A trial that never happened has raised a variety of questions about nude sunbathing on Little Beach, a small, privately owned beach just north of federally owned Big Beach in the town of Muir Beach.

On Wednesday, deputy district attorney Ed Berberian told The Light his office and the Sheriff’s Office have recently discussed whether there is a nudity problem at the beach and, if so, what to do about it. So far no action has been taken.

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There has been a limited degree of skinnydipping and nude sunbathing at Little Beach for at least three decades, but on May 5, a sheriff’s deputy ticketed six people on charges of public nudity.

The tickets surprised some townspeople, the "nudies" themselves (as residents call them), and a few legal authorities. Usually, lawmen merely warn nudists on Little or other beaches when someone makes a complaint. Deputies then direct skinnydippers to put their clothes on or face a public-nudity citation, and virtually everyone complies.

In fact, to avoid a confrontation, nudists have often put their clothes on and left the beach as soon as they heard an officer was on hisway. That, for example, is what happened at 2 p.m. March 16 when a Pacific Way woman complained about numerous nudies on the beach. By the time an officer arrived, everyone on the beach was clothed. Two days later, deputies received a similar complaint apparently from the same woman on Pacific Way.

However, on May 5, a deputy ticketed Gina O’Brien of Oakland, Jorge Aguirre of El Cerrito, Hank Gehman of Berkeley, plus two others – Meade Platt and Pierre Pelet – whose hometowns were not immediately available to the press. "I just couldn’t believe it was happening," said O’Brien this week. "I’ve been going there for all of seven years. I’m 29. I was not rude... I don’t consider myself a criminal. The most I’ve ever had is one speeding ticket in my life."

The deputy did not allow her or other sunbathers the opportunity to merely get dressed, she added. "There were some people trying to leave. He said, ‘You have to stick around. I’m going to give you a ticket.’"

So rather than simply pay a fine, the six chose to take the case to trial, with attorney Robert Karkavy of Healdsburg, father of O’Brien, representing them. The six showed up at Marin Municipal Court Friday prepared to question the constitutionality of the county’s public-nudity law, only to learn that the District Attorney’s Office never filed a complaint against them.

This week, deputy district attorney Berberian explained why there is a problem in prosecuting skinnydipping at Little Beach: "It’s been a practice there for many years," he said. "It’s been a long-established custom."

The DA’s Office has told the Sheriff’s Office, he said, that "if there is going to be a new enforcement policy, there has to be notice for the public." Although the DA has recommended posting anti-nudity signs, none have been erected.

One reason is that most residents and agencies aren’t sure just who owns Little Beach. A spot check of townspeople and public officials found opinions ranging from the beach’s being part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area (GGNRA), to its being privately owned but leased to the county, to its being privately owned but open to the public.

In fact, said Gordon Bennett, a member of the Citizens Advisory Commission to the GGNRA, the beach is privately owned above the mean high-tide line. The wet-sand portion of the beach is federally owned.

In addition, the county owns two public-access paths from Sunset Way down to the beach plus vehicular access over almost-impassable Cove Lane, which leads to a long-gone, boat-launching ramp.

When The Light asked residents of Muir Beach about the "nudies," their answers were mixed. One of those opposed to all nudism these days is Hester Callender, who has lived in town since 1972.

She hasn’t always been upset by nude swimming at Little Beach, she added. When she first came to town, other townspeople "skinnydipped, and they were nice people. They were local. When they came out [of the ocean], they wrapped a towel around themselves."

In the past year, however, some nudies have not been so well behaved, Callender said. "We are now getting people who are definitely not nice people." She said she has become reluctant to send guests down to the beach.

Not only has there been overtly sexual activity on Little Beach, several townspeople said, the nudies have no nearby toilets to use and sometimes leave litter on the beach

Donovan McFarlane, manager of Muir Beach’s Community Services District, acknowledged he has recently received several complaints from residents about lewd activity.

Although what is "lewd" is itself debated, O’Brien, who was cited May 5, said the deputy who ticketed her said he was doing so because "a woman had complained about a man urinating on the beach."

Not only is she a female, O’Brien noted, she hadn’t been nude but merely topless. Her father, attorney Harkavy, told The Light he had planned to argue in court that "there is an inequality as to what portion of the female anatomy can be shown and what part of the male anatomy."

GGNRA Advisory Commissioner Bennett said townspeople "have tried to avoid incidents, but it’s getting worse."

As the population of the Bay Area swells, both the GGNRA beach and Little Beach are getting more visitors and among the crowds are a few weird people, he said.

Ironically, O’Brien and another "nudie," Wendy Toney of San Francisco who was interviewed Monday, said they started going to Little Beach and stopped going to Baker Beach, a recognized nude beach in San Francisco, because of gawkers and overly aggressive men there.

At Little Beach, Toney said, "I’ve never seen anyone get hassled." Bennett, on the other hand, said, "There has been some weird stuff that goes on out there."

In the last week of April, for example, a woman on Sunset Way complained that two men were masturbating on the beach. Bennett said that he himself has been hit on by aggressive men two or three times in the past 15 years.

However, he added, he and his girlfriend are part of the environmental organization Beach Watch, and as a couple they have never been "bothered." While there are "some weirdoes," he said, "if you mind your own business, it’s not a big deal."

Nowadays, he said, Muir Beach residents generally use Little Beach in the morning and leave it to visitors in the afternoon: "It’s a different universe in afternoons."

"On a fine day," added Callender, "they fill the beach."

Callender, Bennett, and another Muir Beach resident, Janet Tumpich, agreed that the worst problems on Little Beach are the occasional incidents of people "having sex, using drugs, and defecating." Defense attorney Harkavy had no disagreement with the complaint. "That shouldn’t be tolerated," he agreed.

Tumpich, however, added that problematic behavior tends to wax and wane at Little Beach: "There’s a spiral every five or 10 years that gets out of hand."

Bennett compared Little Beach with Bolinas Beach, where a lack of toilets and garbage cans, along with rowdy behavior, this month led county supervisors to ban camping on summer weekends.

Meanwhile, public controversy at Little Beach involves more than skinnydippers. Almost every townsperson The Light interviewed about "nudies" quickly turned the conversation to GGNRA rangers citing the owners of unleashed dogs.

"The park is ticketing dog owners who don’t have dogs on leashes on Big Beach. It’s established that horses and dogs traditionally use Big Beach," said Callender. "Now that is being changed [by the Park Service]. We’re being crowded more and more onto Little Beach."

Town firefighters meanwhile received a lesson about government responsibility for Little Beach when a dead, 36-foot-long gray whale washed up in 1999.

Before long, the carcass stank worse than an outhouse, and Muir Beach residents tried to get county government, state government, and the federal government to haul it away. All refused, saying Little Beach wasn’t their responsibility.

Ultimately, the town’s volunteer firefighters hauled the carcass out to sea and released it. Asked Eric Groneman of Sunset Way in the town’s bi-monthly newsletter, The Beachcomber, "Where the hell are all the gun-toting, doggie-ticket givers when you really need them?"