The idea here is that it is at least conceivable, if not especially likely, that you could generate some evidence that the Tarot reader just made things up on the fly, claiming to have read something in Tarot cards completely inconsistent with normal Tarot interpretation or their own previous readings; there might just be evidence that they deliberately made it up (we know they made it up, but you might find evidence in the cards, which is aneurystically ironic).
I've seen broad instructions to the effect that would-be tarot readers should spend time gradually developing their own set of meanings or associations for their deck of cards.
Didn't read the article, but any hint of an "it is merely entertainment, not to be believed" element of defense?
My understanding: it very, very much is an element of the defense. White has talked in the past about defendants who are effectively "defamation-proof": nobody believes a word they say anyways.
You could generate evidence that they came to a conclusion most other Tarot readers wouldn't have come to, though even that would be very difficult.
But that would be irrelevant against the defense "I have a superior understanding of how to read the messages in the cards than other people do". Which seems like a pretty likely defense.
If you can prosecute "the cards told me X is the murderer", you can also prosecute "God told me X is the murderer"; they are identical claims.
> If you can prosecute "the cards told me X is the murderer", you can also prosecute "God told me X is the murderer"; they are identical claims.
Can't you prosecute the latter though? Its not like freedom of religion is a get out of jail free card. Like you can't murder someone and then say $deity made me do it.
> Like you can't murder someone and then say $deity made me do it.
Well. I would imagine something like that actually happened in the days of the early colonies: Bob kills Alice, claims she was a witch and the God revealed it to him, the juries agree that Alice was actually a pretty shifty woman, and the Bob goes away with a fine for unlicensed witch hunting^W^W^W vigilantism.
