CAMP PENDLETON -- The Marine Corps may be closer to giving up its troubled prosecution of Lt. Col. Jeffrey Chessani, the highest-ranking officer accused of wrongdoing after 24 Iraqi civilians were slain in the city of Haditha in 2005.

Chessani's attorneys said Tuesday that they've been told the service won't seek a third appeal of a ruling dismissing two counts of dereliction of duty against Chessani, who is accused of not ordering a full-scale investigation into the killings.

A Marine Corps spokesman, however, said a final decision on possible further appeal hasn't been made. But the attorney for the appeal, Navy Lt. Timothy Delgado in Washington, confirmed a recommendation to drop the matter has been issued.

If that recommendation is followed, a final decision on whether the case gets dropped rests with Marine Corps Commandant Gen. James Conway.

And if that happens, Chessani would become the seventh of eight Camp Pendleton Marines charged with crimes at Haditha to be fully exonerated.

"Our whole center is just waiting to see what the government now decides to do," said Chessani attorney Brian Rooney of the Thomas More Law Center in Ann Arbor, Mich. "We are very hopeful that the decision is to end the case so Col. Chessani can get on with his life."

Chessani commanded Camp Pendleton's 3rd Marine Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment at Haditha when the civilians were slain following a roadside bombing on the morning of Nov. 19, 2005.

Last year, a military judge ordered charges against him dismissed, citing unlawful command influence. That ruling determined 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 the accused Marines 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.

That ruling was appealed to the Navy-Marine Corps Court of Appeals, which unanimously upheld the judge's finding.

A request by the Marine Corps that the court reconsider that decision was denied last week. That left the Marine Corps the option of appealing to the Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces, a step Delgado confirmed is not recommended.

When he ordered the charges dismissed, the military judge gave the Marine Corps the option of appointing a new convening authority -- a Marine general with no previous ties to the case -- to decide whether an entirely new investigation was warranted.

"That general would have to look at the case and make his own independent assessment," Rooney said. "If he says 'No,' then the case is over. If he says 'Yes,' then a new investigating officer would be appointed and the case would start all over."

Chessani, 43, was pleased when informed of the latest twist in his case, Rooney said. The father of six children, who has remained on duty at Camp Pendleton since being charged in December 2006, plans to retire when his legal troubles are over.

One reason the Marine Corps has appealed the unlawful command decision is its potential effect on the prosecution of Staff Sgt. Frank Wuterich, who is charged with nine counts of involuntary manslaughter.

Wuterich, who has pleaded not guilty, led his Kilo Company squad in an assault of several homes following the roadside bombing that killed one Marine and injured two others. Nineteen civilians, including several women and children, died during those assaults. Five other men were slain when they emerged from a car that approached the Marine's convoy moments after the bombing.

Wuterich's attorneys plan to seek a dismissal of the charges against their client for the same unlawful command influence found in the Chessani case.

They haven't been able to file that motion, however, because his case is on hold after the Marine Corps appealed a judge's finding that outtakes of a CBS television "60 Minutes" interview with Wuterich contain nothing of value and won't be shared with prosecutors.

Wuterich attorney Neal Puckett said Tuesday that he will file a motion for dismissal as soon as a stay on further proceedings is lifted after a final decision on the "60 Minutes" issue is rendered.

"This case has gone on far too long and has really damaged Staff Sgt. Wuterich's career and personal life," Puckett said. "It's been terribly unfair."

Contact staff writer Mark Walker at (760) 740-3529.