Defense jury strategy could decide Aurora theater shooting trialOpening statements in the trial are scheduled for April 27.DenverPost
By John Ingold | Updated 3/29/2015CENTENNIAL — The conversation between defense attorney Tamara Brady and Juror No. 1073 was nearly identical to dozens that had come before in jury selection for the Aurora movie theater shooting trial.
For 15 of her allotted 20 minutes, Brady explained the multistep process for deciding a death sentence in Colorado. Then she reached the final step — the step where jurors would make the ultimate decision — and she looked at No. 1073.
"That," she told him, "becomes more about you."
If jurors convict but then spare the life of James Holmes at his upcoming murder trial, it could well be because of a carefully calibrated jury selection strategy being used by Holmes' attorneys that places the moral weight for a death sentence onto individual jurors. The strategy, known as the Colorado Method, was developed by public defenders in Colorado three decades ago and is now being used by defense attorneys across the country.
It is an example of how attorneys use the tedious jury selection process not only to weed out unfit jurors but also to get a head start on persuading those who might serve.
But, with Holmes' case and another death penalty case in Denver set for trial this summer, the Colorado Method is facing a new test in the state of its origin.
"I think a decent prosecutor can counter it," said former Adams County District Attorney Bob Grant.
Death sentences must be unanimous; even one juror who votes for life can override the votes of 11 others choosing death.
So, at its most basic, the Colorado Method coaches jurors that a death sentence is a deeply personal choice and not a collective analysis.
"You teach jurors that morality-based thinking is different than fact-based thinking," said Denver defense attorney David Lane, who teaches classes on the Colorado Method across the country.
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