A five-hour hearing Friday to address one Penn State student's Mifflin Streak case didn't result in a ruling -- but it did offer heated arguments about the legality and morality of public nudity.

Elizabeth Burke's attorney, Stacy Parks Miller, argued her client's naked run down Mifflin Road didn't merit the charge of open lewdness against her, even referring to nude artwork on campus in an attempt to prove her point.

However, Centre County Assistant District Attorney Steve Sloane said Burke must have known her actions were "likely" to offend.

Amid the two lawyers' escalating arguments, Judge Bradley Lunsford acknowledged the unusual length of the hearing, which lasted from about 9 a.m. until 2 p.m. -- "I've spent more time on this case than I have on some murder cases," he said.

Burke (junior-English) was charged with open lewdness and disorderly conduct after her participation in the May 5 finals week tradition, according to her criminal complaint. She was one of only two charged with streaking to take her case to court and the only female charged in connection with the Mifflin Streak.

On July 30, Parks Miller filed a writ of habeas corpus to challenge the charges against Burke, saying her client's actions did not "affront or alarm" onlookers and should be dismissed.

At the Friday hearing to address Burke's writ of habeas corpus, Sloane challenged Parks Miller's argument that anyone who saw Burke during the streak was a "willing onlooker."

"I'm talking about the other 39,000 people -- who might be studying, might be participating in athletic events, might be celebrating with their clothes on," he said.

To prove her side of the argument, Parks Miller called fellow attorney Karen Muir to the stand as the hearing entered its final hour. On Parks Miller's request, Muir had canvassed Penn State and State College looking for public displays of female nudity.

Muir presented photos of a nude woman posing at the Lion Shrine, nude females on posters found in Hi-Way Pizza, a nude-looking statue outside BioLife Plasma Center and several artworks in the Palmer Museum.

Sloane, however, argued the photos were evidence of nude renderings, not lewd acts such as Burke's.

Sloane called Senior Residence Life Director Diane Andrews to the stand to prove his argument. Andrews attends the streak annually to make sure students are safe and to support her staff of residence assistants, she said.

"Concern about the streak has been discussed at all levels of the university," she said.

When questioned by Sloane, Parks Miller and Lunsford, Andrews said she attended the streak willingly but didn't want to see students running naked.

"There were times when people ran directly at me," she said. "I turned my head because I didn't want that visual."

Parks Miller objected to Andrews' further testimony, in which she said she heard complaints from students bothered by the loud crowd reaction to the streak. Lunsford seemed to agree with Parks Miller's point.

"I have to hear from a witness she heard from students were affronted or alarmed by nudity, not noise," Lunsford told Sloane.

Lunsford and Sloane further argued about whether Burke knew her actions were "likely" to affront or alarm anyone. While Sloane said a hypothetical sexual assault victim could have been disturbed by the crowd's reaction to Burke's nudity, Lunsford said he doubted Burke could have foreseen this.

"Do you think for a second during that evening she was thinking about a female student up on the fourth floor?" Lunsford asked.

"You'd have to be completely ignorant of campus life not to," Sloane replied.

The hearing ended with Lunsford telling Burke he wasn't sure how he would rule on her case but also offering some stern words for the female accused of streaking.

"If you ever get another 15 minutes of fame, I certainly hope you use it more productively," he said.

After the hearing, Burke said the process of fighting her charges hasn't been easy.

"It's not that I don't believe in our argument," she said. "[But] I'm really not one to cause waves."

Burke said she knew her case would affect the future of the Mifflin Streak and possibly her place in the tradition.

"If we had everything worked out with the university, and everything was cool, then I'd do it again," she said.