FILE – This June 4, 2013 file photo shows Aurora theater shooting suspect James Holmes in court in Centennial, Colo. Holmes is charged with the July 2012 Aurora shootings that killed 12 people and injured 70. Sunday, July 20, 2014 marks 2 years since theater massacre. Holmes’ trial is scheduled to start Dec. 8, 2014 after three postponements. (AP Photo/The Denver Post, Andy Cross, Pool, File)
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Assistant District Attorney Karen Pearson, of the prosecution team, arrives at the Arapahoe County Justice Center for a hearing in the 2012 Colorado movie theatre shooting case, July 22, 2014, in Centennial, Colo. The court will look at setting a new trial date in the case against James Holmes. (AP Photo/The Denver Post, RJ Sangosti, Pool)
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Arapahoe County District Attorney, George Brauchler, arrives at the Arapahoe County Justice Center for a hearing in the 2012 Colorado movie theatre shooting case, July 22, 2014, in Centennial, Colo. The court will look at setting a new trial date in the case against James Holmes. (AP Photo/The Denver Post, RJ Sangosti, Pool)
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Aurora police Detective Craig Appel, arrives at the Arapahoe County Justice Center for a hearing in the 2012 Colorado movie theatre shooting case, July 22, 2014 in Centennial, Colo. The court will look at setting a new trial date in the case against James Holmes.(AP Photo/The Denver Post, RJ Sangosti, Pool)
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Arlene Holmes, mother of Aurora theater shooting suspect James Holmes, walks back into court at the Arapahoe County Justice Center for a hearing in the 2012 Colorado movie theatre shooting case, Tuesday, July 22, 2014 in Centennial, Colo. The court will look at setting a new trial date in the case against James Holmes. (AP Photo/The Denver Post, RJ Sangosti, Pool)
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Arlene Holmes, mother of Aurora theater shooting suspect James Holmes, walks back into court at the Arapahoe County Justice Center for a hearing in the 2012 Colorado movie theatre shooting case, Tuesday, July 22, 2014 in Centennial, Colo. The court will look at setting a new trial date in the case against James Holmes. (AP Photo/The Denver Post, RJ Sangosti, Pool)
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Robert and Arlene Holmes, parents of Aurora theater shooting suspect James Holmes, walk from the courtroom at the Arapahoe County Justice Center for a hearing in the 2012 Colorado movie theatre shooting case, July 22, 2014, in Centennial, Colo. The court will look at setting a new trial date in the case against James Holmes. (AP Photo/The Denver Post, RJ Sangosti, Pool)
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Robert and Arlene Holmes, parents of Aurora theater shooting suspect James Holmes, walk from the courtroom at the Arapahoe County Justice Center for a hearing in the 2012 Colorado movie theatre shooting case, July 22, 2014, in Centennial, Colo. The court will look at setting a new trial date in the case against James Holmes. (AP Photo/The Denver Post, RJ Sangosti, Pool)
CENTENNIAL, Colo. (AP) — The judge in the Colorado theater-shooting case said Tuesday that he will rule this week on whether a psychiatrist will be allowed to video-record the second sanity evaluation of defendant James Holmes.
The psychiatrist testified by phone that video provides a more accurate and complete record than handwritten notes.
“It also allows better attention by me to both the patient and the interview,” said the psychiatrist, whose name has not been released.
Defense attorneys objected to video, saying state law doesn’t authorize it and that some research shows it affects patients’ responses. They also noted that Holmes’ first evaluation was not video-recorded and that the state mental hospital, where the exam will be conducted, generally does not use video.
The psychiatrist countered that the research cited by the defense dealt with a different type of examination under different circumstances.
He said he has recorded scores of examinations and that his experience shows the benefits of video outweigh any disadvantages. The camera would be unobtrusive, he said.
Holmes pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity to charges of killing 12 people and injuring 70 in the July 20, 2012, attack on a suburban Denver theater. Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty.
He appeared in court Tuesday with a closely trimmed beard and neatly combed hair. He said nothing aloud.
His parents also attended the hearing, but Holmes did not appear to acknowledge them. His mother, Arlene, sat with a paperback book titled “Bible Prayers for All Your Needs.”
Holmes underwent a sanity evaluation last summer, but the judge ruled it was flawed and ordered another to be done this summer.
The key conclusion of the first exam has not been made public — whether Holmes could tell right from wrong at the time of the shootings.
An evaluation is mandatory for defendants who plead insanity under Colorado law, but it is not the final word. Jurors decide whether a defendant was insane, and the evaluation is a key piece of the evidence they consider.
If Holmes is found insane, he will be committed to the state hospital indefinitely. If convicted, he could be sentenced to death or life in prison.
Earlier Tuesday, the judge tossed defense subpoenas for the disciplinary records of two Aurora police officers listed as potential prosecution witnesses.
Prosecutors have said both were found to have made untrue statements in other investigations, and the defense said that could weaken their credibility. Prosecutors have said they are unlikely to call the officers as witnesses.
The judge also heard testimony on whether to allow an expert on metals to take the stand at the trial, and defense lawyers questioned the reliability of gunshot-residue analysis. The judge did not say when he would rule on allowing either of those types of evidence at the trial.
Holmes’ trial is tentatively scheduled for Dec. 8. The judge was expected to confirm that date Tuesday.
