The judge in the Aurora movie theater murder case on Friday essentially canceled two weeks of long-awaited hearings on arguments related to the death penalty.

Signaling a desire to move the case along, Arapahoe County District Court Judge Carlos Samour said he doesn’t think it’s necessary to hold the hearings after reading through the motions scheduled for debate. The hearings had been planned for the end of April and the beginning of May. Samour indicated he would instead issue rulings based purely on the text of the motions.

“Holding hearings merely to allow the parties to repeat what has already been submitted in writing does not enhance the reliability of the proceedings or grant the defendant’s constitutional rights more protection,” Samour wrote in his order. “Nor does the Court deem it appropriate to hold hearings unnecessarily when, based on its review of the record and the results of its research, it already knows how it will rule on a motion.”

In keeping with the ruling, Samour promptly issued a string of orders denying five defense motions related to the death penalty. Samour called four of those motions frivolous, noting that the Colorado Supreme Court has already rejected nearly identical arguments in previous cases.

“To the extent the defendant wishes to change the current state of the law in Colorado, his arguments should be directed to the legislature or the Colorado Supreme Court,” Samour wrote in one order.

Attorneys for James Holmes — who is facing the death penalty if convicted of the multiple murder counts he is charged with in connection with attack on the Century Aurora 16 movie theater — have filed numerous motions challenging the constitutionality of the death penalty and how Colorado administers it. The motions had originally been scheduled for hearings in December, but Samour pushed that schedule back after prosecutors filed a motion for Holmes to undergo a second psychiatric evaluation.

Samour ultimately granted the prosecution’s request, and Friday is the deadline for defense attorneys to raise objections to Samour’s decision.

Also on Friday, Samour issued a ruling allowing defense attorneys to have the last word at a possible death-penalty sentencing hearing.

The case’s trial is currently set to begin with jury selection in October. Samour wrote in his Friday order that he would hold a hearing on two issues related to jury selection, but it is unclear when that will take place.

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