Day 159 was consumed by jury instruction hearings, where Judge Ito systematically ruled on competing proposals from the defense and prosecution. The court rejected nearly all defense special instructions on DNA methodology, chain of custody, and police credibility, instead adopting prosecution-aligned formulations. Both sides rested their cases, and the prosecution won a critical motion restricting the defense from referencing Fuhrman's Fifth Amendment invocation or the McKinny tape during closing arguments. Jury instructions were scheduled to begin the following morning.

• Both sides prepared to rest cases after confirming DNA expert Gary Sims would not be recalled
• Court rejected most Defense special instructions on DNA statistics, chain of custody, and police credibility
• Court clarified that random match probability statistics are not equivalent to likelihood-of-guilt statistics
• Prosecution successfully moved to restrict defense from referencing Fuhrman's Fifth Amendment invocation or McKinny tape during closing arguments
• Court ruled on dozens of exhibit objections in pre-jury administrative session
• Jury instructions scheduled to begin at 10:00 AM the following morning