Comments on: Soothsayer Law

By: Howard Wasserman

Howard Wasserman — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 21:43:08 +0000

I am not sure I would concede so fast this is commercial speech. The prohibition of “publishing by sign, [etc.]” is commercial; the actual telling of a fortune or reading of cards and palms, even if done for profit, is not commercial.

By: Ben

Ben — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 06:01:02 +0000

Quick update: a brief summary can be found at http://acluga.org/docket.html#3

By: Ben

Ben — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 05:59:10 +0000

State ACLU’s have challenged similar state and local laws a few times. I worked on one such challenge as a 1L summering with the Georgia ACLU. The setup was such that state law allowed counties to regulate, prohibit, or tax fortunetelling for a profit (O.C.G.A. § 36-1-15). Ultimately our client was granted her business license. I have copies of an Atlanta Journal Constitution Article and I have copies of the brief that I drafted challenging the all this. It’s fascinating stuff and I’m happy to share it with you.

By: James Grimmelmann

James Grimmelmann — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 02:53:59 +0000

I think the Pennsylvania law you've quoted is unconstitutional . The key language is " publishes by card, circular, sign, newspaper or other means that he can predict future events," which I take to prohibit me from writing a letter to the editor claiming that I can predict whether the sun will come up tomorrow.