Hearsay.

"Trouble is, you can't cross-examine a dog and ask, 'Are you sure?'"

Expert witness LAWRENCE MYERS, a sensory and behavioral biologist at Auburn University in Auburn, Alabama, explaining that relying on identifications made by scent-detecting dogs is iffy, especially when the dog has allergies, a cold, or just an "off" day.

"The neon only gets turned on at Christmas and Easter."

Attorney ERIK STANLEY of the Liberty Counsel, a religious freedom organization, noting the merits of a sign Sybil Peachlum planted in her front yard. Edged with neon lights, it features an anthropomorphized peach holding a newspaper with the headline, "Peachy News. Jesus is Alive." The city of York, Pennsylvania, ordered Peachum to remove the sign, claiming it violated zoning rules. Peachlum sued, alleging free speech violations. Lower courts dismissed the claim, but file Third Circuit has remanded it for trial.

"I thought it was a little bag of seasoning."

Loss CAMPBELL of Des Moines, who found a heat-sealed bag of marijuana in a bag of potato chips. Police are focusing their investigation on a plant in Detroit where the chips were packaged.

"Cuckoo! Cuckoo!"

CORNELL JACKSON, on trial for armed burglary and aggravated assault, sang this, then dropped his drawers and mooned a jury in a Panama City, Florida, courtroom. Judge Michael Overstreet ordered him to watch the rest of the trial in a holding cell via a closed-circuit TV. The jury reached a guilty verdict in 30 minutes.

--From newspaper and wire reports