Carolina Journal’s Sara Burrows reports on the astonishing story of psychologist and columnist John Rosemond, who has been threatened with jail time by the Attorney General of Kentucky. Why?
In May, Kentucky’s attorney general sent Rosemond a letter asking that he “cease and desist” publishing his Dear-Abby-style advice column in the state, saying that doing so constituted the unlicensed “practice of psychology,” a crime punishable by $500 per offense and up to 6 months in jail.
Rosemond is licensed to practice family psychology in North Carolina. But because he does not hold a license to practice psychology in Kentucky, the Kentucky Board of Examiners of Psychology and the state’s attorney general reason that his opinion column cannot be syndicated in their state.
The Institute for Justice — a libertarian public-interest law firm — is filing a federal lawsuit against the psychology board today on Rosemond’s behalf. Rosemond’s attorneys say the case is part of the institute’s larger effort to get the U.S. Supreme Court to settle an unanswered question: Can occupational licensing laws trump free speech?
Common sense has been replaced by government power.
