Decision on Fort Hood case may be made at Cabinet level

[cnn-photo-caption image=http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2009/images/11/10/nidal.malik.hasan.jpg caption="Army Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan" width=292 height=320]

Jeffrey Toobin | Bio
CNN Senior Legal Analyst
New Yorker Columnist

Cabinet members may end up negotiating which legal system will try Army Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, the suspect in last week's mass shooting at Fort Hood in Texas, CNN senior legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin said Tuesday.

Thirteen people - 12 of them soldiers - were killed and 42 wounded Thursday when a gunman opened fire at the post's Soldier Readiness Center. A police officer shot Hasan, the only suspect, ending the carnage.

Hasan remains in intensive care at Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio, Texas, but is breathing on his own and talking, hospital spokesman Dewey Mitchell said.

Toobin addressed questions about the case Tuesday morning.

CNN: In which legal system will Hasan be tried?

Jeffrey Toobin: We know for certain it will not be in state court. There's exclusive federal jurisdiction on an Army base. They will have to decide whether they want to do it as a court-martial or as a federal prosecution in United States District Court.

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