Starting on April 23, Philadelphia's Department of Licenses and Inspections shut down 16 storefront fortunetellers across the city, sending a wave of alarm through the professional and amateur readers of the Delaware Valley. 

A spokesperson for L & I told the Philadelphia Inquirer that they began the crackdown after the Philadelphia police "came to us a few days ago and showed us where the crime code prohibits psychic readings. We looked into it, and it's clearly illegal. I was surprised."

The Pennsylvania state law prohibiting fortunetelling "for gain or lucre" has been on the books since the 1970s. Why the police developed a sudden interest in shutting down psychics is unclear. 

None of the psychics who were shut down were arrested or fined, although L & I promised to do so if they attempted to continue. 

However, the city's victory was short-lived. The next week, Monica Mitchell, one of the affected psychics who had a shop in Manayunk, hired an attorney to fight the city's action. They filed an injunction based on a technicality of law -- since the statute is part of the criminal code, in order to shut down a business there must be proof of fraud. The City Solicitor's Office advised L & I to back down even before the injunction made it to court. 

The divisional deputy city solicitor told the Inquirer, "We felt it was hard to say  what kind of evidence might be needed to prove someone was pretending to tell fortunes."