by Scott Creighton
According to the first version of the story, the defense had requested the judge seal the case and put a gag order on everyone involved… now it turns out, it was the prosecution that demanded that little adjustment. RT has a story on the legal battle shaping up over the nation’s right to see and evaluate the details of the case…
The decision to seal the documents off from public access “undermines our nation’s firm commitment to the transparency and public accountability of the criminal justice system,” said media lawyer Steven Zansberg in a written statement.
The Associated Press along with 20 other news agencies is appealing for the dissemination of the documents in court this Thursday.
Judge William Sylvester closed the case on July 20 at the request of the prosecutors, who claim that releasing the files could potentially jeopardize the case investigation. The move sparked a wave of protest from the media, saying the public had a right to see the documents.
Press attorneys argue that the explanation given for the sealing of the files is not adequate and needs to be elaborated on if the bar is to remain in place. In most court cases in the US the documents pertaining to the trial are available to the public. However, exceptions are made if files obstruct an ongoing police investigation or encroach on the privacy of family members of the victims.
The files in question include the affidavits the police would have filled in before defendant James Holmes was arrested, detailing why officers thought that he was the murderer. The bar on the documents makes it impossible for observers to follow the arguments put forward by the defense and the prosecution during the trial because they reference the files by number only. Russia Today
What would it do to the case if the people found out that James Holmes was discovered in his car drugged up and out of it to the point where they thought they needed a spine board to move him and they couldn’t even take his mug shot during processing at the jail?
What would it do to the case if the prosecution had to start explaining how they found a second gas mask 60 years away from where they claim they arrested Holmes in a location that Holmes couldn’t have gotten to in his condition?
How would they explain the reports of conflicting descriptions of the assailant in the face of the previously listed evidence?
Would they have to admit that there is a strong possibility that someone drugged Holmes and left him in that car as the patsy to take the fall for this massacre and that the real assailant is still at large, possibly even still in Aurora?
Would they have to admit that someone looks to have set Holmes up with the “stick figure drawing confession” book and then leaked it’s contents to the media prior to the investigators even opening the package?
There are a lot of questions surrounding this case and there are even more questions surrounding the media’s demand to unseal the evidence. The media rushed to convict Holmes in the court of public opinion. ABC lied about what his mother said and they lied when they claimed he was a Tea Party member. Why would anyone think they have “justice” in mind as they sue to see the evidence in this case?
Personally I would LOVE to read the arrest report and see exactly where they found Holmes and exactly what condition he was in when they found him. I would LOVE to see how they explain the second gas mask that looks like they found it where someone would have dropped it as he left the back parking lot of the theater heading for Sable Ave.
Perhaps I should file my own lawsuit.
Filed under: Aurora Massacre, Neoliberalizing America, Scott Creighton
All documents that have been (or will be) released in the case can be found here: http://www.courts.state.co.us/Courts/District/Case_Details.cfm?Case_ID=152
It can be useful to monitor these directly as original sources rather than relying on parsed information provided by news outlets. As far as I’m aware, the post hoc redaction of the July 27 production motion asserting that Holmes was a patient of Fenton’s remains unexplained.
BTW, you’ve probably seen it, but the released booking report is available here: http://www.scribd.com/doc/102441014/James-Holmes-Jail-Booking-Report
I’m not sure what booking practices are, precisely, but interesting that hair color was identified as brown.
It lists his height as 5’11, but I read somewhere else that he’s 6’0-6’3?
Curious. I think the reports that he is 6’3″ came from the FBI, which also gave his birthdate as December 13, 1987. But the height on the AFF profile was 6’0″ and birthdate was December 10, 1987 — seems odd that the birthdate on the booking report is redacted. I think there were witness reports the shooter was about 5’9″. Also not sure I’d describe someone 5’11″ / 150 lbs as “athletic,” as the FBI did when they reported he was “an athletic 6’3″.
Weird thing is, my children’s father is 5’11 and around that size (weight) and he’s pretty athletic. Plus, I’m short (5’2) so that’s pretty tall to me. But now that you bring up the AFF profile info, it does seem weird that they covered up his birthday information.
ALSO NOTICE: On Pg2, Holmes “Property” when booked into Arapahoe Sheriff Office was an “Orange Jumpsuit from Aurora”. I think this means Aurora Hospital, which is where they must’ve taken him that night since he was incapacitated. Explains why he was in the jumpsuit for his booking foto too.
That’s because we ask for original hair color. I use to do booking for jails.
Thanks Cookiemoneywes.. good to know. What are your feelings or opinions about his mugshot appearing to be taken the same day he showed up to court on that following Monday?
The Aurora story kind of dried up in the news because of lack of content. More Aurora coverage=more views. The media corporations are doing it from a business standpoint. I’m trying not to get too exited, but this could be very exiting if the questions you wrote in your post get answered. Maybe the news companies know there’s a huge story here and they can’t resist such an opportunity.
This could get the entire general public aware of a lot of shit re: coverups, false flags, black ops, mind control, if the truth comes out here. It would get everybody questioning everything from here and asking questions.
questioning from here on out I meant
I don’t trust the media at all. There was a whole bunch of information they could have reported on, and they deliberately didn’t. Why? Why didn’t the CNNs and NBCs run stories on the APD dispatches from that night, and analyze the second suspect angle of it all? Why haven’t they done what everyone on this blog has? There *could* have been a lot more coverage on this case, but the media deliberately chose not to. And there’s a reason.
“Court documents, which include search warrants, inventories of evidence collected by police, and police interviews with witnesses, can be an important source of information for the public.”
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/08/09/colorado-theater-shooting-press-wants-documents-unsealed-james-holmes-trial_n_1759526.html
Inventories of evidence collected by police? Ooooh I’m lickin my chops right now
I have a feeling they have next to nothing evidence-wise (at least evidence that implicates James), otherwise, why all the secrecy? And why did they seek a gag order so quickly, when it was supposedly such an open and shut case? Chief Oates made a HUGE mistake in “confirming” to the public that Holmes acted alone. I hope the media wins, and I hope all hell breaks loose. I hope the brain dead public finally opens their eyes and realizes that the real shooter is still at large…or dead.
He’s been written in that ‘release booking report’ as occupation = laborer – This is very weird isn’t it?
However, this document does back up the original reports I heard where he was described as wearing an orange jumpsuit UNDER the SWAT gear…no blue and white plaid shirt to be seen!
Marie
Do you remember where you heard that? Sounds pretty odd. Maybe people assumed that because his mugshot had him wearing an orange jumpsuit
The jumpsuit is described as an “Aurora jumpsuit” — I assumed it was clothing issued to him by the Aurora police and then returned to them after he was delivered to the Arapahoe sheriff. The same for the sandals.
that is correct. The question is, why was he already wearing the jump suit when they took his booking mug shot? Why did they delay the release of that image til just before his appearance in court? The answer is, he was too drugged to take the mug shot that night.
I think the “Orange Jumpsuit from Aurora” listed means Aurora Hospital, which is where they must’ve taken him that night since he was incapacitated. Explains why he was in the jumpsuit for his booking foto too.
Also, re: height
All witnesses described a big buff dude like Batman who could pick people up with one hand and shoot them with the other… They report the killer was TALL over 6 feet. One witness even stayed that Holmes looks so much smaller without the body armor.
No shit sherlock,
OR MAYBE IT’S A DIFFERENT GUY!!
ALSO:
Anybody notice on PG2 the “Time Received” is listed as 1725… That’s almost 5:30 PM!
Where was he all that time?
THE HOSPITAL! “Aurora”!
Is it common practice to give a person sandals though? Either from a hospital or police station?
The laborer thing is weird. It’s almost like he had his id on him, but he was drugged and couldn’t answer the questions, so they just filled it in off of his license. That would explain why they put 5’11″ on the booking report, because thats what it said on his license. (if that’s what his license says) Maybe they threw it in there to make James Holmes height seem closer to the witness reports of 5’8″ for the trial.
They also had his weight at 150. 6’03″ 150 lbs?
I don’t know much about these things but 150 seems little for a 6’3” man…
no it doesn’t.
this report is his TRANSFER report from Aurora detention facility to the Arapahoe County facility, THAT is why he is listed as wearing an orange jump suit and sandals returned to Aurora detention.
he was not wearing it under his tactical gear.
This just came on twitter
John Ingold @john_ingold
I’m at the motion hearing in the James Holmes #theatershooting case. This story will update with details.
http://www.denverpost.com/breakingnews/ci_21273078/
Fire kills two in aurora building directly access the street from J Holmes apartment. Witnesses report having seen man pouring gasoline in hallway just before fire. Hmmmmmmm????
Witness elimination? Stakeout destruction??? Or yet another bizarre coincidence?
http://www.denverpost.com/news/ci_21269143/two-killed-aurora-fire-remembered-generous-and-kind?refresh=no
Sorry about misspellings… Posted Hastily n mobile device…
Should read ACCROSS THE STREET
I love how it says witnesses saw a man pouring down gasoline down the hallway of the apartment building, yet it doesn’t ask why they didn’t notify the authorities or the people living there.
According to CBSDenver’s Twitter, a woman made an outburst in court complaining that she can’t access the defense for valuable info. Interesting.
Also, the defense is now claiming he’s mentally ill.
To provide valuable info, I should say*.
Defense hasn’t even been allowed to see a single photograph from crime scene
http://www.denverpost.com/breakingnews/ci_21273078/media-argue-james-holmes-court-file-should-be
I’m a bit confused by the media’s desire to have free access to everything in the case when there’s been plenty out there already which they’ve done nothing but ignore.
Sorry, not to sound like a broken record, but I just finished reading the initial post. The media has access to what everyone else on this blog has access to. Are we supposed to believe that they haven’t listened to the audio dispatches? Of course they have. So why haven’t they brought up the blatantly *different* descriptions of the shooters? At close to 2:00 in the morning the police officers were *still* fairly adamant that there was more than one shooter. So nobody in the media has heard this? Of course they have. They don’t need access to a court document to report on this. Have they reported on it though? Nope. So the question is, why haven’t they? The address of the license plate of the white car in the parking lot did not match the address of James Holmes. Are we supposed to believe that the media doesn’t know this either?
What they have reported on is a notebook that, according to the Prosecution, most likely doesn’t even exist. Even if the media did initially convict James, why not fix it? Why continue with this ‘story’ that defies all logic?
Because the Mainstream Media is BOUGHT & PAID FOR!
So glad to see so many people waking up.
Don’t let them take away our Internet!
Yep the internet is all we have left
Don’t scare me. Are they trying to take it away? Hopefully, I’m safe in Canada!
Actually they did ask about that. The thing is the judge sealed the case on July 20th, the same day it happened. After that the police weren’t allowed to answer any questions about the case. Neither were the attorneys or prosecutors.
The information collected here needs to be heard. The lies and the cover-up cannot remain buried. The message must become social in order to gain momentum. Please help the message become social by using the hashtag #AuroraCoverUp and retweeting https://twitter.com/AuroraLies tweets. Spread the word on facebook. Be heard.
Just a thought re his occupation in the booking report…Maybe he tried to say lab worker but his speech was slurred if he was drugged so it came out as “laborer”…
That is possible Smiley
Good thinking–certainly a possibility!
Please see attached article
http://www.denverpost.com/breakingnews/ci_21275683/woman-disrupts-theater-shooting-hearing-advice-defense?source=rss&utm_medium=twitter&cref=twitter
It says the lady who disrupted the proceedings today said she was from Tucson Ariz – a coincidence (another one)?
I thought I would share this link re: JH not spitting or mucking up on jail as so widely reported http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/31303850/detail.html
So.. possibly I am overthinking things here (happens oft) but I found a pic of his bookshelf in his apartment taken from outside the window (of course)… but I find it stereotypically obvious that they are all science books, the one in the middle has ‘Neuroscience’ so easily read as the title. Plus they are all crisp as if never touched, set nice and neat on the shelf and all by their lonesome. This is a male college student’s apartment, (no offense guys).. but this level of clean and uncluttered is not what you’d expect from one. Just an observation…
http://us.topnewstoday.org/new+york/article/2883133/
I thought the Soldiers of Misfortune poster was a real giveaway. The whole music video of the song basically fits in exactly with the narrative and they made sure that it’s front and center in pictures of the apartment.
Can you explain to me what that poster is for? A band? A song? A DVD? Do you have a link? Thanks
Here’s a link to a video of the song Soldiers of Misfortune…I thought the imagery was more than a little weird in connection with James’ apartment and the shooting. Seems like they wanted people to look it up and add it to the other stories that make James look like a psycho.
Oh boo…”the uploader has not made this video available in your country” sigh
The poster is not for the song. The poster is advertising a film called Soldiers of Misfortune that is about paintballers. Maybe the film was named after the Filter song, or maybe Filter featured in the soundtrack, but the poster itself is of the film.
Here it is:
http://socialpaintball.com/category/daily-paint/
This makes me wonder whether Holmes played paintball. If so, whom did he play with? By most accounts, he was kind of a loner…
Thanks for the info. Funny coincidence that it’s also the title of the song and that in the video someone with an assault rifle is shooting mannequins and there’s mannequin body parts, anti-war/anti-american imagery, etc.
I guess if it was planted they knew people were gonna google the title and come across these things. People will probably associate paintballing with some sort of shooting practice for him.
Thanks Polaris. Who knows who he played with. I am sure he had a group he would play with. Or maybe he played back in California. It is just nobody has bothered to check it out.
What’s even more curious to me is that that was about ALL they focused on in 30 something pictures of that apartment, a poster and a bookshelf…an apartment rigged to the hilts with explosives, and that was all we saw. Oh, and a small bottle with some blue liquid in it. That’s it! It’s insulting that they think we’re this stupid. Although, much of the public has fallen for it, so no wonder they don’t think they have to be any more convincing.
and some milk and filtered water on the bench top/stove
I thought that too Curiousintrovert. Looked so staged.
“John Banzhaf, a law professor at George Washington University, believes the University of Colorado Denver is hiding something.
“I think the school’s on lockdown because there’s so much that’s potentially embarrassing to it,” Banzhaf said. “Having things disappear from websites and putting internal gag orders on shows there might be other things they don’t want coming out.”
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/higher-education/university-silence-on-accused-movie-shooter-costly/story-e6frgcjx-1226442132402
I look at the booking report and the date and time of arrival says “7-20-2012, 0040″. How is it possible that James was booked at 12:40am on the 20th? Am I seeing things or misunderstanding something here?