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Jackson's accuser, now aged 15, and his brother will have to testify in open court after the judge rejected a prosecution request to close the courtroom for that portion of the trial. Prosecutors had argued that giving evidence in open court would traumatize the boys.

But in another setback for the defense, Melville ruled that a British television documentary about Jackson could be shown to jurors as evidence.

The documentary, which aired in 2003, shows Jackson holding hands with the then-13-year-old boy whom prosecutors charge was sexually molested by the entertainer after being plied with alcohol.

In seeking to have the seized books, magazines and other material admitted as evidence, prosecutors said they demonstrated Jackson's sexual interest in children.

"Some depict children nude. Some depict adults who appear to be the age of our children (in the case)," said Santa Barbara County Deputy District Attorney Ron Zonen. "All of which, taken together, indicates the defendant's prurient interest in children, particularly boys."

"SEXUALLY EXPLICIT"

Lawyers for the 46-year-old entertainer had asked Melville to exclude the evidence, saying prosecutors had not established that the items belonged to Jackson, since about 70 staff at his sprawling home had access to the areas where they were found.

Jackson's attorneys had also objected to showing jurors the documentary by Martin Bashir, saying it was heavily edited and would be misleading.

The defense won some small successes when the judge instructed prosecutors to refer to the seized material as "adult" or "sexually explicit" but not "pornographic," and rejected material seized from Jackson's home in 1993.

The seized evidence that can be admitted includes 17 books, 32 magazines, two DVDs, four computers and 23 other magazines from 1936 that Jackson's lawyers called collector's items.

Jury selection in the trial in Santa Maria, California, is scheduled to begin next week and could take more than a month to complete.

Melville, who has imposed virtually unprecedented secrecy in the case in what he said was a move to protect Jackson's right to a fair trial, cautioned attorneys for both sides as they squared off at Friday's hearing.

"The world is watching justice in the United States here -- the world. Not Santa Maria, not Santa Barbara County, not California -- the world," he said.