New judge assigned to Ghost Ship trial

OAKLAND » A new judge was assigned to the Ghost Ship criminal proceedings, a move defense attorneys say they are happy about.

Alameda County Superior Court Judge Trina Thompson will preside over the case of defendants Derick Almena and Max Harris, who are both accused of 36 counts each of involuntary manslaughter for the Dec. 2, 2016, deaths at the East Oakland warehouse fire.

Previously, retired Judge Vernon Nakahara had been assigned to the case, but defense attorneys were informed Tuesday night by a phone call from Judge James Cramer that there would be a switch, said defense attorney Tony Serra. Both Serra and attorneys for Harris expressed contentment over the new judge.

“I”m delighted,” Serra said Thursday. “She’s got a good reputation for being fair and impartial.”

Thompson is a former public defender and criminal defense attorney, first elected to the bench in 2002. She was re- elected twice and her current term expires in 2021.

Both Serra and one of Harris’ attornies, Tyler Smith, said that generally, most judges are ex-prosecutors.

“It’s hard sometimes to go against judges who have been prosecutors all their lives. They live differently,” Serra said. “Now we got one on the other side, so I’m happy.”

Because of newly appointed judges to the bench, and some recent retirements, there have been new assignments to the courthouse. Thompson, who used to occupy Department 3 at the Rene C. Davidson courthouse in Oakland, has recently been assigned to Department 9 in the same courthouse.

This is at least the sixth judge to be involved in the case: now- retired Judge Jeffrey Horner presided over last year’s preliminary hearing, while Judges Kevin Murphy and James Cramer have presided over such things as bail hearings, plea hearings and other proceedings.