By Keith Coffman
DENVER, Jan 16 (Reuters) - The Colorado city of Aurora has
asked a judge presiding over the criminal case of last summer's
movie theater massacre to lift a gag order barring police and
emergency personnel from publicly discussing the rampage, a
court filing made public on Wednesday showed.
Days after the July 20 shooting in which 12 died and dozens
wounded, Arapahoe County District Judge William Sylvester
imposed a court order prohibiting any party involved in the
case, including law enforcement, from talking about it in the
media.
Former graduate student James Holmes is charged with
multiple counts of first-degree murder and attempted murder
stemming from the shooting spree at a midnight screening of the
Batman film "The Dark Knight Rises."
After a three-day preliminary hearing last week, Sylvester
ruled the prosecution had presented sufficient evidence for
Holmes to stand trial.
The city's motion said that because details of the crime
were aired in open court, "the evidence has already been
revealed to millions of people worldwide." It asked the judge to
consider allowing the town's police officers and firefighters to
talk about their response to the tragedy.
Holmes, 25, is scheduled to enter a plea to the charges in
March. If he enters a not guilty plea, prosecutors have 60 days
to decide whether to seek the death penalty.
Movie exhibitor Cinemark planned to formally reopen the
multiplex to the public this coming weekend. It has said it is
offering free movie passes to survivors, families of the victims
and police and emergency personnel who were involved.
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