_A challenge to the prohibition in the McCain-Feingold campaign finance law on issue ads that mention a candidate's name within 60 days of the general election or 30 days of a primary.

_Whether foreign countries have immunity from lawsuits filed by New York City to collect taxes on properties they own near the United Nations in Manhattan.

_A lawsuit by a former staffer against the office of former Sen. Mark Dayton, D-Minn. The issue is whether a staffer with legislative duties can sue a congressional office under the Congressional Accountability Act.

_A Fourth Amendment dispute in which a car's passenger contends that his conviction on drug charges should be thrown out because the traffic stop that resulted in his arrest was unlawful. The Supreme Court has never ruled directly on a passenger's rights against illegal search and seizure, but the California Supreme Court said the conviction could stand.

• An effort by Canadian electricity-seller Powerex Corp. to avoid being sued in California state courts in connection with the state's energy crisis in 2001. The company says that U.S. law protects it from lawsuits in state court and that it may be sued only in federal court because it is essentially an arm of a Canadian provincial government.

By The Associated Press Fri Jan 19, 5:33 PM ET