OAKLAND, Calif. _ Minutes after a judge granted a gag order that bans attorneys and defendants of the Ghost Ship case from speaking publicly, outspoken attorney Tony Serra emerged from the courtroom with his hand over his mouth.
Defendants Derick Almena and Max Harris, their attorneys, the prosecution and a list of potential 200 witnesses are included in the gag order that will prevent them from making public statements about the case, or reaching out to media. The two defendants are charged with 36 counts each of involuntary manslaughter for the deaths of 36 people at the deadly Dec. 2, 2016, warehouse fire in East Oakland.
The order, meant to not taint a potential jury for trial, became effectively immediately, and will last until the last alternate is sworn in under oath just before the start of the trial. A trial is expected to begin April 2.
The protective order does not ban the media from attending hearings or the trial, but prohibits public comments from parties associated with the case including judicial officers, district attorney investigators, and court staff.
Alameda County Superior Court Judge Trina Thompson granted the prosecution's motion Friday morning after a lengthy hearing that also addressed other pretrial motions. The prosecution argued that it was not concerned about what it called irrelevant information reaching a potential jury pool.
"I am not concerned about name-calling," said prosecutor Autrey James. "I'm concerned about the process."
He said he's seen motions filed by the defense through press releases first, instead of directly.
Initially, prosecutors James and David Lim suggested that the court consider also including family members of the 36 victims who died in the fire as part of the gag order. Although they later retracted that request, Harris' defense attorney Curtis Briggs seemed outraged by the idea in an emotional response. He called the prosecution "completely unhinged."
"I was offended and concerned when the prosecution tried to take that First Amendment right away from me and my client. ... But now I'm disgusted and frightened. Real frightened," Briggs said in court.
He linked the idea that the prosecution made this request immediately after some comments he made against them, to Nazi Germany.
"That's America with a 'K,'" he said.
On Jan. 2, Briggs publicly called the district attorney "fundamentally corrupt." The motion by the prosecution for the gag order was filed the next day, Jan. 3.
Also heard on Friday were arguments for a "trombetta" motion, which alleges that the prosecution mishandled evidence in the case, with the ultimate goal of getting it dismissed. Both defense teams allege that evidence was lost or destroyed intentionally.
Thompson agreed to have an evidentiary hearing, in which the defense will present evidence to support that motion. Since the defense filed the motion, the burden to prove the motion, is on them. The hearing will be held on Feb. 22.
On Feb. 11, another motion to compel a citizen's arrest of 14 other people, filed by the defense, is also expected to be heard.
Thompson indicated that after February, there will be no more motions heard until the start of the trial on April 2.
Gag orders are not too common in Alameda County. The last known instance where a judge ordered a protective order was in the death penalty case of Darnell Williams in 2016.
