Harford County woman sues city of Aberdeen over fortune-telling ban

Daily Record, The (Baltimore), Dec 27, 2001 by Peter Geier

A Harford County woman should be able to see how her federal lawsuit against Harford County and the City of Aberdeen will end.

That's because she's suing them over local ordinances that ban her from fortune telling, which she says violates her constitutional rights and discriminates against the Roma, also known as Gypsies.

Monica Mitchell, 19, who currently operates out of her in-laws Psychic Readings on Belair Road in Perry Hall, is seeking a declaratory judgment and injunctive relief against the county and city in an 11-count complaint filed in federal court in Baltimore.

Mitchell's father-in-law, Walter Stevens, said the case comes down to her constitutional right as a citizen to practice her profession, a traditional art that goes back at least five generations, three of them in Baltimore.

"Monica is not looking for any type of compensation from the county or any kind of monies from the towns," Stevens said. "All she's asking for is to open a legal place of business to maintain her livelihood as a tax-paying United States citizen.

"Such places of business as she wants to open up are legal across the United States of America, some successful, some not successful. She would like to have the opportunity to either succeed or fail, without being interrupted by local authorities," her father-in-law said.

"We feel that is prejudicial because this business cannot harm anyone, cannot influence anyone, cannot damage anyone and there's nothing criminal about it. It's not like it was a place that sells drug paraphernalia or a nudity bar," Walter Stevens said.

Mitchell's lawyer, Harold D. Norton, expressed confidence in what he said is a strong case.

"There's really no rational basis from a constitutional standpoint to single this business out and ban it," Norton said, "but because it's not a high priority to [jurisdictions where such ordinances are on the books], we had to bring the matter to federal court. To some it's enlightenment, to some it's entertainment, but that's no reason for a flat ban on the business.

"Cases all over the country have gone the way of the fortune tellers. I really do feel strongly about their case myself and think they have a very strong case," he added.

Norton said he and his clients had spent over a year trying to find a legislative solution to the problem. He and his clients had gone so far as to draught an ordinance, which included features such as fingerprinting and providing "a lot more information than you'd need to open a donut shop," but to no avail.

Among the steps his clients had already taken "to demystify the business and show how normal it is," Norton said, they had made a video of themselves actually doing a tarot card reading for a customer to show to local authorities.

The attorney said that although his discussions with local authorities had been "amicable," a certain "political reality stands in the way" of getting local jurisdictions to change their laws.

"That's where the federal court comes in," Norton said, noting that he thinks the jurisdictions feel much more comfortable deferring such decisions to the federal level.

"What they'll say is, 'If the federal court tells us to do it, the voters can't be mad at us about it,'" Norton said.

The person who answered telephone at the Aberdeen commissioners' business office said the official responsible for this matter is out of the office until next week.

Robert S. McCord, deputy county attorney for Harford County, said he had not had the chance to study the complaint and declined to comment.

The action follows a similar lawsuit Gerry Stevens, a New Jersey Gypsy, filed a fortnight ago in federal court in Greenbelt against Montgomery County, alleging that its ban on fortune telling violates his federal constitutional rights to equal protection and free speech.

The plaintiffs in the instant case said they know Gerry Stevens, but were not aware of his lawsuit.

Mitchell, agreeing with her father-in-law and husband, said she was perplexed by the fact that while the type of business she wants to open is banned by county and town ordinances, there are advertisements everywhere in the county for the services she would offer.

In addition to advertisements on cable television and access via 800 and 900 telephone numbers, they point out that local newspapers such as the Aegis, Record, Pennysaver and Bargaineer accept advertisments for psychics; throughout the county one can buy books that purport to predict the future, tell fortunes, give horoscopes and pick lucky numbers.

"All over Harford County you can go into any 7-11, Wawa or grocery store and see books and advertisements everywhere about this," Mitchell said. "Doing it in person there's no problem about it. I don't think there's anything wrong with it."

Mitchell's husband, Beaver Stevens, said the anti-Gypsy bias was clear to him in that while information and advertisements on the same types of services his wife offers abound throughout the county, actually operating such a business is illegal.

"It's all good and dandy, but when it comes to opening a business here, there's a blanket over that," said Beaver Stevens.