FORT HOOD (February 2, 2012)—Military Judge Col. Gregory Gross Thursday granted a defense motion seeking a delay in the court-martial of accused Fort Hood gunman Maj. Nidal Hasan, 41, in order to give defense attorneys more time to prepare for trial.
Hasan is charged with 13 counts of premeditated murder and 32 counts of attempted premeditated murder in the November 2009 shooting rampage at Fort Hood’s Soldier Readiness Center.
His court-martial was to have started on March 5, but Gross delayed the start until June 12, agreeing that one of the defense experts needs more time to complete a review of Hasan’s background and that attorneys need more time to review documents related to the case.
Gross denied an earlier defense motion seeking a pre-trial publicity expert, but granted a motion seeking assistance of an expert in selecting members of the panel that will decide Hasan’s guilt or innocence.
He’s considering a defense motion seeking notes from meetings and conversations between the President of the United States, the Secretary of Defense, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and other high-ranking officials in the aftermath of the shooting.
He’s also considering a prosecution motion that would bar the defense from further disseminating Department of Defense investigation reports regarding Hasan’s military career.
