Others say: Fair is fair

Buying stuff online is an easy option that sometimes comes with an extra discount: no sales tax. That unfair advantage for web retailers was called out Thursday by the U.S. Supreme Court in a decision that should help level the playing field between bricks-and-mortar and Internet-based sellers.

Justices adopt new privacy rules to track cellphones

Police generally need a warrant to look at records that reveal where cellphone users have been, the Supreme Court ruled Friday in a big victory for privacy interests in the digital age. The justices' 5-4 decision marks a big change in how police may obtain information that phone companies collect from the ubiquitous cellphone towers that allow people to make and receive calls, and transmit data.

Justices adopt digital-age privacy rules to track cellphones

Police generally need a warrant to look at records that reveal where cellphone users have been, the Supreme Court ruled Friday in a big victory for privacy interests in the digital age. The justices' 5-4 decision marks a big change in how police may obtain information that phone companies collect from the ubiquitous cellphone towers that allow people to make and receive calls, and transmit data.

Supreme Court opens door for online sales taxes on out-of-state retailers

Consumers across the country can expect to pay more when shopping online after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that states have the authority to require out-of-state online retailers to collect sales taxes. In a 5-4 decision in South Dakota vs. Wayfair Inc., the court ruled Thursday that states can require sellers to collect sales taxes even when the seller has no physical presence in the state.

Supreme Court: Law enforcement needs warrant for cellphone location information

Law enforcement officers need to obtain a search warrant in order to obtain data that shows the location of cellphone users, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in a 5-4 decision released Friday. Chief Justice John Roberts authored the majority opinion, citing the Fourth Amendment's protections against unreasonable government searches.

Save it, spend it or give it back? Future online sales tax windfall stirs debate in Maryland

A U.S. Supreme Court decision that could give Maryland $100 million or more in unexpected tax revenue is likely to present state elected officials with a welcome but difficult choice next year: spend it, save it or give it back to taxpayers. A U.S. Supreme Court decision that could give Maryland $100 million or more in unexpected tax revenue is likely to present state elected officials with a welcome but difficult choice next year: spend it, save it or give it back to taxpayers.

Supreme Court restricts police on cellphone location data

The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday imposed limits on the ability of police to obtain cellphone data pinpointing the past location of criminal suspects in a major victory for digital privacy advocates and a setback for law enforcement authorities. In the 5-4 ruling, the court said police generally need a court-approved warrant to get the data, setting a higher legal hurdle than previously existed under federal law.

Supreme Court decision requires warrant to obtain cellphone records for tracking

The United States Supreme court issued a decision this morning required police to obtain a warrant from a judge in order to track individuals through cellphone records. The 5-4 ruling is being regarded as a win for privacy advocates in the U.S. The decision derived from a 2011 case in which FBI agents used three months of phone records in order to capture and convict a Michigan man of robbing Radio Shack and T-Mobile locations.

Oilfield services provider wins patent damages

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled on Friday that companies can recover profits lost because of the unauthorized use of their patented technology abroad in a victory for Schlumberger N.V., the world's largest oilfield services provider. The 7-2 decision overturned a lower court's ruling that had enforced limits on applying U.S. patent law overseas and reduced by $93.4 million the damages sum that rival ION Geophysical Corp. had to pay for infringing Schlumberger technology that helps find oil and gas beneath the ocean floor.

Why Yesterday’s SCOTUS Decision May Impact Franchisor Royalties

Yesterday, in South Dakota vs. WayFair, Inc., et al., the United States Supreme Court overturned long-standing precedents that required an out-of-state Seller to have a physical presence in a state to collect sales tax from consumers in that state. The South Dakota law being challenged by giant online retailers, Wayfair, Inc., Overstock.com, Inc., and Newegg, Inc. none of which had a physical presence in South Dakota requires out-of-state retailers to collect and remit sales tax "as if they had a physical presence in the state."