LOS ANGELES — Jurors at Phil Spector's trial will face a stark choice between second-degree murder and acquittal when they begin deliberations next week.

A judge ruled Wednesday that jurors will not be allowed to consider manslaughter or other lesser charges against Spector in the death of actress Lana Clarkson. (VIDEO)

Neither prosecutors nor the defense had requested that additional charges be added to the verdict form.

Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Larry Fidler said evidence in the four-month-long case supported only two possible scenarios for the 2003 shooting. He said that either Spector put a .38 Special revolver in Clarkson's mouth and pulled the trigger, in which case he was guilty of second-degree murder, or Clarkson put the gun in her own mouth and fired, in which case Spector was guilty of nothing.

"I have been thinking for weeks now of alternatives," Fidler told attorneys during a hearing to finalize legal instructions for the jury. "I don't see it."

Story continues

Fidler said the location of the wound at the rear of Clarkson's mouth was crucial to his determination that murder is the only appropriate charge for jurors to weigh.

Spector is charged with second-degree murder under a theory known as implied malice. Prosecutors are not required to prove that he shot Clarkson deliberately, only that he was behaving with a "conscious disregard for human life" when he killed her.

Placing a loaded handgun in a person's mouth would qualify as "conscious disregard for human life," even if that weapon discharged accidentally.

Deputy District Attorney Alan Jackson said the prosecution will argue that Spector is guilty, no matter what caused the gun to fire.

"She could have slapped his hand and it could have gone off. He could have sneezed and it could have gone off," the prosecutor said.

Spector did not attend the hearing.

Closing arguments are set to begin Sept. 5 and will last two days.

Spector, 67, the producer who revolutionized pop music with albums for the Beatles, Tina Turner, the Righteous Brothers and others, faces 15 years to life in prison if convicted of second-degree murder.

Clarkson, 40, died Feb. 3, 2003,in a chair in the foyer of Spector's mansion. Prosecutors claim Spector pulled a gun on her after she tried to curtail what he hoped would be a sexual encounter. The defense contends Clarkson was depressed over career difficulties and financial problems and shot herself, either purposely or by accident.

Defense attorney Roger Rosen said after the hearing that the single charge on the verdict form would likely expedite deliberations. He said, however, that in a case with 77 witnesses and more than 500 exhibits, a speedy verdict was unlikely.

"I think they are going to go over everything very carefully," Rosen said.

Spector's wife, Rachelle, e-mailed media outlets a statement from her husband Tuesday night identifying Dennis Riordan, a San Francisco appellate specialist, as the new "chief counsel" of the defense, replacing Bruce Cutler, who resigned earlier in the week.

Riordan appeared in court for the second time Wednesday and handled most of the jury instruction arguments, but denied that he was the defense's lead attorney. The judge said he considered Rosen, who had been present throughout the trial, the lead counsel.

"I don't know necessarily that we need a lead counsel. We work very well together," Rosen said after court.