clock ticking in his legal case.
District Attorney Carol Chambers will likely decide sometime next week on what and how many charges to file against him. There will be at least 71 charges — one for each victim — and probably more.
Once Holmes is charged, the defense will then ask that a preliminary hearing be set. An arraignment would follow and then motions hearings before reaching trial. The process will likely take months.
For now, two of the biggest questions regarding Holmes’ legal case are whether the district attorney will seek the death penalty and whether his defense team will ask the state to determine whether he is competent to stand trial, legal observers say.
Chambers, who could not be reached for comment, has not been shy about seeking the death penalty during her tenure. Two of the three prisoners on death row, Robert Ray and Sir Mario Owens, were put there by her office. And she has sought the death penalty six times.
Chambers is term-limited, and two people are running in November to fill her seat. Because of that, any decision Chambers makes could be changed by the new DA, said Denver attorney Phil Cherner. Republican candidate George Brauchler and Democrat Ethan Feldman are running for the office.
The other issue is Holmes’ competency. He appeared to have a meticulous plan leading up to Friday’s massacre, police said.
But competency is about whether a suspect understands the court proceedings, not about whether he knows right from wrong.
And Cherner said it might not always be wise to seek a court evaluation. Holmes’ defense team will likely do its own evaluation before deciding on whether to ask the state to do so.
Ultimately, a judge would decide whether Holmes is competent for trial.
“If you raise the competency issue, you let the government into your client’s head,” Cherner said. “That’s the one thing they have that nobody else has.”
