At TPM, Salil Kapur writes regarding the U.S. v. Windsor DOMA case:

Arapahoe County District Attorney, recently elected George Brauchler, has advised the Court his office will seek the death penalty against James Holmes, charged with the Aurora theater killings.

Chief Judge William Sylvester's response: He assigned the case to another judge due to the amount of resources that will be necessary now that the death penalty is being sought. [More...]

Fox News reporter Jana Winter, who has been battling a subpoena to appear and testify about her source of information for an early article on the James Holmes case which contained court-restricted information, is scheduled to appear in court Monday pursuant to a defense subpoena. On Wednesday, the Court denied her latest request for an extension. The Court wrote: [More....]

The return of the Texas search warrant for Evan Ebel's black Cadillac has been released. It took a while, but I finally found the document, thanks to Denver's Fox 31 News.

Other items found are more interesting to me than some random materials that might be used to make a bomb. For example, he had a wireless video surveillance system (Uniden Model UDW-155), surveillance cameras and a voice recorder. And at least one female had been in the car at some point in time -- there was one earring, a pink hair tie and a hair clip. [more...]

Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper's spokesman said today he will sign the new gun control laws passed by the legislature into law. Colorado will now have among the most restrictive laws in the country.

The Colorado laws include a ban on ammunition magazines that can carry more than 15 rounds, and eight shotgun shells. The bill on background checks expands the requirement to sales and transfers between private parties and online purchases.

Two laws that didn't make it: "a new liability standard for gun owners and sellers, and a ban on concealed weapons on public college campuses."

A few more are still under consideration: [More...]

The task force designated by Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper to make recommendations for the implementation of Amendment 64, legalizing marijuana in Colorado, has concluded its work and issued this 165 page report.

Included in the report are 58 recommendations,

....on everything from how recreational marijuana stores should be regulated to whether people should be able to smoke pot in bars.

The report will be considered by a joint legislative committee (not a pun, that's the terminology used to reflect it will include both House and Senate members.) The committee will meet twice in March.

[More...]

Defense lawyers for James Holmes in the Aurora theater case refused to enter a plea today, saying they needed more time. The judge denied the request for a continuance and entered a not guilty plea for Holmes. He can still change his plea to not guilty by reason of insanity at a later date.

KUSA was allowed to take video of the proceedings but no audio capture was permitted. The Denver Post was granted permission to have a still camera in the courtroom and photos are here.

Holmes parents were in the courtroom. The judge set trial for August, 2013.

The Colorado legislature took a step forward today as the House passed Senate Bill 11, providing equal benefits to partners in civil unions. The bill is now on its way to Gov. Hickenlooper, who has said he will sign it. The law will take effect May 1.

The bill does not have an exemption for businesses and individuals with moral or religious objections.

The text of the bill is accessible here.

James Holmes, the alleged Aurora Theater shooter, will enter a plea tomorrow. He is expected to plead not guilty by reason of insanity. The defense filed a lot of motions objecting to the procedure that will be followed, but the Judge denied them (Order here.)

Today the court issued its proposed advisement form for entering plea of not guilty by reason of insanity. You can read it here.

Of note, is paragraph 13, which will require Holmes, if asked, to submit to a "narcoanalytic interview." [More...]

Colorado's Amendment 64 Implementation Task Force submitted its report and recommendations yesterday on how to implement the Amendment which legalizes personal adult possession of marijuana.

Look for high taxes and low limits on what out of state residents can buy.

Thanks to Westword for making the full 102 page report available. I have uploaded it here.

Pot tourism may be coming to Colorado. The state's Marijuana Task Force today approved purchases at retail stores by out of state visitors. The quantity will be limited to reduce incentive for "smurfing" and resale on the black market.

The task force hearing minutes are here. [More...]

After hours of debate yesterday, the Democrat- controlled House in Colorado passed four gun control bills on a voice vote:

• House Bill 1224: Limits ammunition magazines to 15 rounds.
• House Bill 1229: Requires universal background checks for gun sales or transfers.
• House Bill 1228: Requires gun customers to pay the costs of their criminal background checks by the Bureau of Investigation.
• House Bill 1226: Outlaws concealed-carry permit holders to pack heat in campus buildings.

The official vote will be Monday. The bills then move to the Senate. [More...]