(Bell County Sheriff's Department photo)
From Ft. Hood Press Center
Major Hasan 30 Nov. hearing statement
In another pre-trial hearing today in the case of U.S. v Maj. Nidal Hasan, the judge, Col. Gregory Gross, listened to arguments from the defense attorneys and prosecutors regarding several motions pending before the court.
At a previous hearing on Oct. 27, Gross had answered questions from the defense attorneys pertaining to his personal impact of the shooting at Fort Hood on Nov. 5, 2009. Today the defense attorneys asked more questions and requested Gross to recuse himself from the trial because of the appearance of bias as a judge. Although Gross was present at Fort Hood the day of the shooting, he says he had no specific knowledge of the events as they transpired and that he has distanced himself from any news or discussion of the incident. Gross denied the defense motion to recuse himself, and he remains as the judge in the case.
Gross did not rule on the two motions about Hasan's Constitutional rights. He also has not yet ruled on the two motions argued at the last hearing pertaining to expert assistance for the defense team. He has not indicated when a ruling may be made, and the next hearing is not yet scheduled.
The trial of U.S. v Hasan is scheduled to begin March 5, 2012. Hasan is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law.
-30-