Lawyers for the Aurora movie theater gunman say they will appeal an order requiring a second psychiatric evaluation to the Colorado Supreme Court, as the judge in the case rejected further defense efforts to toss out the death penalty as a possible punishment, according to Reuters.
Attorneys for Colorado theater shooting defendant James Holmes are appealing a judge's order requiring a second sanity evaluation to the state's Supreme Court according to court filings dated Tuesday and released Wednesday, Reuters reported.
Defense lawyers asked for 30 days to file the appeal, but Arapahoe County District Judge Carlos A. Samour Jr. gave them until May 5, less than two weeks away, according to Reuters. Samour indefinitely postponed a hearing scheduled to start May 5 so the defense can focus on the appeal.
Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty for Holmes who pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity to charges of killing 12 people and injuring 70 in the July 2012 attack, Reuters reported.
Holmes underwent a mandatory sanity evaluation last year but the judge ruled the first exam was inadequate and ordered a second, according to Reuters. Holmes' lawyers objected, saying the order was improper and violated Holmes' rights.
The court also released orders by Samour on Wednesday that denied two more defense attempts to bar the death penalty in Holmes' case, and he denied a defense motion that could have allowed people who oppose the death penalty under any circumstances to serve on the jury, Reuters reported. Samour also denied a defense request to videotape potential jurors during questioning by attorneys.
Colorado defense lawyer and legal analyst Mark Johnson said Holmes' lawyers are challenging whether Samour erred by compelling their client to submit to further testing after he already underwent one court-ordered evaluation, according to Reuters.
"What the public defenders are saying is that the judge exceeded his authority by ordering a second examination under the very specific state statute on insanity defenses," Johnson said, Reuters reported.