DENVER (Reuters) - A Colorado judge was expected to rule on Monday on news organizations' request to unseal documents in the case against a former graduate student accused of killing 12 people in a shooting rampage at a Denver-area movie theater.
Arapahoe County District Judge William Sylvester ordered the bulk of the court file sealed at the request of prosecutors shortly after the arrest of 24-year-old James Holmes.
Holmes is charged with 24 counts of first degree murder and 116 counts of attempted murder in the July shootings at a midnight screening of the Batman film "The Dark Knight Rises" in Aurora. Twelve people died and another 58 were wounded.
Lawyers for 20 news organizations, including The New York Times Co., The Associated Press, The Denver Post and CBS News, asked Sylvester on Thursday to unseal the documents, arguing that such secrecy in a high-profile case "undermines our nation's firm commitment to the transparency and public accountability of the criminal justice system." Thomson Reuters is not a party to the motion.
Prosecutors and defense lawyers both objected, saying it was too early to open the file because the investigation was still ongoing. In most court cases, documents are open to the public.
A court spokesman has said that Sylvester would rule on the issue on Monday.
Public defender Daniel King has said that Holmes, a former neuroscience graduate student at the University of Colorado, suffered from a "mental illness" and sought help before the mass shooting.
Holmes is being held without bond and in solitary confinement at the Arapahoe County jail.
(Writing by Dan Whitcomb; Editing by Corrie MacLaggan and Doina Chiacu)
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