With speculation rising that the legal defense team for James Holmes will probably enter an insanity plea, it is likely that the young man who is at the center of the shooting tragedy, will be subjected to a psychiatric evaluation.
Experts will be brought in, and the psychiatrists will not just be experts in their own field, but will also be experienced in conducting evaluations on criminal suspects.
Many psychiatric evaluators, who have conducted such evaluations, say that considering the unique situations of this case, there's likely to be intense testing to rule out organic causes. Holmes, at one point, was a brilliant PhD candidate, and something seems to have triggered his metamorphosis into a deadly shooter who gunned down 12 people at an auto movie theater.
Tests will be conducted to rule out brain tumors, bleeding in the brain, seizures and a number of other disorders that could have possibly contributed to his behavior. He will be subjected to an MRI, an EEG, and a lumbar puncture. He will also be administered blood tests, in order to rule out any influences from metal poisoning, physiological disorders or the use of illicit drugs.
Once organic causes have been ruled out, Homes will be subjected to a number of psychiatric interviews to understand his thoughts, as well as feelings. Evaluators will analyze his personality, and the presence of any false beliefs or paranoid thoughts. They will be looking to determine the presence of hallucinations. He will also be subjected to psychological tests. These will be conducted in order to determine if Holmes is faking his symptoms. Already, some analyses of his first court appearance after the shooting have focused on whether he was faking his strange behavior in court.