Fort Hood shooting judge removed for showing bias
FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) - A military judge has been thrown off the Fort Hood deadly shooting case after an appeals court found that his treatment of the suspect, including an order to have the man forcibly shaved, indicated a lack of impartiality.
It was not immediately clear what impact the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces ruling Monday would have on the long-delayed military trial of Maj. Nidal Hasan. The Army psychiatrist is charged with 13 counts of murder in the 2009 shooting rampage.
Hasan appealed after Col. Gregory Gross ordered that he must be clean-shaven or forcibly shaved before his military trial, which was supposed to begin three months ago. It has been on hold pending the appeals. Hasan has argued that his beard is a requirement of his Muslim faith. Facial hair violates Army regulations.
An Army appeals court upheld the shaving requirement in October, but on Monday the appeals court said the command, not the judge, is responsible for enforcing grooming standards.
Gross had repeatedly said Hasan's beard was a disruption to the court proceedings, but the military appeals court ruled there was insufficient evidence to show that was true.
"Should the next military judge find it necessary to address (Hasan's) beard, such issues should be addressed and litigated anew," judges wrote in the ruling.
Gross found Hasan in contempt of court at six pretrial hearings because of his beard and sent him to a trailer to watch the proceedings on a closed-circuit television. The appeals court's ruling also vacated the contempt of court convictions.
The court said it was not ruling on whether the judge's order violated Hasan's religious rights.
Lead defense attorney Lt. Col. Kris Poppe said the judge showed a bias against Hasan when he asked defense attorneys to clean up a court restroom after Gross found a medical waste bag, adult diaper and what appeared to be feces on the floor after a June hearing. Hasan, who is paralyzed from the waist down after being shot by police on the day of the shootings, has to wear adult diapers - but the mess in the restroom that day was mud from a guard's boots, Poppe said.
"In light of these rulings, and the military judge's accusations regarding the latrine, it could reasonably appear to an objective observer that the military judge had allowed the proceedings to become a duel of wills between himself and (Hasan) rather than an adjudication of the serious offenses with which (Hasan) is charged," judges wrote in the ruling.
Fort Hood officials said late Monday that proceedings in the case will resume after a new judge is appointed by the Army's highest legal branch. This indicates Army prosecutors will not appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.
Hasan faces the death penalty if convicted in the shootings on the Texas Army post that killed 13 people and wounded more than two dozen others.
It was not immediately clear what impact the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces ruling Monday would have on the long-delayed military trial of Maj. Nidal Hasan. The Army psychiatrist is charged with 13 counts of murder in the 2009 shooting rampage.
Hasan appealed after Col. Gregory Gross ordered that he must be clean-shaven or forcibly shaved before his military trial, which was supposed to begin three months ago. It has been on hold pending the appeals. Hasan has argued that his beard is a requirement of his Muslim faith. Facial hair violates Army regulations.
An Army appeals court upheld the shaving requirement in October, but on Monday the appeals court said the command, not the judge, is responsible for enforcing grooming standards.
Gross had repeatedly said Hasan's beard was a disruption to the court proceedings, but the military appeals court ruled there was insufficient evidence to show that was true.
"Should the next military judge find it necessary to address (Hasan's) beard, such issues should be addressed and litigated anew," judges wrote in the ruling.
Gross found Hasan in contempt of court at six pretrial hearings because of his beard and sent him to a trailer to watch the proceedings on a closed-circuit television. The appeals court's ruling also vacated the contempt of court convictions.
The court said it was not ruling on whether the judge's order violated Hasan's religious rights.
Lead defense attorney Lt. Col. Kris Poppe said the judge showed a bias against Hasan when he asked defense attorneys to clean up a court restroom after Gross found a medical waste bag, adult diaper and what appeared to be feces on the floor after a June hearing. Hasan, who is paralyzed from the waist down after being shot by police on the day of the shootings, has to wear adult diapers - but the mess in the restroom that day was mud from a guard's boots, Poppe said.
"In light of these rulings, and the military judge's accusations regarding the latrine, it could reasonably appear to an objective observer that the military judge had allowed the proceedings to become a duel of wills between himself and (Hasan) rather than an adjudication of the serious offenses with which (Hasan) is charged," judges wrote in the ruling.
Fort Hood officials said late Monday that proceedings in the case will resume after a new judge is appointed by the Army's highest legal branch. This indicates Army prosecutors will not appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.
Hasan faces the death penalty if convicted in the shootings on the Texas Army post that killed 13 people and wounded more than two dozen others.
Now enforcing military discipline is called "bias". PC has struck the military and this guy may walk on religious grounds. His beliefs made him do it and he is not accountable for those actions. What's next ?? If he can wear a beard why can't every service member grow a beard (not counting the ladies of course) ? My how times have changed since I was in.
Why hasn't this POS been executed yet? Let him grow his beard before he faces a firing squad.
 @Ned Naw > a firing squad is to good for him. Wrap him in a pig skin then throw him into the desert for the rats to chew on, then lets see how many of those 72 virgins want anything to do with him after.
So how come this guy didn't care about beard being a Muslim requirement before the shooting?
All he is doing is wasting time and postponing the inevitable
A lack of impartiality would have been to allow this POS to show up in to court in his jammies! No, the judge was following the UCMJ, which, the POS falls under, because he is active duty military.
The shaving requirement handed down by the judge was fair and reasonable. Maybe the way the judge issued the ruling was incorrect, but as the article states, the Command has the authority to require Hasan to shave and to maintain a proper appearance.
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Hasan is still an officer in the US Army and he has a requirement to act like one and to follow the regulations concerning conduct and appearance. There is no reason why he should not be in uniform during his courts-martial.
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Other than that, the Court should find him guilty of all charges and specifications, and that the sentence should be death by hanging and promptly carried out.
@Veteran The regulations also require that he NOT shoot fellow soldiers but he didn't follow those rules either. In my opinion, just get on with the trial. Let him show up looking like the scraggly terrorist he obviously has decided to become (instead of the honorable soldier he signed up to be) & it will just help the prosecutor's case. The delaying of the trial seems to just be showing badly on the court & gaining the "martyr" more sympathy (though probably not from the Army).
@katiemcc
True, shooting civilians and other military personnel is against the law. What he is doing here is making a feeble attempt to gain sympathy from the courts (not gonna happen), muslims, and anyone that might think he's unbalanced and needs help.
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Frankly, the court should have required from the git-go that he appear in uniform at every phase of this action, starting with his Article 32 hearing.. Doesn't have to be Class A's, BDU's would work fine. Had this happened, there wouldn't be an uproar over the beard. It's not up to him to decide what he should look like or wear at court proceedings. Maybe in a way, this is the Army's fault or at least JAG's fault. I agree that this trial should be started quickly, finished quickly, and the sentence be carried out quickly.
He didn't have a beard while serving in the military, why have one now. If anything, he'll look less like a terrorist. Blame the radical idiots for that or fellow muslims should have kept him in check. If not, society will have to do it.
@NWlife Beause he is an ass and trying to be a jerk on purpose. If it violates army code, then why is the judge being biased? This is ridiculous.
Take him out back and put a bullet into his head...
 @Windowseat I'm surprised this hasn't happened yet.  He must be on a pretty tough watch to not end up without any facial hair.... or a pulse.
Forget about the beard, the guy is just stalling. They have spent 3 months on it already.