Updated at 12:05 p.m. ET
CENTENNIAL, Colo. A judge has accepted James' Holmes plea of not guilty by reason of insanity in the Colorado theater shootings.
Tuesday's decision sets the stage for a lengthy mental evaluation of Holmes, who is accused of fatally shooting 12 people and injuring 70 in a packed Denver-area movie theater in July.
The evaluation could take months. Holmes is charged with multiple counts of murder and attempted murder. Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty.
Holmes' lawyers repeatedly have said he is mentally ill, but they delayed the insanity plea while arguing that state laws were unconstitutional. They said the laws could hobble the defense if Holmes' case should ever reach the phase where the jury decides if he should be executed.
The judge rejected that argument last week.
Holmes is charged with staging a meticulously planned assault on a packed movie theater in the Denver suburb of Aurora in July.
Holmes faces more than 160 counts of murder and attempted murder.
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[h=3]James Holmes to plead not guilty by insanity[/h]
23 Photos
[h=3]The Aurora shooting victims[/h]
19 Photos
[h=3]The Colorado massacre suspect[/h]
The laws state that if Holmes does not cooperate during a court-ordered mental health evaluation, he cannot call expert witnesses to testify about his mental state during the penalty phase of his trial.
The defense said the law's restrictions are unconstitutional and that the definition of "cooperate" is vague.
The insanity plea will also renew a legal battle over whether prosecutors should have access to see a notebook that Holmes mailed to a psychiatrist before the shootings.
Media reports have said the notebook contains drawings depicting violence.
The defense has resisted allowing prosecutors to see the notebook, saying it's protected by doctor-patient privilege.
Defendants who plead insanity are required to turn over some medical and mental health records to prosecutors.
The notebook is one of several issues that have consumed the court's attention in the 10 months since the shootings.
Hearings have been held on the source of a leak to a Fox News reporter about the notebook. The two sides exchanged testy motions about a proposed plea deal that apparently failed to materialize.
Holmes has also been taken from his jail cell to a hospital twice for psychiatric treatment, apparently forcing the postponement of one hearing.
CENTENNIAL, Colo. A judge has accepted James' Holmes plea of not guilty by reason of insanity in the Colorado theater shootings.
Tuesday's decision sets the stage for a lengthy mental evaluation of Holmes, who is accused of fatally shooting 12 people and injuring 70 in a packed Denver-area movie theater in July.
The evaluation could take months. Holmes is charged with multiple counts of murder and attempted murder. Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty.
Holmes' lawyers repeatedly have said he is mentally ill, but they delayed the insanity plea while arguing that state laws were unconstitutional. They said the laws could hobble the defense if Holmes' case should ever reach the phase where the jury decides if he should be executed.
The judge rejected that argument last week.
Holmes is charged with staging a meticulously planned assault on a packed movie theater in the Denver suburb of Aurora in July.
Holmes faces more than 160 counts of murder and attempted murder.
[h=3]James Holmes to plead not guilty by insanity[/h]
[h=3]The Aurora shooting victims[/h]
[h=3]The Colorado massacre suspect[/h]
The laws state that if Holmes does not cooperate during a court-ordered mental health evaluation, he cannot call expert witnesses to testify about his mental state during the penalty phase of his trial.
The defense said the law's restrictions are unconstitutional and that the definition of "cooperate" is vague.
The insanity plea will also renew a legal battle over whether prosecutors should have access to see a notebook that Holmes mailed to a psychiatrist before the shootings.
Media reports have said the notebook contains drawings depicting violence.
The defense has resisted allowing prosecutors to see the notebook, saying it's protected by doctor-patient privilege.
Defendants who plead insanity are required to turn over some medical and mental health records to prosecutors.
The notebook is one of several issues that have consumed the court's attention in the 10 months since the shootings.
Hearings have been held on the source of a leak to a Fox News reporter about the notebook. The two sides exchanged testy motions about a proposed plea deal that apparently failed to materialize.
Holmes has also been taken from his jail cell to a hospital twice for psychiatric treatment, apparently forcing the postponement of one hearing.