By Russ Bynum
Associated Press Writer
The Guardian

FORT STEWART, Ga. (AP) - The court-martial of an Army mechanic who refused to deploy to Iraq came to a sudden halt Wednesday when a military judge ordered a new investigative hearing for the soldier.

Sgt. Kevin Benderman was to stand trial Thursday on charges of desertion and missing movement, but the judge, Col. Stephen Henley, ruled that the investigating officer who recommended trying him in a general court-martial had compromised her impartiality in an e-mail to a military prosecutor.