In the run-up to trial, defense attorneys for the two men charged in the
deadly Ghost Ship fire cultivated a public defense strategy around one central argument: Their clients were scapegoats in the warehouse inferno that killed 36 people because Oakland officials were negligent in enforcing the city’s fire code.
The centerpiece to the defense’s strategy will likely be presented to a jury as well, after presiding Judge Trina Thompson on Tuesday — the first official day of the long-awaited Ghost Ship criminal trial — said she’d allow “cover-up” arguments, with some limitations.
Jury selection is scheduled to begin April 8, with opening statements following on April 30.
Witness testimony is scheduled to begin May 6.
Ghost Ship trial: Defense makes 'cover-up,' 'scapegoat' claims on Day 1
Excellent background article for those not familiar with the case:
Sue Slocum, mother of 32-year-old victim Donna Kellogg, on Monday said she was bracing herself for excruciating testimony. But in the coming weeks Slocum planned to make the two-hour drive from Salinas to Oakland as often as possible, and to book hotel rooms.
“I have to put myself into what happened to her,” she said. “I have to know.”
She wants to know where her daughter’s body was located, and why people on the second floor couldn’t get down. And she wants to know if one troubling witness account is true — that there was someone at the bottom of the stairs telling people not to come down.
“I will not say closure, it’s never about closure,” she said. “There were so many series of errors along the way. And when the trial starts, we’re going to be able to hear all that.
Ghost Ship fire trial begins Tuesday in Oakland