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   From: too_many_toools@yahoo.com   
      
   DENVER (AP) — Attorneys for the suspect in the deadly Colorado   
   theater shooting said for the first time that they're   
   considering entering a plea of not guilty by reason of insanity   
   on behalf of their client.   
      
   But they said in court papers made public Friday that they can't   
   make their decision about their defense of James Holmes until   
   the judge rules on their motion challenging the   
   constitutionality of the state's insanity defense law.   
      
   The attorneys say the law is unfair to defendants who invoke it   
   because it requires the disclosure of potentially incriminating   
   information, such as mental health records, while those who   
   plainly plead not guilty are not required to turn over any   
   evidence.   
      
   Prosecutors have not announced whether they will pursue the   
   death penalty, but they have 60 days from when a defendant   
   enters a plea to do so. Holmes' hearing is March 12.   
      
   A legal expert said the maneuvering may be part of a defense   
   strategy to make sure prosecutors never get their hands on a   
   notebook that was purportedly sent by Holmes to his psychiatrist   
   and included descriptions of a possible attack.   
      
   The notebook was the subject of court hearings in the months   
   after the July shooting. Under state law, the notebook was   
   protected because it was part of a doctor-patient relationship   
   that Holmes had with the psychiatrist.   
      
   "That's why there's a big issue there, there's information that   
   the prosecution may not be entitled to unless they plead not   
   guilty by reason of insanity," said Karen Steinhauser, a Denver   
   criminal defense attorney and law professor who is a former   
   prosecutor.   
      
   Representatives for the prosecution and the defense didn't   
   immediately return phone calls Friday. The judge has ordered   
   attorneys not to speak publicly about the case.   
      
   Under state law, defendants who plead not guilty by reason of   
   insanity must reveal to prosecutors mental health records as   
   well as psychiatric evaluations that may include details of the   
   crime for which they're accused.   
      
   While the law has not been challenged before in cases involving   
   the death penalty, determining whether it violates a defendant's   
   constitutional right against self-incrimination directly impacts   
   their decisions about Holmes' defense, his attorneys argue.   
      
   Steinhauser said the defense had to file their motion   
   challenging the insanity defense law before the plea is entered   
   because they could not raise issues with the statute afterward.   
   They could still, however, raises other trial-related issues   
   later.   
      
   Steinhauser said the judge can rule on the matter, which likely   
   will be appealed to higher courts and possibly delay Holmes'   
   arraignment.   
      
   Holmes' attorneys have said their client is mentally ill and had   
   sought the help of a psychiatrist at the University of Colorado,   
   Denver, where he was a neuroscience graduate student.   
      
   Holmes faces multiple charges of first-degree murder and   
   attempted murder in the shootings at an Aurora theater during a   
   midnight showing of the latest Batman moving, "The Dark Knight   
   Rises."   
      
   Holmes in January was ordered to stand trial following 2 1/2   
   days of testimony from police and federal agents who provided   
   excruciating details about the attack. Holmes had been expected   
   to enter a plea following that hearing but, but defense   
   attorneys requested a delay, saying they would not be ready   
   until March.   
      
   Legal experts say there may be few options for Holmes. If, as   
   many anticipate, he enters the plea of not guilty by insanity,   
   he would undergo lengthy evaluations at a state psychiatric   
   hospital before trial.   
      
   If the case goes to trial and he's found not guilty by reason of   
   insanity, Holmes could conceivably be released from a   
   psychiatric facility someday if he is deemed to have recovered,   
   but that is considered an unlikely possibility. A guilty plea or   
   conviction could mean life in prison or the death penalty.   
      
   http://blog.al.com/wire/2013/03/colorado_theater_gunman_may_pl.h   
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