Maj. Nidal Hasan (Jail photo)

FORT HOOD (July 6, 2012)—During a half-day pretrial hearing Friday at Fort Hood, which accused gunman Maj. Nidal Hasan watched from a trailer because of his refusal to shave his beard, military judge Col. Gregory Gross partially granted a defense motion seeking background material on the selection of potential jurors for Hasan’s court-martial, allowing the defense access to information about soldiers who ended up in the pool of potential jurors for the court-martial, but denying access to information about those not from Fort Hood who didn’t.

Potential jurors will include soldiers from Fort Hood and from elsewhere.

Hasan's attorneys also said Friday they wanted to interview Fort Hood's commanding general and staff judge advocate separately about their initial screening process for potential jurors.

Gross earlier agreed to allow the defense to question the two together.

Gross granted the defense access to a 49-page legal review of the shooting, but denied a defense request to interview an Army public affairs official about software that’s used to analyze press reports and to a government expert’s personal library.

Another hearing is scheduled next Thursday during which Gross will hear arguments over a proposed questionnaire for potential jurors to compete before reporting for jury duty.

During a pretrial hearing last Friday military judge Col. Gregory Gross denied a recusal motion and granted the motion giving the defense access to Fort Hood’s commander and staff judge advocate.

The court-martial is scheduled to begin on Aug. 20.

Hasan faces the possibility of the death penalty if he's convicted of 13 counts of premeditated murder and 32 counts of attempted premeditated murder in the November 2009 attack at the post's Soldier Readiness Center.