Jackson closings set for Thursday
Jury receives instructions in molestation trial of pop star
 |  Michael Jackson and his mother, Katherine, enter the courthouse Wednesday. |
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 Closing arguments will begin this week.
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SANTA MARIA, California (CNN) -- Closing arguments in the child-molestation trial of pop star Michael Jackson will begin Thursday after jurors received instructions on the rules that will govern their deliberations.
Santa Barbara County Superior Court Judge Rodney Melville has given the prosecution and defense up to four hours each to deliver their closing arguments, sources said.
Melville told jurors Wednesday he expected arguments to last all day Thursday and spill over into Friday.
He said the eight women and four men should expect to get the case sometime Friday, The Associated Press reported.
In another development, sources said Santa Barbara County District Attorney Thomas Sneddon would not give the prosecution's final summation, assigning that task instead to his deputy, Ron Zonen.
Sneddon, accused by Jackson and his supporters of engaging in a decade-long vendetta against the entertainer, gave the prosecution's opening argument. (Opening statements)
Melville moved down from his bench to the witness box to give jurors their instructions, which took slightly more than an hour.
At one point, the judge interrupted his reading of the instructions to see if jurors were still paying attention.
"I read to my wife at night so she'll go to sleep," Melville said. "Am I having that effect here?"
Jurors appeared relaxed, with several of them propping their feet up on the bar as the judge spoke.
In a case in which attacks on the credibility of prosecution witnesses was a key defense tactic, Melville told jurors that they were the "sole" arbiters of whether a witness was believable.
He also told them that to find Jackson guilty they had to determine he had "specific intent" to commit the crimes with which he is charged.
Jackson, 46, came to the Santa Maria courthouse for the jury instructions with his parents and two of his brothers, Randy and Tito. He wore a dark suit, a blue-and-white armband and a vest with a floral design in blue and green.
His spokeswoman, Raymone Bain, said Tuesday that the entertainer "is going through a lot of emotions right now -- relief that it's over, but very nervous. Because, of course you know, a very major decision is going to be made within the next several days."
Earlier Wednesday, a female reporter for a Japanese media outlet, the Kyoto News Service, was escorted from the room set up for reporters to listen to the trial after court officials said they found a tape recorder under her chair.
Melville imposed strict rules on coverage, including banning recording devices in the courtroom and listening room.
He did not allow the trial to be televised, and participants and witnesses were put under a gag order that restricted what they could say to the media.
Case began after documentary
Jackson was indicted in April 2004 on 10 counts stemming from incidents prosecutors say occurred in February and March 2003.
The charges against Jackson include:
Four counts of committing a lewd act on a child.One count of conspiracy to commit child abduction, false imprisonment and extortion.One count of attempting to commit a lewd act on a child.Four counts of administering an intoxicating agent to assist in the commission of a felony.Jackson pleaded not guilty to the charges and did not testify during the trial.
Melville ruled this week that the charges of furnishing alcohol to a minor -- normally a felony -- could be considered a misdemeanor.
The chain of events that led to the charges against Jackson began in February 2003 after broadcast of "Living With Michael Jackson," a documentary by British journalist Martin Bashir.
In the program, Jackson was shown holding hands with the 13-year-old boy who later accused him of child molestation, and he defended as "loving" his practice of letting young boys sleep in his bed.
Prosecutors alleged that after the broadcast Jackson and five associates plotted to control and intimidate the accuser's family to get them to go along with damage control efforts, including holding them against their will at the entertainer's Neverland Ranch.
Jackson's lawyers have tried to paint his accuser's family as grifters with a habit of targeting the rich and famous for money.
CNN's Dree De Clamecy and Stan Wilson contributed to this report.
Copyright 2005 CNN. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Associated Press contributed to this report.
