Judge allows Jackson jury to consider lesser alcohol charge

SANTA MARIA, California - The judge in Michael Jackson's child molestation trial has ruled jurors can find Jackson guilty of the lesser charge of providing alcohol to a minor rather than the felony of plying his then-13-year-old accuser with alcohol in order to abuse him.

Santa Barbara County Superior Court Judge Rodney Melville said he would instruct jurors the charge of supplying alcohol to a minor with intent to sexually abuse him, a felony, could be treated as a lesser charge of simply supplying alcohol to a minor, a misdemeanour.

The judge acted at the request of the prosecution and over the objections of Jackson's defence team. The main charge of molesting the then-13-year-old cancer patient was unaffected by the ruling, as were the other charges of conspiring to commit child abduction, false imprisonment and extortion.

Jackson has pleaded not guilty to all the charges.

Court observers said the move gave prosecutors an advantage as the misdemeanour charge might be easier to prove.

Jackson would face two to four years in state prison if convicted of the felony alcohol charge, while the misdemeanour charge carries a fine and the possibility of a shorter spell in county jail.

The accuser, both on the witness stand and in a videotaped police interview, said Jackson often gave him alcohol while he was staying with his family at the singer's Neverland Valley Ranch in central California in early 2003.

He also testified that Jackson masturbated him on several occasions after plying him with alcohol.

The judge made his decision on Tuesday while discussing with prosecution and defence attorneys how he would instruct the jury before handing them the case, and what boundaries he would set for closing arguments.

"They're arguing about the ground rules that will control everything that will happen from now on -- arguments, deliberations and verdict," said Jim Hammer, a former San Francisco prosecutor who is following the case as a television analyst.

Melville also said he would supply each juror with a set of written instructions before he addressed the panel and would allow jurors to consult them during deliberations. While not unprecedented, it is unusual for a judge in California to provide jurors with written instructions.

The prosecution and defence both ended the evidence phase of their cases on Friday and closing arguments were expected to begin on Wednesday with the possibility that the jury could be handed the case by the end of the week.

Two key players in the case, lead defence attorney Tom Mesereau and prosecutor Ron Zonen, were absent from the court room on Tuesday, presumably working on their closing arguments.

With jurors taking the day off while attorneys discussed what instructions the panel would receive from the judge, Jackson was also absent.

- REUTERS