Lawyers for James Holmes, the gunman who allegedly killed 12 people and injured 70 others during a mass shooting at a movie theater in Aurora, Co., continue to argue with prosecutors about which evidence will be allowed in the upcoming trial, according to the Associated Press.
Holmes has entered a plea of not guilty by reason of insanity and the majority of the evidence currently being argued over is directly related to the sanity of the defendant. Attorneys for Holmes have admitted that he was the one behind the shooting but that he did not understand the graveness of his actions at the time.
The latest dispute is over whether or not information learned by police when they questioned Holmes without an attorney present can be used in the trial, according to the Denver Post.
Holmes asked for an attorney shortly after police began to question him and his family hired Iris Eytan to represent him. Later in the day police contacted Eytan to ask if they could question Holmes about explosives that he left at his apartment, the Denver Post reports.
"He said the request was being made on behalf of FBI Director Mueller, and I said no," Eytan testified.
The defense is arguing that anything that Holmes told the police should be inadmissible since an attorney was not present while the police are arguing that they only questioned Holmes about the bombs in his apartment in the interest of public safety, according to the Denver Post.
Defense attorneys are also trying to get the evidence that was obtained by police from Holmes' car the night of the shooting - two pistols and a black ski mask - thrown out since the police did not have a warrant when they searched the car. Police admit that they lacked a warrant but have said they were afraid that the car might contain explosives, according to NBC News.
The judge is expected to issue a ruling on what will be allowed in the trial scheduled for February on Monday, according to the Denver Post.
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