Batman massacre accused in court

The Batman massacre gunman has appeared in court charged with 24 counts of murder and 116 counts of attempted murder.

Legal analysts expect the case to be dominated by arguments over his sanity.

James Holmes appeared just as dazed as he did in his first court appearance a week ago, but at one point he exchanged a few words with one of his lawyers in the packed Colorado court.

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The breakdown of the charges was not immediately clear. The July 20 attack at a midnight showing of the new Batman movie left 12 people dead and 58 others injured. After Holmes’s arrest, police found his apartment was booby trapped. Among the charges was one count of possession of explosives.

Unlike Holmes’s first court appearance, the latest hearing was not televised. At the request of the defence, District Chief Judge William Sylvester barred video and still cameras, saying expanded coverage could interfere with Holmes’ right to a fair trial.

The judge also has placed a gag order on lawyers and law enforcement, sealing the court file and barring the University of Colorado Denver from releasing public records relating to Holmes.

Lawyers were also arguing over a defence motion to find out who leaked information to the media about a package the 24-year-old Holmes sent to his psychiatrist.

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Authorities seized the package July 23 after finding it in the mailroom of the medical campus where Holmes studied. It reportedly contained a notebook with descriptions of an attack, but officials said in court papers that the parcel hadn’t been opened by the time the “inaccurate” news reports appeared.

On Friday, court papers revealed that Holmes was seeing a psychiatrist at the university.

“This is not a whodunit,” said Craig Silverman, a former chief deputy district attorney in Denver. “The only possible defence is insanity.”

Under Colorado law, defendants are not legally liable for their acts if their minds are so “diseased” that they cannot distinguish between right and wrong.