BREVARD COUNTY, Fla. -- A defense attorney for a woman accused of leaving her dog to starve to death tried to get virtually all the evidence against her thrown out Friday. The death of her three-legged German Shepherd has drawn animal advocates to the courthouse, many of whom were in the Brevard County courtroom.

The hearing was only supposed to take two hours, but it went on for more than five and was stopped before it was over.

At issue is whether the police conducted an illegal search of the house when they found the dead dog and, if prosecutors lose the battle, they could end up losing the whole case.

Before Christine Abrams goes to trial on charges she let her German Shepherd named Ella starve to death in a crate, her attorney tried to get all the evidence that the dead dog ever existed thrown out of court. Abram's defense attorney claims police had no right to search her property without a warrant and therefore any evidence collected as a result should be disregarded.

Prosecutors said they did have a right to go in because they thought someone could be hurt inside, especially after the neighbor told them about a putrid smell.

"A very distinct odor," testified neighbor Robert Arishon. "It was the odor of death."

An officer testified they decided to enter the house without a search warrant after seeing the dead dog through a window.

"The decision was made to go in and check on the well-being of Ms. Abrams when we saw the dog in the cage. That wasn't normal behavior for anyone to do that," said Officer Jeff Aiken, Cocoa Police Department.

The courtroom antics were in high gear. Abrams defense attorney used exaggerated gestures, moved furniture around and challenged witnesses on whether they could keep track of time and knew what death smelled like.

Meanwhile more than 60 animal rights advocates watched from the gallery, many wearing t-shirts with pictures of Ella, making sure the judge knew her decision was under close scrutiny.

The case has gotten worldwide attention. Prosecutors said they have received more than 1,000 letters.

The judge cut the hearing short just before 5:00pm and said they will come back to wrap it up on the Fourth of July. Abrams faces two misdemeanor counts. At most, she could be sentenced to one year in the county jail.