Workers' Compensation; whether plaintiff's deposition taken by telephone in another country complied with N.C. R. Civ. P. 28(b)(3)

Motion to suppress; whether under totality of chircumstances, search of defendant's purse was governed by Fourth Amendment

Third-party exception under N.C.G.S. � 143-215.83(b)(2)(d) to strict liability for discharging petroleum products into state waters

Complaint for monetary damages; whether existence of a state remedy barred by sovereign immunity can prevent assertion of a state constitutional claim for the same alleged injury

Alienation of affection; out-of-state defendant; long-arm personal jurisdiction under N.C.G.S. � 1-75.4(4)(a)

First-degree murder (capital/death)

N.C.G.S. � 153A-344(b); whether issuance of a building permit also conferred a statutory vested rifht to conduct a mining operation on the same property; application of Robins v. Town of Hillsborough

Felony sentencing; whether trial court's unilateral finding of an aggravating factor was harmless error when the same evidence was used to prove an element of an offense

First-degree murder (capital/death)

Unemployment insurance eligibility; whether leaving a job to accept early retirement benefits under a company downsizing program is a disqualifying act under N.C.G.S. � 96-14(1)