Suit Challenges Regulation of Spiritual Counsellors As Fortune Tellers

Yesterday's Richmond (VA) Times-Dispatch reports on a lawsuit filed in federal district court in Virginia challenging the constitutionality of a Chesterfield County (VA) law that regulates "spiritual counsellors" in the same way that fortune tellers are regulated. This includes a requirement to obtain a permit after a background check and character references, as well as zoning restrictions and a $300 license tax. Spiritual adviser Sophie King says she is engaged in a religious activity. She says she is not a fortune teller because she merely relays information she receives without knowing how it relates to her individual client. The county, in a motion to dismiss filed this week, says that King is engaged in a business that may be regulated. The motion to dismiss also argues that the federal court lacks jurisdiction over challenges to the county's business license tax or zoning ordinance.