The judge in the Michael Jackson child-molestation case on Thursday has rejected a longshot bid from the pop star's lawyer to remove the prosecuting district attorney from the case.

Santa Barbara Superior Court Judge Rodney Melville made the ruling during a pretrial hearing that Jackson's lawyers had failed to prove a conflict of interest or bias on the part of District Attorney Tom Sneddon.

The King of Pop's Defense attorney Thomas Mesereau argued that Sneddon had become so determined to convict Jackson, and has been harboring a grudge against the singer that stretches back to 1993. Mesereau also asserted that Sneddon had improperly placed himself in the Jackson case by meeting one-on-one with the mother of Jackson's young accuser and conducting surveillance on a private investigator working for the defense.

He added that Sneddon had utilized more resources on prosecuting the Jackson case than is typically employed against serial killers.

Sneddon sat by quietly in the courtroom as his Deputy District Attorney Ron Zonen defended him, saying that the veteran prosecutor had been nothing but fair.

Zonen also laid rest to claims that his boss was prompted to go after Jackson after watching a controversial British documentary in which the singer talks about of innocently sleeping in the same bed with children.

'It began because a 13-year-old child revealed to a therapist in Los Angeles that he had been molested by Michael Jackson,' Zonen told the court.

The judge rejected Mesereau bid for rejecting the prosecuting DA, but said he would keep a close eye on on him during the proceedings.

'If (Sneddon) appears excessively zealous during the trial, I will see that it is taken care of,' the judge said.

Jackson had been charged on ten counts of molesting a young boy and conspiring to cover up the crime. His trial is scheduled to start Jan. 31.