- An arraignment hearing for Jared Lee Loughner will be held Monday afternoon
- Loughner, already indicted on three counts, could face many more charges
- Doctor say Gabrielle Giffords, shot in the brain, has "surprised" them with her progress
- Her rehabilitation process is expected to take four to six months
For more on this story, see CNN affiliate KPRC
Houston (CNN) -- As U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords continues to show improvement, the man who allegedly shot her and 18 others -- six of them fatally -- will be in federal court Monday, and could face additional, and more serious, charges tied to the Arizona massacre.
The arraignment hearing for suspect Jared Lee Loughner is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. MST (3:30 p.m. ET) at the U.S. District Court of Arizona in Phoenix.
Loughner, 22, already has been in that court to face charges on three counts of attempted murder in the shootings of Giffords and two of her aides, Ron Barber and Pamela Simon.
But all along, legal experts expected additional charges to be filed against the Tucson man, including in the slayings of six people. Those charges could be filed Monday.
"The grand jury investigation will continue," CNN senior legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin said last week. "There's a long way to go in this case, and (the attempted murder) charges will be there. But I'm certain more will be there as well."
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Tucson shooting suspect rants on video While at a federal court in Phoenix, Monday's hearing will be presided over by Judge Larry Burns of the U.S. District Court for Southern California, based in San Diego. The 9th Circuit Court designated him to head the case after all federal judges in Arizona recused themselves because the state's chief federal judge -- John Roll of Tucson -- was among those killed in the shooting.
Meanwhile, Loughner's alleged main target in the January 8 shooting rampage at a Tucson Safeway supermarket is in intensive care at Memorial Hermann-Texas Medical Center in Houston, Texas. She was critically wounded after being shot through the brain.
The amount of car traffic on the campus of Texas Medical Center, a cluster of 42 university-affiliated schools, hospitals and clinics outside downtown Houston, has "doubled" since Giffords' arrival, campus security chief Fernando Bertrand told CNN affiliate KPRC. Yet Bertrand, who wouldn't detail any special security precautions beyond saying there was careful coordination with state and federal law enforcement agencies, said things thus far have gone smoothly.
Since being transferred there Friday from southern Arizona, Giffords has already impressed doctors with her ability to do exercises that involve moving, sitting and standing, the hospital's medical director said.
"She's doing very well," Dr. Gerard Francisco said Saturday, adding that she "surprised us" with her ability to use her muscles and other developments. "She did not need as much assistance as we anticipated."
On Sunday, Giffords' husband Mark Kelly, a NASA astronaut, posted on his Twitter feed that his wife was continuing to work toward a full recovery.
"Gabrielle starts her second day of rehab in 20 minutes at Memorial Hermann. No weekends off here," he wrote.
Giffords has a breathing tube in her neck and cannot talk, but Francisco said he believes she is trying to communicate. She is very responsive to others, and follows commands. He said that doctors were particularly encouraged by Giffords' bringing her left leg, which was dangling off the side of the bed, up onto the bed.
Giffords has good movement and muscle tone on her left side, he said, and some on her right side as well -- even though she was shot in the left side of her brain, which controls her right side.
Arizona doctors said Giffords' transfer from that state went flawlessly. Dr. Randall Friese of the UMC trauma center said that at some points as she traveled through the streets of Tucson, Giffords could hear applause from those who turned out to honor her. "She responded very well to that," he said, smiling and even tearing up a bit. "It was very emotional."
Despite reaching a series of milestones, Giffords has a long road ahead, doctors have said. Once she enters rehabilitation, the process is expected to take four to six months.
CNN's Elizabeth Cohen contributed to this report.
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