ARAPAHOE COUNTY — Attorneys for Aurora theater shooting suspect James Holmes, flooded with a deluge of documents, asked a judge Thursday to postpone a crucial court hearing scheduled for next month.

Judge William Sylvester made no decision on rescheduling the case’s preliminary hearing, at which prosecutors will likely reveal previously undisclosed details about the case so the judge can decide whether there is enough evidence for the case to proceed.

A final decision on when the preliminary hearing will occur will be made at the next hearing in the case, scheduled Oct. 25.

Sylvester and attorneys discussed possible dates for a preliminary hearing in January and February.

“This is an extraordinarily large case,” said defense attorney Tamara Brady, who made the request.

Brady said defense attorneys have already been provided with more than 18,000 pages of documents — and expects tens or even hundreds of thousands more pages that she and other lawyers for Holmes will have to consider and digest.

Holmes, 24, now faces 166 counts — including multiple charges of murder and attempted murder — in the attack July 20 at the Century Aurora 16 theater that left 12 people dead and at least 58 injured. Sylvester approved the addition of 14 new attempted-murder counts Thursday.

Earlier in the hearing, defense attorney Daniel King expressed frustration that he and Brady haven’t been able to focus on key elements of their case. Instead, King said, the defense team has had to spend significant time responding to motions from third parties, including the media.

The defense has also filed multiple motions asking the judge to sanction prosecutors for perceived misconduct.

“We cannot begin to examine the nature and depths of Mr. Holmes’ mental illness” without more information and more time, King said.

King’s comments came as a coalition of media organizations, including The Denver Post, challenged some of the redactions in the case file and a new effort to seal the names of victims in the case. Sylvester said he would rule on the request by Monday.

John Ingold: 303-954-1068, jingold@denverpost.com or twitter.com/john_ingold