By NEAL WAGNER / City Editor

A Birmingham attorney recently filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court alleging several cities, including three in Shelby County, have been discriminating against Hispanic residents.

The lawsuit, which was filed Sept. 23 by Birmingham attorney George Huddleston III, claims the cities of Pelham, Alabaster, Hoover, Leeds and Irondale have “unconstitutionally” discriminated against its Hispanic residents.

Huddleston said police officers in the cities have “repeatedly” targeted Hispanic residents when making traffic stops and issuing citations.

“The municipalities involved have been engaged in a pattern of stopping Hispanics just for being Hispanic,” Huddleston said. “There are certain disturbing patterns that have evolved over time, all beginning with the subjective observation an officer makes when he pulls someone over.”

Huddleston filed the lawsuit on behalf of nine plaintiffs identified only as “John Does” and “Jane Does.” According to court documents, all nine plaintiffs are “citizens of the Republic of Mexico” and are “undocumented” in the state of Alabama.

Of the nine plaintiffs, three reside in Pelham, one was ticketed in Pelham and three reside in Alabaster, according to court documents.

“These individuals were stopped by police and charged with nothing more than driving without a license and driving without insurance,” Huddleston said. “My clients seek to obtain a court order basically prohibiting these municipalities from enforcing federal immigration law.”

Alabaster City Attorney Jeff Brumlow said he disagreed with several sections of the lawsuit, and said he was unsure what evidence Huddleston was using while making the claims.

“I prosecute in (Alabaster) Municipal Court. I would love to see what evidence (Huddleston) has, because I have never seen anything like that happen,” Brumlow said. “We’ll see where it goes. I don’t see, from the court side, any evidence that any of these things happened.”

Brumlow also said he questioned the fine amounts listed in the lawsuit. In the suit, “John Doe IV” was listed as being ticketed in Alabaster for driving without first obtaining a driver’s license and for failure to obtain insurance. The plaintiff’s fines and court costs totaled “in excess of $1,000,” the suit read.

“The problem is, we don’t know who these plaintiffs are because their names aren’t listed. If all they got ticketed for in the city of Alabaster was driving without obtaining a license and driving without insurance, there is no way they could have paid $1,000,” Brumlow said, noting the maximum fine for driving without first obtaining a license is $223, and the maximum fine for driving without insurance is $100.

Pelham City Attorney Butch Ellis said Huddleston has filed similar lawsuits against other cities in the past.

“He has filed several lawsuits of that type seeking remediation of his perceived violations against Hispanics,” Ellis said. “This lawsuit may cover issues that have already been covered in the past, but I can not comment further on this one until I’ve gotten a chance to read over it.”

Hoover City Attorney Mark Boardman said he would speak with Hoover Mayor Tony Petelos before commenting on the matter.