Attorney Stephen G. Cohen said in court papers last Tuesday that a judge and two lawyers conspired to drain the estate of the late civil rights pioneer Rosa Parks of its cash. Wayne County Probate Judge Freddie Burton Jr. is accused of plotting with John Chase Jr. and Melvin Jefferson Jr. to rack up more than $507,000 in unnecessary legal fees. Cohen claims the estate is $88,000 in debt.

Alan May, the lawyer for Chase and Jefferson, denies any conspiracy. Burton declined to comment to the Detroit Free Press. A hearing is scheduled for May 22. Parks left almost all of her estate to the Rosa and Raymond Parks Institute, which Cohen represents.