The state's highest court will not to hear a challenge over the leadership of a historic civil rights group.

The Georgia Supreme Court denied a request to hear the challenge brought by ousted board members of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. A superior court judge ruled last fall against the breakaway faction.

In 2010, federal and local authorities launched an investigation into allegations that SCLC's chairman and treasurer mismanaged at least $569,000 of the group's money. The dispute split longtime colleagues — some with friendships dating back to the civil rights era — and exposed severe gaps in SCLC's governance.

Authorities later found the accusations were unsubstantiated.

The SCLC was co-founded by the Revs. Martin Luther King Jr., Ralph David Abernathy, Joseph Lowery and others in 1957.

Tags: Georgia Supreme Court, Southern Christian Leadership Conference, SCLC