Like many custody battles, a three-hour hearing in Clackamas County Circuit Court Wednesday had tears, pleas, recriminations and noisy arguments.

But there was no decision on whether Snowball, Oregon’s most famous deer, would be returned to the Molalla family that raised her.

Judge Eve L. Miller indicated she would decide on Thursday.

“It always helps to have a little bit of time and distance to reflect on these things,” she told the crowded courtroom.

During the hearing, animal-law attorney Geordie Duckler argued that the state should return Snowball, a blacktail, to his clients, Jim Filipetti and Francesca Mantei, as a matter of procedure.

Filipetti found Snowball disabled, in the wild, and took her and her offspring Bucky into their care.

Bucky has been released into the wild.

Oregon law prohibits holding wild animals in captivity without a permit.

Filipetti rescued Snowball from the side of a road six years ago and spent thousands of dollars on veterinary bills to correct her leg deformities.

He cared for the deer inside his home for the first year. Although it is illegal, Filipetti said Snowball is an exception because she never could have survived in the wild.

Since Snowball was taken from them under a Sept. 12 search warrant but no charges were filed, his clients should get her back without having to prove that they are her legitimate owners, Duckler said.

State attorney Matt Donohue compared Snowball to cigarettes without tax stamps. The doe is essentially contraband, he said, and should not be returned to the couple.

Miller said legal ownership of the deer wasn’t at issue. “I’m simply saying you can’t take something pursuant to a search warrant and then use that as a mechanism to hang on to it,” she said. “It’s just wrong.”

The hearing came two weeks after state wildlife officials announced plans to place Snowball at Molalla elk farm.

Miller’s decision might not be the last word. Even if the deer is returned to the couple, Miller said the state could claim ownership and probably win.

Duckler said he’d be ready for that “Go ahead and prosecute them,” he told Donohue. “That’s for the future.”