Suspect in Fort Hood shooting heads back to court

Thursday, August 30, 2012

photo This undated file photo provided by the Bell County Sheriff's Department via The Temple Daily Telegram shows Nidal Hasan, the Army psychiatrist charged in the deadly 2009 Fort Hood shooting. Hasan should be forced to shave his beard to avoid any potential jury bias in his pending murder trial, say some military experts and the judge overseeing his pending court-martial.

FORT HOOD, Texas - The Army soldier accused of opening fire on a Texas military post is expected to appear in court for the first time since an appeals court lifted its stay of the case.

Maj. Nidal Hasan has a Thursday court hearing at Fort Hood.

Hasan is charged in the 2009 shooting rampage that killed 13 and wounded more than two dozen others.

His court-martial - once scheduled to begin this month - was delayed after a dispute over his beard, which violates Army regulations.

Col. Gregory Gross, the judge, had said he would order Hasan forcibly shaved if Hasan did not remove the beard himself. Hasan appealed, and a higher court briefly stayed the case but didn't address whether officials could forcibly shave him.