Motions made in Fort Hood shooting case

FORT HOOD, Texas (KXAN) - Attorneys for Maj. Nidal Hasan, who is accused in the deadly shooting rampage on Fort Hood two years ago, made two motions for expert consultants in a pretrial hearing on Thursday.

The first motion was for a consultant to examine the media coverage of the November 2009 Fort Hood shooting and whether or not it jeopardizes a fair trial for the accused shooter charged with killing 13 people.

Defense attorneys argued the coverage of the shooting and trial, U.S. vs. Maj. Nidal Hasan, could possibly exceed any other in history. They say a consultant would be able to offer an opinion as to whether the trial should be moved or any other actions should be taken to insure a fair trial.

Hasan was in the courtroom dressed in an Army combat uniform and wearing a green knit hat. He read through court paperwork and occasionally looked up to listen as attorneys and the judge spoke.

The second motion was for a jury panel expert to take a look at the process of picking a jury panel.

Jurors for the trial must outrank Hasan and the defense estimated it would leave a jury pool of about 25,000 and a consultant would be needed to make sure the right panel members are selected.

Judge Col. Gregory Gross said he would consider both motions, but did not rule on Thursday.

He also issued an order to Yahoo! to produce documents that had been requested by the prosecution. The defense did not object to the order.

Another hearing is set for the final week in November.

Hasan’s trial is set to begin March 5.