[JURIST] A federal judge presiding over the case of former US Army soldier Steven Green has granted a three-month delay in Green's arraignment on rape and murder charges [JURIST report] of an Iraqi civilian and the murder of her family in Mahmudiya [JURIST news archive]. US District Judge Thomas Russell of the Western District of Kentucky [official website] agreed Thursday to delay the arraignment at the request of prosecutors because it will be difficult to use evidence and witnesses simultaneously with military prosecutors in Iraq conducting an investigation [JURIST report] into four Army soldiers [JURIST report] also accused in connection with the Mahmudiya deaths, and one other US soldier now in Iraq who was allegedly present for the incident and has been charged with failing to report it up the chain of command.

Green pleaded not guilty [JURIST report] to murder and rape charges [complaint via FindLaw] earlier in July. The US Defense Department charged [JURIST report] three Army soldiers with rape and murder and a fourth with dereliction of duty on July 9. The four will now face Article 32 hearings [Navy JAG backgrounder] to determine whether they will face court-martial. Green faces charges in federal court because he was discharged from the Army due to a personality disorder before the Mahmudiya allegations arose. AP has more.