Hasan's lawyers claim judge is biased

FORT HOOD, Texas (AP/KXAN) - An Army appeals court in Virginia is questioning whether the Fort Hood shooting suspect can be forcibly shaved.

Judges on the U.S. Army Court of Criminal Appeals also delved Thursday into a claim by Maj. Nidal Hasan's lawyers that the judge who issued the order is biased and should be replaced.

Hasan's murder trial in Texas is on hold for the appeal stemming from his refusal to shave. The American-born Muslim psychiatrist says he grew the whiskers for religious reasons. Army rules prohibit beards but allow for religious exceptions.

Seven appellate judges from the ACCA, all high-ranking military officers, listened to oral arguments for more than an hour. The primary issue before the court is whether a federal law known as the Religious Freedom Restoration Act allows Hasan to wear a beard while in uniform at his court martial for 13 premeditated murders and 32 attempted premeditated murders.

The trial judge of the court martial, Col. Gregory Gross, previously ruled that Hasan failed to prove his beard is an expression of a sincerely held religious belief. Because of that finding, Gross ruled that the RFRA does not provide Hasan any protection and that Hasan must shave his beard. That ruling resulted in the appeal to the ACCA.

In addition to the RFRA issue, the appellate court also listened to the parties argue over what powers a military trial judge has over a court martial and if Gross's orders in this case showed a bias against Hasan.

Hasan faces the death penalty if convicted in the 2009 attack.

The ACCA has not stated when it will issue a ruling on this appeal. Any ruling from the ACCA may also be reviewed by the Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces.

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Angela K. Brown in Fort Worth, Texas, contributed to this report.