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The San Francisco judge overseeing the trial in the killing of Kate Steinle has tried to banish politics from the courtroom.

But he can’t stop the charged debate swirling outside.

Ms. Steinle’s fatal shooting in July 2015 by an unauthorized immigrant set off widespread outrage, much of it directed at San Francisco’s leaders. She was 32.

On Monday, opening arguments began in the trial to determine whether Jose Ines Garcia Zarate, the man who killed Ms. Steinle as she walked with her father on a San Francisco pier, had meant to fire the gun.

Mr. Zarate has acknowledged doing so, but says it was an accident. He’s charged with second-degree murder.