Holmes Back in Court as State Makes Its Case

What to expect from the hearing
By Kevin Spak,  Newser Staff
Posted Jan 7, 2013 6:00 AM CST
Holmes Back in Court as State Makes Its Case
In this July 23, 2012 file photo, James E. Holmes appears in Arapahoe County District Court in Centennial, Colo.   (AP Photo/Denver Post, RJ Sangosti, Pool, File)

James Holmes will be back in court today for the first time in almost six months for a preliminary hearing as the prosecution lays out its case against the 25-year-old, to establish whether there is sufficient evidence to put him on trial. Holmes has been charged with 166 counts of first-degree murder and attempted murder, and hasn't yet entered a plea. Prosecutors are expected to bring a slew of police detectives, first responders, and witnesses who were inside the theater to the stand, the Daily Beast reports.

And it's not going to be pretty: CBS notes that the DA has asked victims' families to "carefully consider whether or not you think that you are ready to be exposed to potentially difficult information at the hearing." Prosecutors are expected to play dozens of 911 calls from frightened moviegoers, and show video from the theater. There's also a chance the public will finally learn the contents of the notebook he sent his school psychiatrist the day before the shooting—which reportedly contains violent images. The defense, for its part, intends to call at least one mental health expert in hopes of mounting an insanity defense. (More James Holmes stories.)

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