Alexandria's fortunetelling ban overturned by federal judge - nola.com

A federal judge has struck down an Alexandria ordinance banning fortunetelling, palm reading, astrology and similar activities in the city. U.S. District Judge Dee Drell's ruling Wednesday concurs with a magistrate's conclusion that the ordinance is unconstitutional.

fortunetellers-jackson-square.jpgJennifer Zdon, The Times-Picayune archiveTarot card, palm and fortune tellers line-up in front of the Cabildo in 2003. A federal judge Wednesday overturned Alexandria's ban on such activity, noting it has survived outside St. Louis Cathedral 'apparently without incident.'

"We also note with interest that the 'art' of fortune telling proliferates in front of St. Louis Cathedral, in the City of New Orleans, apparently without incident," Drell wrote.

Rachel Adams, a fortuneteller who says she accepts donations but doesn't charge for her services, sued the city after a police officer issued her a court summons in 2011 for violating the ordinance. A violation can result in daily penalties of up to $ 500.

The city argued the business of fortunetelling is a fraud and inherently deceptive, but U.S. Magistrate James Kirk concluded it is free speech protected by the First Amendment.

"The danger of the government deciding what is true and not true, real and unreal, should be obvious," Kirk wrote. "For example, some might say that a belief in God or in a particular religion, for example, or in the "Book of Revelation," is not supported by demonstrable facts. Books that repeat the predictions of Nostradamus and the daily newspaper horoscope could be banned under the City's reasoning."

Kirk punctuated his decision by wryly noting that a ruling in the city's favor "is not in the cards."

Adams told The Town Talk last year that she is a fifth-generation psychic. She tried to get permits for using a building in Alexandria.

"What she didn't foresee, however, was that City officials would tell her that such business was prohibited," Kirk wrote.

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Intha Vaara Raasi Palan 07/01/12

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