Editing Charles Manson (section)

=== Defense rests ===
On November 16, the prosecution rested its case. Three days later, after arguing standard dismissal motions, the defense stunned the court by resting as well, without calling a single witness. Shouting their disapproval, Atkins, Krenwinkel, and Van Houten demanded their right to testify.{{sfn|Bugliosi|Gentry|1974|pp=382–388}}

In chambers, the women's lawyers told the judge their clients wanted to testify that they had planned and committed the crimes and that Manson had not been involved.{{sfn|Bugliosi|Gentry|1974|pp=382–388}} By resting their case, the defense lawyers had tried to stop this. Van Houten's attorney, [[Ronald Hughes]], vehemently stated that he would not "push a client out the window". In the prosecutor's view, it was Manson who was advising the women to testify in this way as a means of saving himself.{{sfn|Bugliosi|Gentry|1974|pp=382–388}} Speaking about the trial in a 1987 documentary, Krenwinkel said, "The entire proceedings were scripted—by Charlie."<ref>''[[Biography (TV series)|Biography]]''—"Charles Manson." [[A&E (TV channel)|A&E Network]].</ref>

The next day, Manson testified. The jury was removed from the courtroom. According to [[Vincent Bugliosi]] it was to make sure Manson's address did not violate the [[Supreme Court of California|California Supreme Court]]'s decision in ''People v. Aranda'' by making statements implicating his co-defendants.{{sfn|Bugliosi|Gentry|1974|p=134}} However, Bugliosi argued Manson would use his hypnotic powers to unfairly influence the jury.<ref>{{cite AV media |last=Schreck |author-link=Nikolas Schreck |first=Nikola |url=https://archive.org/details/Charles_Manson_SuperStar |title=Charles Manson: Superstar |time=46:00–47:00 |date=1989 |access-date=July 25, 2021}}</ref> Speaking for more than an hour, Manson said, among other things, that "the music is telling the youth to rise up against the establishment." He said, "Why blame it on me? I didn't write the music." "To be honest with you," Manson also stated, "I don't recall ever saying 'Get a knife and a change of clothes and go do what Tex says.{{'"}}{{sfn|Bugliosi|Gentry|1974|pp=388–392}}

As the body of the trial concluded and with the closing arguments impending, defense attorney Hughes disappeared during a weekend trip.{{sfn|Bugliosi|Gentry|1974|pp=393–398}} When Maxwell Keith was appointed to represent Van Houten in Hughes' absence, a delay of more than two weeks was required to permit Keith to familiarize himself with the voluminous trial transcripts.{{sfn|Bugliosi|Gentry|1974|pp=393–398}} No sooner had the trial resumed, just before Christmas, than disruptions of the prosecution's closing argument by the defendants led Older to ban the four defendants from the courtroom for the remainder of the [[bifurcation (law)|guilt phase]]. This may have occurred because the defendants were acting in collusion with each other and were simply putting on a performance, which Older said was becoming obvious.{{sfn|Bugliosi|Gentry|1974|pp=399–407}}