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The American Civil Liberties Union is taking up the case of a man who hopes to open a fortunetelling shop in Bethesda, citing first amendment violations.

An ACLU lawyer representing Florida resident Nick Nefedro said a county law that bans all fortunetelling is unconstitutional.

"The first amendment protects everyone's rights to free speech," said Ajmel Quereshi of the ACLU. "The government can't ban speech just because they don't like it."

Nefedro operates fortunetelling and palm-reading businesses in several jurisdictions and has a ‘‘business location in Bethesda," according to court documents.

Nefedro first brought the case to Montgomery County Circuit Court, naming County Executive Isiah Leggett (D) as a defendant. In December 2008, the Circuit Court ruled in favor of the county, upholding the law, according to court records.

During the Circuit Court proceedings, county attorneys argued that the fortunetelling ban was in place to prevent fraud, court documents said. Fortunetelling is a misdemeanor punishable by a $200 fine.

The case was originally filed on Nefedro's behalf by Edward Amourgis, a Rockville-based attorney. Nefedro's case will now go before the Court of Special Appeals, but no hearing date has been set.

Other jurisdictions in the Washington region and Maryland have varying laws regarding fortunetellers and psychics.

In 2004, Cecil County sought and won a repeal of a provision in state law that required fortunetellers to be licensed in that jurisdiction, as well as to prove they had lived in the county, owned property and paid taxes there for at least 18 months.

Before that, Charles County sought and won a repeal of its licensing requirement, which had been written into state law.

A similar ban in Harford County survived a challenge in federal court in 2002.

"It has routinely been held at federal and state levels that fortunetelling is protected speech," Quereshi said. "The county doesn't need this law."

Staff Writer Margie Hyslop contributed to this report.