Judge to rule whether Fort Hood suspect can represent himself

By Jim Forsyth

SAN ANTONIO (Reuters) - A U.S. military judge was expected to rule on Monday on whether accused Fort Hood gunman Major Nidal Hasan can act as his own defense lawyer for his upcoming court-martial, in which he is accused of 13 murders and could face the death penalty.

Trial judge Colonel Tara Osborn was due to receive a report on a physical examination performed on the 42-year-old Army psychiatrist and then determine whether he was fit to represent himself.

Hasan was charged with 13 counts of first-degree murder for a shooting rampage at Fort Hood in November 2009 that also wounded more than 30 people, mostly U.S. military personnel.

Civilian police officers shot Hasan four times to end the rampage, and Osborn was concerned about the effect of those wounds, which paralyzed him from the chest down.

Hasan was physically able to sit in court a maximum of five hours a day, his lawyers have said.

Osborn was likely concerned Hasan could use his health problems to delay his court-martial, said Jeffrey Addicott, a professor at St. Mary's University in San Antonio and the former legal adviser to the U.S. Army Special Forces.

The selection of the panel of officers who will act as Hasan's jury was expected to begin on Wednesday, and opening arguments were scheduled for July 1.

"The judge wants to get a clean bill of health physically on him," Addicott said. "So she can say if he requests delays based on his health, 'You are physically fit to move forward.'"

Osborn has said she believes Hasan has the mental capacity to run his own defense.

A 1975 U.S. Supreme Court ruling guarantees the right of a defendant to self-representation, but military law experts say there are exceptions, including whether the defendant is physically or mentally capable of doing so.

Hasan could be ordered to stand down if he attempts to use his trial as a stage for promoting radical beliefs, said retired Army Lieutenant Colonel Geoffrey Corn, a professor at South Texas College of Law in Houston. The FBI says Hasan exchanged e-mails with the now-dead militant Muslim cleric Anwar al-Awlaki on topics such as whether it was acceptable for Muslims to kill innocent people in a suicide attack.

"Does he want to use the opportunity to represent himself as a platform?" Corn asked. "Or does he just want to play the martyr and just sit there and do nothing? We don't know."

Military rules would likely prompt the judge to order current defense lawyer, Lieutenant Colonel Kris Poppe, to stay on the team as a stand-by lawyer, he said.

"That is also to avoid more delays," Corn said. "If in the middle of the trial Hasan changes his mind or asks for a delay, all Judge Osborn will do is tell Poppe to step forward and take over the case."

Osborn was also likely to warn Hasan he would be barred from using his self-representation as grounds for appeal, Addicott and Corn said.

Poppe told Osborn during a hearing on Wednesday that Hasan does not want him and his team to represent him, adding, "This is not familiar territory."

Osborn was expected to stick to the July 1 trial date.

"She knows it has been more than three years," Addicott said. "She knows the tactics the defense counsel has used and, more importantly, she has gotten a good idea of what Hasan is all about."

(Editing by Corrie MacLaggan, Daniel Trotta and Alden Bentley)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/judge-rule-whether-fort-hood-suspect-represent-himself-155003676.html

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