OAKLAND, Calif. -- Alameda County Superior Court Judge Morris Jacobson ruled Thursday that the murder trial of former BART police Officer Johannes Mehserle will be moved to downtown Los Angeles, citing cost savings as the main factor.

Faced with choosing between downtown Los Angeles and downtown San Diego, which were the only locations in the state that court officials said were capable of handling the high-profile case, Jacobson said demographics weren't a major factor in his decision.

Jacobson said, "San Diego is a very diverse county" and has almost as many black residents as does Los Angeles County. He said black residents comprise 7.5 percent of the jury pool in Los Angeles and 9 percent of the jury pool in San Diego.

Black residents comprise about 14 percent of the jury pool in Alameda County.

Race is a factor in Mehserle's case because he's white and is accused of murdering an unarmed black man, 22-year-old Oscar Grant III of Hayward, at the Fruitvale BART station on New Year's Day after he and other BART police officers responded to reports of a fight on a train.

In ruling on Oct. 16 that Mehserle's trial should be moved away from Alameda County because "a high degree of political turmoil" and other factors would make it difficult to get a fair trial in the county, Jacobson said the shooting death of Grant "is viewed by many as a being a case about race relations between the police and minority communities.

During a two-hour hearing Thursday, Jacobson said it will be cheaper to hold Mehserle's trial in Los Angeles than in San Diego because Los Angeles already has a sophisticated security system in place and won't have to provide extra bailiffs to handle the case.

In contrast, San Diego probably would have to provide an extra four or five bailiffs each court day and Alameda County would be stuck with the cost, Jacobson said.

In addition, Los Angeles might be able to provide a judge for Mehserle's trial at no extra cost for Alameda County but if the trial were to be moved to San Diego, and that county were to supply a judge, Alameda County would be charged, the judge said.

Mehserle's lawyer, Michael Rains, argued that the trial should be moved to San Diego because the trial could start there as soon as late January but it will take at least six months and possibly up to a year before it can start in Los Angeles because of court availability considerations.

Rains said delaying the trial will create "an enormous hardship" for Mehserle, who's free on $3 million bail, because he's been unemployed since resigning from BART a week after the shooting incident and has had a hard time finding another job.

"A fellow facing murder charges doesn't just walk out and get a job," Rains said.

Rains said of Mehserle, "He deserves to get this behind him."

Referring to the Alameda County District Attorney's Office, Rains said, "It's ironic that the people who have sped this case along now want to put the brakes on so they can get a better venue in Los Angeles."

However, Jacobson told Rains that he could still control the timing of Mehserle's trial by pulling his waiver of Mehserle's right to a speedy trial and demanding a trial within 60 court days, even though Los Angeles court officials say they don't have a courtroom immediately available.

After Jacobson ruled that the case will go to Los Angeles, Grant's mother, Wanda Johnson, said, "I'm thankful. He answered our prayers."

Johnson said she thinks in Los Angeles "there will be a better pool of jurors and a more favorable decision" than if the case had been moved to San Diego.

As for attending Mehserle's trial in Los Angeles, Johnson said, "I plan to be there every day."

Although Grant's family members previously said they wanted Mehserle to stand trial as soon as possible, they said today that there isn't any hurry.

Cephus Johnson, Grant's uncle, said, "Waiting isn't an issue. What's important is justice."

He said in Los Angeles "we feel we will have a better opportunity to secure justice."

John Burris, an Oakland attorney who is representing Grant's family in a $50 million civil rights lawsuit it filed against BART, Mehserle and other officers, said whatever verdict is reached in Los Angeles will be better accepted by Alameda County residents than would have been the case with a verdict in San Diego.

"If the trial was held in San Diego and their jury was essentially all white and Mehserle were acquitted that could cause some issues here," Burris said.

He also said, "San Diego has a history of being more favorably disposed toward police officers than Los Angeles is."

Jacobson said Alameda County doesn't have the judicial resources to assign a judge to preside over the trial in Los Angeles so he said he is asking California Supreme Court Chief Justice Ronald George to assign a judge to the case.

Burris said it's likely that George will assign a retired Los Angeles County judge to handle the case but George will have the option of assigning any available judge in the state.

Jacobson said he's not yet ready to relinquish control of Mehserle's case and ordered the parties in the case to return to his courtroom on Dec. 15 for an update on assigning a judge and finalizing the details of moving the case to Los Angeles.

Jacobson maintained a gag order preventing Rains and prosecutor David Stein from talking to the news media about the case.