Hasan can represent himself in courtroom
Anonymous in JAX sends us a link to the news that the judge determined that Nidal Hasan can represent himself in his trial. Yeah, I see this as a really smart move by the judge, well, maybe not. But, Colonel Tara Osborn, the latest judge to preside over the Hasan trial has decided that the Fort Hood murderer is competent and physically able to defend himself the trial – I think there’s still going to be a trial, anyway. The murders that Nidal Hasan committed were almost four years ago and he should be on his last appeal about now, if this trial was conducted in human years rather than tortoise years.
The selection of a panel of officers for Hasan’s jury was expected to begin on Wednesday, and opening arguments were scheduled for July 1.
Osborn previously said she believed Hasan had the mental capacity to run his own defense, but his physical condition was an issue. Defense lawyers previously said Hasan was capable of sitting in court a maximum of five hours a day.
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.
“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.”
Yeah, well, as a casual observer to the news coming out about this trial, my guess is that he’s enjoying the spotlight. He has already inspired one copycat (Naser Jason Abdo – the other Fort Hood terrorist who has already been convicted even though his crime was committed months after Hasan), I’m sure he thinks he can inspire more. Well, that and stretch out his time on earth and accrue pay for his parents or somebody.
In other legal news, Breanna Manning’s trial started today. He was also arrested after Hasan.
Category: Shitbags, Terror War
hey guys — serious question — the DoD and the President keep saying this is not a terrorist act but workplace violence, but if he starts spouting his radical jihad stuff, would that be enough to get that changed?
Just wondering.
No, they’ll say he’s a Teabagger extremist.
Wouldn’t that be nice, Valerie. But I doubt that will happen. For some reason they don’t WANT to call it terrorism. What disturbs me most about this case is the length of time it is taking to actually get a damn trial going. And, of course, the fact that he is still accruing his pay during that time. Normally I am all about innocent until proven guilty, but multiple witnesses saw him do it. And to my knowledge he has never denied doing it, has he?
It also disturbs me because I worked with the guy at Walter Reed and he was trusted with healing those troops.
@1. No. We don’t need his testimony to establish that this was not akin to a disgruntled postal worker who was fed up sorting mail. Nor do we need his testimony to establish that his was a terroristic act fueled by his desire to please his fellow Muslims and, presumably, to put a smile on Allah’s mug. It is workplace violence just as Benghazi was a spontaneous protest, just as a couple of rogue IRS agents targeted certain taxpayers, just as the Philly thugs were not intimidating voters, just as Fast and Furious was a success, just as Sibelius was not campaigning for obamaan while on the public dime, just as Napolitano is a candidate for Sports Illustrated swimsuit edition. (Sorry about that last one. That was rather painful.)
I tend to be hesitant about bringing up either race or religion in a discussion, but I think this needs to be asked: When the jurors are chosen, will their religion be an issue? And if Hasan’s representing himself, can he bring that up?
He can TRY to bring it up but I don’t think he will get far. I’m pretty much convinced that this trial will become what we used to call when I was growing up in Texas — a Goat Rope!!
And @2/17 Air Cav — that was beyond painful about the swimsuit issue — it was enough to cause a fatal stroke!!
@6. I cannot speak about what is permissible in voir dire under the UCMJ. In the civilian courts, there is usually a balancing act that goes on between seeking an impartial jury and honoring a potential juror’s privacy right. Where religion is relevant to the case, you can bet religion will be part of the questioning. I do not see this as a problem for Hasan. He has no right to demand Muslims on his jury any more than the prosecution has a right to exclude them.
I’m more interested in hasan representing himself on execution day.
This is beyond parody and so over the top even The Onion wouldn’t cook up something like this. I weep for my Army.
A goat rope it is, a goat rope it shall be. I have to wonder, if he’s going to give his testimony in elevator version or long, drawn out and praising his god every two minutes. POS
Jonn, I am offended that you did not use the term “alleged” in your description of the, alleged, actions of this fine Dr. It could be that the zillions of people that, allegedly, saw him shooting his gun and shouting raghead epithets were racists and missed that a honkie Baptist NRA and TEA party member really did it? For shame Jonn.
I was also at WRAMC right before he let and when he did what he *allegedly* did. So, I’m clearly not a JAG officer (hence the ANC), but what does this mean? Does it mean an endless string of appeals due to ‘improper representation’? Do we have any JAG types that can talk about the implications of this?
Also, doesn’t the POTUS have to sign off on military executions? So theoretically, if President Obama chooses not to sign off on it, it might have to wait till…whenever?
I see delays and more postponements. I don’t care what his excuse is any more. If he expects this will get him out of being punished, he’s wrong.
I’ll be really selfish here and say I just want that hog-farrowed motherless bastard ended.
That is all.
Everybody knows the first words out of this scumbags mouth will be allah akbar. Just wait. Our military system is 100% fucking retarded.
He’d make better use of his time deciding whether he’d prefer hanging or firing squad– those are his realistic options at this point, especially if he defends himself.
ANCCPT, Did you work on Ward 53 or 54? Or did you work somewhere else in the hospital? Just trying to see if maybe I know you!
I was reading the headlines this morning, and apparently, the people he shot and wounded can be called by him to testify and answer his questions. That’s an outrage indeed.
http://www.foxnews.com/us/2013/06/04/soldiers-wounded-in-fort-hood-shooting-rampage-say-theyre-upset-suspect-can/?test=latestnews
@ #18: The fact that not only do his victims have to look at him, they now might be subjected to not just listening to him but answering his questions is simply outrageous. Makes me shudder to think that he gets to victimize them again.
This is so disgusting that words fail me. The only way this could be made worse is for the big cheese to pardon him. But for that to happen, there must be a conviction.
ANCCPT: not a lawyer, but I can answer a couple of your questions.
Yes, the POTUS must approve military executions. Nothing happens until the POTUS takes action to approve/disapprove. See AR 190-55. That could theoretically delay any execution indefinitely if multiple POTUSs decided to take no action. I would guess that at some point such a delay itself might become a reason for further litigation.
The POTUS also has the Constitutional authority to commute any Federal court sentence or pardon the individual outright (Article 2, Section II).
I would guess that we may well see an appeal for “ineffective representation” if Hassan is convicted. My guess is that’s why his military lawyers have been essentially told to “stand by and assist as required” while Hassan is serving as his own lawyer. Their presence would logically undercut that claim, particularly if Hassan ignores their advice.
AW1 Tim, OWB: yes, his victims testifying against him may be odious. But it’s also necessary. The alternative is a Star Chamber-esque trial where the accused doesn’t have the right to cross-examine opposing witnesses.
Sorry, I spent too many years defending the Constitution to condone that – even for an asshole like Hassan.
Anyone want to take a bet that after the trial, he petitions for some sort of appeal for lack of representation? I’m betting he’ll try to make a mockery of the trial, and will say he is not subject to the UCMJ, but allah’s will instead.
They’ve accomodated him so far, so it stands to reason they’ll continue to do so.
Thanks Hondo. And you don’t need to be a lawyer to know what I want to know, just the basics. 🙂
I think it’s clear at this point that Hassan isn’t interested in a speedy trail. He wants to protract it and force the US Gov to spend as much time and money as possible to cause as much anguish as he can for all involved via as convoluted appeal filled legal nightmare. Man, that strategy sounds familiar…where, oh where have I heard that before…
Oh yeah. It’s a traditional asymmetric warfare tactic, played out within our legal system. He’s continuing the fight via other means…
Hondo! No one, certainly not I, suggested overlooking our Constitutional protections for the accused! Facing the accuser is quite different from being subjected to a diatribe of silly questions and whatever else he throws in there while the victims are under oath, an oath they appear to take seriously while the clown does not.
Having already been his victims of physical assault, now they must endure his verbal assaults? Yes, every witness in every murder/attempted murder trial faces questioning from both the prosecution and the defense, but seldom from the defendant himself. It is just one more absurdity in this already outrageous case.
No, I do not advocate that we alter our system of jurisprudence because of this low life terrorist. But we do need to recognize how our system can be manipulated and take that into account as we deal with the victims here.
How many additional ways will these soldiers be victimized?
@ Anonymous in Jax. No, I was up on the 4th floor, Perioperative Services. PACU mostly. The COL in charge of nursing, I can’t remember her name right now, decided that the best place for a reserve thoracic surgical/trauma nurse was in the PACU. ‘Experienced nurse’ and all that hooey 🙂 What ward were you on? I had some of my mob group on 68, and one lucky punk in 72. Also a few of my NCO’s were over in 68W sustainment.
Periop isn’t really my thing, but it was a good experience. Most civilian PACU’s are loaded with burnt out old ICU nurses waiting to retire. Army PACU’s are loaded with young high speed, energetic nurses who want to make the 8A/M5 course, or to reclass to 66E or buff up the old application for the 66F. It was a good time, and that offensive in Afghanistan in spring 09 kept us busier than shit for most of the time I was there.
OWB: fair enough. A victim being questioned by the perpetrator of a crime is unusual, but can indeed happen any time a defendant acts as his own attorney. The only way to avoid that possibility is to disallow the defendant calling them as witnesses, or for the witnesses to refuse to testify.
Perhaps Hassan’s hoping for the latter. If so, I’m betting he’ll be royally surprised.
Hopefully the prosecutor will have a hair-trigger on objections regarding irrelevant questions while Hassan is asking questions of the victims, and the judge will act to screen out any obvious garbage.
For what it’s worth, the underwear bomber and Moussaoui both tried to represent themselves too in federal court. Bin Laden’s personal assistant down at Guantanamo also tried to represent himself at his military trial, or at least prevent his defense lawyer from doing anything. If Hasan is true to form like the others, he will claim his actions were in defense of others ie Muslims. In other words, Hasan will claim he is a real Muslim hero.
How it works is the judge will require his defense counsel to stick around as “stand-by counsel.” He will sit in the back and be ready to jump in at a moment’s notice. Oftentimes, the defendant will ultimately pass many of the responsibilities to the standby counsel. In other cases, the judge will see the train wreck of a defense, or the pro se defendant will keep violating the rules, and stanby counsel will be ordered back into the fold. Here, Hasan may prove to be physically unable to defend himself, in which case the judge will explain herself on the record and bring back standby counsel.
To protect the record, the judge will admonish Hasan about why it’s a stupid decision to go pro se, and make sure on the record that Hasan understands. So to answer one question above, as long as standby counsel is available and Hasan is properly admonished, this won’t tank his appeal.
The cops should have aimed two to the head and one to the chest for that sorry ass!
As my sainted father used to say, “lets get this fuckers fair trial over with so we can hang that bastard”.
My wife worked in PACU for six or seven years (I think she worked in Ward 41, but don’t hold me to that)
“Hopefully the prosecutor will have a hair-trigger on objections….” Indeed. A good prosecutor will be careful on direct to keep the scope confined, thereby limiting cross. On the flip side, Hasan will open up doors when he puts on his case that the prosecutor will be able to drive a semi through sideways. Hasan will be frustrated and will attempt to testify when he should be asking questions. Make no mistake about it. Hasan is putting the rope around his own neck.
As long as he’s adequately admonished by the judge about why representing himself is a bad idea – and it sounds as if COL Osborn has done this – he won’t be able to bootstrap himself into an appeal for ineffective assistance. A pro se defendant claiming ineffective assistance of counsel is kind of like a man who murdered his parents begging for mercy because he’s an orphan. If he created the condition, he should have to live with the consequences.
Minor quibble, 2/17 Air Cav: he’s putting the needle in his own arm. The military prescribes lethal injection for executions these days.
Unfortunately.
Frankly, I wish you were correct and that Hassan could be hanged; the bastard deserves a public hanging, preferably while also gagged. The chair would be an acceptable alternative IMO.
He doesn’t deserve the dignity of a soldier’s death in front of a firing squad. And somehow, the cold, clinical nature of a gas chamber or needle just doesn’t seem apropos.
41, Hmm. Was that SICU or MICU? Either way, good people. They went through a lot; far more than people realize. All the medevac’d casualties end up somewhere, and the ANC officers would mob to a combat zone take care of hundreds of busted up troops, then come home to a ‘nice cushy job at WRAMC’…taking care of the same kids again and again. Post traumatic stress and associated psychological injuries are a bigger problem in military healthcare than one might suspect. One of my section chiefs (a MAJ at the time) wouldn’t work SICU anymore. The years of seeing constant combat trauma got to her(after one run in Irag during the surge, then in Astan when it was bad there, with a ‘break’ at WRAMC between) , and she damn near decked another NC officer. Pretty amazing people, military medical. My hat’s off to your wife, John. Those DA Civ’s and contractors provide a source of strength and continuity to us in uniform coming through there.
Sorry for my delayed response….I was at a job interview 🙂
I worked on Ward 54 (Inpatient Psych) with MAJ Hassan until my ETS date in 2005. And I agree with ANCCPT about civilians. I loved most (but not all!) of the civilians that I worked with at Walter Reed.
My wife left when they got a new ward master and he kept cutting her hours back until it wasn’t worth working anymore. Apparently he didn’t like civilians and wanted a ward full of active duty people.