Military judge taken off Ft. Hood shooting case over beard fight

LA Times ^ | December 3, 2012, 6:45 p.m. | By Matt Pearce

[DeaconBenjamin]

A military judge's "duel of wills" with Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan over whether Hasan would have to shave made the judge appear biased, requiring his removal from the case, a military appeals court ruled Monday.

Hasan, 42, is accused of killing of 13 people and wounding 32 others in a rampage at Ft. Hood, Texas, on Nov. 5, 2009.

Hasan, who is Muslim, said that he had grown the beard for religious reasons and that it was protected under freedom of religious expression.

Military prosecutors disagreed, as did the judge, Col. Gregory Gross, who ruled that the beard violated the military dress code. Gross held Hasan in contempt of court for refusing to shave, ordered him removed from the courtroom, and ultimately ordered that his beard be forcibly shaved.

Hasan appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces. The appeals court ruled that military command, not a military judge, has responsibility for grooming standards, and that Gross could no longer convincingly appear to be unbiased in handling Hasan's case.

Gross' order to shave Hasan's beard -- and the six counts of contempt he issued to Hasan -- were wiped out by the appellate court's ruling.

"Although the military judge here stated that [Hasan's] beard was a 'disruption,' there was insufficient evidence on this record to demonstrate that [Hasan's] beard materially interfered with the proceedings," the unsigned ruling said.

"Taken together," the ruling continued, "the decision to remove [Hasan] from the courtroom, the contempt citations and the decision to order [Hasan's] forcible shaving in the absence of any command action to do the same could leave an objective observer to conclude that the military judge was not impartial."

[BuffaloJack]

The inmates appear to be winning.

[KarlInOhio]

Why hasn’t Hasan been tried and executed yet? Get on with it. Just make sure that his beard doesn’t serve as a justification for a later dismissal or retrial (you can’t hang me because I was out of uniform during the trial so it doesn’t count).

[G Larry]

Can’t have an Islamic Terrorist prosecuted under the law.

He must be coddled, lest the MB in the mid-East get upset.

[Ken522]

Isn’t that the truth - requiring a member of the armed forces to adhere to grooming standards works everywhere except in a court where he is accused of murdering numerous individuals.

[MrB]

Beard fight?

I thought this was another thread about Michelle.

Nevermind.

[ClearCase_guy]

"Did you shoot those people?"
"Yes."
"Did you shout 'Allahu Akbar' while shooting them?"
"Yes."
"Did you grow this beard as a sign of your continued adherence to Islam?"
"Yes."
"And how do you plead?"
"Innocent."
"I think we're done here. The jury will now render a verdict."

[Campion]

We used to know what to do in these sorts of situations. All that’s needed is a noose, a hood, a trapdoor, a lever, and the national manhood to use them ... problem solved.

[Rebelbase]

Shave it off and feed him high doses of estrogen.

[Travis McGee]

Our pro-islamic dhimmis won out, and gave Hassan a huge victory.

Cowards, Quislings, Traitors, Bastards all.

[Robe]

Looks like O’s protecting his own......

[John O]

Force feed him a last meal of bacon and then put a bullet through his brain.

Get this p.o.s off of our world.

[KarlInOhio]

Considering the fact that he is paralyzed, I’m willing to concede a wheelchair ramp and extra-wide trap door on the gallows.

[John O]

(I was referring to the terrorist, not the judge)

[MamaTexan]

I believe clean shaven is part of the military dress code, BUT since this POS got a waiver for his beard for years because of 'religious reasons', the judge really had no legitimate authority to force him to shave for the trial.

IMHO, it was a stalling tactic by the judge, whether he did so on his own or was 'instructed' to do so by the muslim-in-chief

Ironic that the same 'religious reasons' that allowed him to join the armed forces in the name of diversity and let him keep his beard were the same ones used as his motive for murder.

[liberalh8ter]

This whole beard issue is making a mockery of the military justice system - scratch that - the justice system in America, period. This monster killed those who put their lives on the line to defend our freedoms and defend the very rights this a-hole is abusing. There's no doubt of his guilt, just kill him in a very public way and be done with it.

[oh8eleven]

Hasan ... in a rampage at Ft. Hood, Texas, on Nov. 5, 2009.
That's over THREE years ago. By contrast - in June of 1942, eight Nazi spies were were captured in the USA.
In less than 90 days, six had been convicted and executed - and they had killed no one.
Where is justice? Where is the outrage?

[jpl]

Why hasn’t Hasan been tried and executed yet? Get on with it. Just make sure that his beard doesn’t serve as a justification for a later dismissal or retrial (you can’t hang me because I was out of uniform during the trial so it doesn’t count).

Hasan is never going to be put on trial. He's going to be held for the rest of the life until he dies of natural causes or "accidentally".

It got almost no media attention, but Congress and the president quietly passed a law within the last year or so that permits American citizens to be held indefinitely without trial, and this law was very specifically passed for him.

[Josephat]

Is he still collecting his salary?

[CGASMIA68]

Why is this still going on WTF alert