The trial began only Monday, with jury selection having taken place [JURIST report] last week. In September, the court ruled [JURIST report] that statements made by Abdulmutallab while in the hospital following his bombing attempt were admissible. In December 2010, a federal grand jury charged Abdulmutallab with two new counts of conspiracy and firearm possession, in addition to the six previous charges [JURIST reports] of attempted use of a weapon of mass destruction, attempted murder within the special aircraft jurisdiction of the US, willful attempt to destroy or wreck an aircraft, willfully placing a destructive device on an aircraft, use of a firearm/destructive device during and in relation to a crime of violence, and possession of a firearm/destructive device in furtherance of a crime of violence. Three months earlier, in September, Abdulmutallab fired his lawyers and chose to represent himself [JURIST report]. The use of full body scanners [TSA backgrounder] at airports is largely a response to Abdulmutallab's failed bombing attempt. In July the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit [official website] rejected a constitutional challenge [JURIST report] to the use of the controversial full body scanners by holding that the use of the scanners does not constitute an unreasonable search.