This June 4, 2013 file photo shows Aurora theater shooting suspect James Holmes in court in Centennial, Colo.
Defense and prosecution attorneys in the James Holmes murder trial continued their pre-trial scuffle Thursday with testimony about whether statements made without a lawyer could be admissible in court.
One defense attorney testified that she had told Police Chief Craig Appel that police could not question Holmes about explosives found in his apartment, but that the police questioned Holmes anyway without a lawyer present, the Associated Press reports.
Chief Appel testified that he knew that two lawyers wanted to see Holmes, but told the attorneys they would have to wait until their client was transferred to another jail. He said that Holmes had asked for a lawyer but didn’t see one until 12 hours later.
Prosecutors argued that police had to question Holmes about the explosives because they were so dangerous they could have blown up building in the surrounding area. Police said that the explosives were unlike anything their technicians had ever seen and could not be disarmed without explanation from Holmes.
Holmes’ attorneys also argued to suppress evidence taken from Holmes’s car and computers because the police did not have the proper search warrants. The prosecution hopes to use this evidence, such as internet searches for “rational insanity,” to poke holes in Holmes’s insanity defense.
Holmes has pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity to over 160 counts of murder and attempted murder for the movie theater shooting in Aurora, Colorado on July 20, 2012, which killed 12 people. His lawyers admit he was the shooter, but argue that he was in the middle of a psychotic break.
[AP]