The second phase of jury selection for the Aurora movie theater shooting trial begins Wednesday morning , when potential jurors will walk into the courtroom one-by-one to answer questions about their backgrounds and beliefs.

In legal terms, the phase is known as “individual voir dire.” Attorneys on both sides will have up to 20 minutes each to ask the potential jurors detailed questions on their assumptions about the case and their views on the death penalty, mental illness and other issues. Jurors will be asked whether they can set aside their preconceptions to decide the case fairly based only on evidence presented at trial.

During this phase, Judge Carlos Samour expects to get through only 12 potential jurors a day, and the entire process is expected to last up to 16 weeks. To stay on schedule, Samour has said both sides will need to find roughly three jurors every two days who could serve on the final jury. On Monday, he urged attorneys to give the potential jurors close scrutiny.

“Be wise about which prospective jurors you attempt to rehabilitate and which you promptly stipulate to excuse,” he said.

Individual voir dire is the most lengthy phase of jury selection for the trial, which could start with opening statements in late May or early June. The first phase, during which potential jurors filled out a questionnaire, ended Monday. Roughly 1,500 jurors who had filled out a questionnaire were dismissed from service during the first phase, leaving about 2,000 people eligible to be called back for individual questioning, although not all are expected to be.

Samour will seat a jury of 12, with 12 alternates, to decide whether James Holmes is guilty of murdering 12 people and trying to murder 70 more inside the Century Aurora 16 movie theater in July 2012.