
By David WalshThe Supreme Court is set to hear a case about whether to hear cases on the issue of how to define and enforce a market for private goods and services.
The Supreme Courts, which are supposed to be neutral in all legal disputes, have traditionally been the first to rule on such matters.
But the justices have not decided whether to rule in favour of or against an idea, a concept or a law.
The case is called the case of Bose and Co, and is brought by a group of small business owners who say the government can regulate their sales and service.
In an opinion published last month, the Supreme Court said it would hear arguments on whether to review the case on November 19.
In the meantime, the issue will be debated on a state and federal level in the courts of appeal, which is the right of states to decide what laws they will or will not enforce.
“We will be asked whether the federal government can impose rules on a local government that the local government has determined are necessary and within its power to enforce,” Justice Anthony Kennedy said in his ruling.
Bose and Company, based in New York City, sued the US government for the right to sell products and services such as computers, refrigerators and computers and video game consoles to people who pay them a fee to use the company’s internet service.
The US government argues that the government has authority to regulate the sale of products such as goods and/or services because it regulates interstate commerce and that the law applies to its own laws.
“It is well settled that state governments can regulate interstate commerce,” Kennedy wrote.
“In short, the Commerce Clause permits states to regulate interstate competition, including those that may be subject to federal jurisdiction.”
Justice Anthony Kennedy (R), with the court’s Justices Clarence Thomas (L) and Samuel Alito (R) speaks during a Supreme Court hearing on a dispute over a law in New Jersey on November 16, 2017.
Bose Corp, based out of New York, and other small business have challenged the constitutionality of a law called the Fairness Doctrine, which says businesses should pay a fee in order to use their internet services.
The US Supreme court is expected to rule soon on whether the Fair Pay Act, passed in 2010, applies to the internet.