The commandant of the Marine Corps has appointed one of his deputies to decide the next step in the case against Lt. Col. Jeffrey Chessani, who was charged with dereliction of duty after 24 Iraqi civilians were slain in the city of Haditha in 2005.

Lt. Gen. George Flynn, deputy commandant for combat development and integration, was named the new convening authority over the Chessani matter last week, a Marine Corps spokesman said Monday.

Flynn was given the task by Gen. James Conway, commandant of the Marine Corps.

Conway was handed the Chessani case last month after a military judge at Camp Pendleton ordered the dereliction charges dismissed because of his finding that unlawful command influence had irreparably tainted the prosecution case.

That finding was based on a determination that a legal adviser for the prosecution should not have had any role in the case. The adviser, Col. John Ewers, had investigated each of eight Marines originally charged with criminal wrongdoing at Haditha and was listed as a prosecution witness.

His presence at meetings with a general overseeing the Haditha cases and prosecutors created an unacceptable perception of unlawful command influence, the military judge concluded.

When he ordered the case dismissed, the judge, Col. Steven Folsom, also ruled the Marine Corps could bring a new case against Chessani provided it appointed a new convening authority to first review the matter.

That was one of several options that Conway had in deciding how to proceed. He also could have ordered the case dismissed entirely or taken an administrative action, such as having a letter placed in Chessani's file.

Flynn now has to review the investigation in its entirety and decide whether continued prosecution or some kind of lesser action is warranted.

One of Chessani's attorneys, Robert Muise, said the Camp Pendleton colonel and his legal team are in limbo for now.

"We'll just have to wait and see what this lieutenant general decides," Muise said Monday.

Chessani commanded the 3rd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment at Haditha when the civilians were slain by Marines after a roadside bombing.

He was charged with dereliction in December 2006 after Marine prosecutors said he negligently failed to order a full-scale investigation into the killings. Chessani maintains he kept his superiors informed of the killings and was never directed to launch such a probe.

Four officers and four enlisted men were charged with crimes at Haditha. In the more than two years since, three officers and three enlisted men have been exonerated by having charges withdrawn or, in one case, a not-guilty finding at trial.

Besides Chessani, the only man still facing prosecution is Staff Sgt. Frank Wuterich, who led his squad in a search for those responsible for the bombing.

Wuterich is charged with nine counts of voluntary manslaughter. He has pleaded not guilty and, like Chessani, remains on duty at Camp Pendleton pending resolution of his case.

Call staff writer Mark Walker at 760-740-3529.

CORRECTION: Headline on status of Marine case was wrong

A B1 headline in Tuesday's edition misstated the status of the prosecution of Marine Lt. Col. Jeffrey Chessani in Iraq's 2005 Haditha incident. A Marine general has been appointed to review the case and decide the next step.

We apologize.