Well-known 'birther' lawyer takes on Birmingham man's suit to block president from Alabama ballot

Published: Thursday, January 05, 2012, 10:55 AM
Updated: Thursday, January 05, 2012, 10:55 AM
By Eric Velasco -- The Birmingham News

BIRMINGHAM, Alabama -- A Birmingham man challenging President Barack Obama's right to be on the Alabama ballot has hired a California lawyer who has filed several similar suits across the country, and is asking for a delay in a hearing set for Monday.

Orly Taitz, a well-known figure in the "birther" movement that questions Obama's citizenship and right to serve as president, announced on her web site today she has agreed to represent Albert E. Hendershot. The web site also included a motion she says she plans to file in Jefferson County Circuit Court this morning asking for the hearing delay.

The motion has not appeared in the electronic official case file.

Hendershot filed suit Dec. 14 against Mark Kennedy, chairman of the Alabama Democratic Party. He is seeking an order from Circuit Judge Helen Shores Lee to bar the party from certifying Obama on the Democratic ballot in the March 13 primary.

Monday's hearing was set to consider Kennedy's request for Lee to dismiss Hendershot's suit, which Kennedy's lawyers have called frivolous. They also have asked Lee to order Hendershot to show why his suit should not be dismissed.

In the court papers posted on Taitz's web site, Hendershot said he needed time to confer with Taitz about his case and to prepare to defend against Kennedy's attempts to get the suit dismissed.

Hendershot has said his suit is part of an informal effort in several Southern states to block Obama from the ballots there. He contends Obama is ineligible to serve as president because he is not a natural-born citizen.

Hendershot claims he has "staggering" evidence that Obama is using a forged birth certificate and a fake social security number. He has not had a lawyer until today.

Democratic officials have said Obama's citizenship and eligibility to serve are settled matters. Federal judges have dismissed at least seven similar lawsuits in the last four years, Kennedy's lawyers say.

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