Two days before Martin Luther King Jr. would have turned 86, a Fulton County judge on Tuesday considered arguments by his children over the ownership of King’s most cherished honor – his 1964 Nobel Peace Prize.
The judge did not rule immediately.
Dexter King and Martin Luther King III have been waging a legal battle for months with their youngest sister, Bernice King, over the ownership of the medal and the Bible.
Bernice King wants to keep the items, which she says are sacred. The brothers have indicated in the past that they are interested in selling them. On Tuesday, however, Dexter King, making his first appearance in court, refused to say that they he wanted to sell the peace prize and Bible.
“This is not an issue of wanting to sell them,” Dexter King said. “This is an issue of ownership and retrieving property. An individual has sequestered property that belongs to the corporation. We just want it back in its proper place, so that it can be protected.”
Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney listened on Tuesday as both sides discussed procedural motions but did not offer a ruling.
A full trial scheduled for Feb. 16 is now likely to be pushed back a week.
“The judge could still grant summary judgment of we can still go to trial,” said attorney Nicole Wade, who is representing the King Estate in the case. “But I am always open to a settlement.”
Bernice King was not in court Tuesday.
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