"The evidence will show that Sgt. Williams and Christine Franco, the Humane Society officer, did not have a very clear view ... and came to (the circus) with some very fixed views," defense lawyer James McManis said.

The trial pits the circus industry against animal rights activists who hope the proceedings will prove allegations that circus elephants are often treated brutally in the name of entertainment.

Santa Clara County Deputy District Attorney Carolyn Powell told the jury defendant Mark Gebel, himself the son of a legendary animal trainer, was angry at the elephant for not moving fast enough and stabbed it in the side with a metal stick called an ankus during a performance in San Jose in August.

"Mark Gebel, the defendant, lunges and he stabs Asia in the side where he knows she is more sensitive," Powell said. If convicted on the misdemeanor charge, the 31-year-old trainer, the son of the late Ringling Brothers animal trainer Gunther Gebel-Williams, could face six months in jail and a $1,000 fine.

According to the complaint, Gebel used the ankus to repeatedly prod and poke an elephant named "Asia" in an effort to get her to enter the circus ring.

Several witnesses, among them the police sergeant and Humane Society investigators, reported the elephant suddenly rushed forward, and that they later found two small puncture wounds behind her left leg.

Ringling Brothers has been unstinting in its support of Gebel, who has strongly denied the abuse charge.