10:15 a.m.OAKLAND — An Alameda County judge will consider whether to lift a gag order in the case of a former Napa resident charged with killing an unarmed man on a BART station platform.

Johannes Mehserle, then a BART police officer, has pleaded not guilty to one count of murder for fatally shooting 22-year-old Oscar Grant on New Year’s Day.

Judge Morris Jacobson will hear arguments Thursday. Last month, Jacobson ordered all parties in the case to keep quiet outside court. The officer’s attorney argues the order limits him from fighting negative publicity about his client.

He also says it could prejudice potential jurors.

The California First Amendment Coalition also has called on Jacobson to lift the gag order.

Mehserle, a 2000 graduate of New Technology High School in Napa, his free on $3 million bail.