Lawyers representing Bernice King, who is locked in a lawsuit against her brothers, Martin Luther King III and Dexter King of the possession of their father’s Nobel Peace Prize and Bible, will be in court today – fighting for their jobs.
In a motion hearing before Fulton County Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney, attorneys for both sides will argue for the dismissal of opposing counsel.
Simply put:
Bernice King wants her brother’s attorney, William Hill, removed from the case.
In turn, King III and Dexter King are trying to get Bernice King’s attorney, Eric Barnum, tossed.
The motion is an early preliminary round to set the stage for a full Sept. 29 hearing over the delicate items.
King III and Dexter King want to sell the 1964 Nobel Peace Prize and Bible that King Jr. carried with him on his travels. A Nobel Prize for medicine sold last year for $2 million dollars. And the fact that President Barack Obama used the Bible during his second inauguration and signed it has no doubt increased its value.
The King Estate, composed of the three siblings, voted 2-1 to sell the items. The lone holdout was Bernice King, who aside from refusing to allow the sale, refused to give up the items, until McBurney forced her to under court order.
On Monday, Bernice King surrendered the items to King III, who placed them in an undisclosed safe deposit box. McBurney’s court will control the keys to the box until he makes a final decision on whether a sale will be allowed.
Check ajc.com and myajc.com for updates.
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