The judge handling the Aurora theater shooting case will not allow cameras in the courtroom when suspect James Eagan Holmes learns the formal charges against him next week.

Eighteenth Judicial District Chief Judge William Sylvester on Tuesday denied a request for video and still cameras to document the hearing this coming Monday at the Arapahoe County courthouse. Sylvester’s order says he weighed whether allowing cameras in the courtroom would interfere with Holmes’ right to a fair trial or would be too disruptive.

In making his decision, Sylvester said he considered the objection of Holmes’ attorneys to the presence of cameras. It’s unclear what the attorneys wrote in their motion because it is sealed, along with the rest of the case file.

The hearing, “is open to the media and to the general public, so the media and public will have ready access to the proceeding,” Sylvester wrote in his order.

One video and one still camera were permitted in the courtroom Monday when Holmes made his first appearance before a judge. Images of Holmes with a blank expression on his face, occasionally spreading his eyes wide or appearing to dose off, led to widespread debate about whether Holmes is mentally unwell, drugged or faking.

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