Heirs' property group to honor Sanders

Former Judge Alex Sanders said he can't think of why anyone would want to honor him -- funny considering the Center for Heirs' Property Preservation will do just that after selecting him as this year's "Commitment to Justice" award recipient.

Sanders' list of accolades runs long, despite his humility in joking that anything positive he's done was probably his wife Zoe's idea. He's served as president of the College of Charleston (the best job he said he's ever had), chief judge of South Carolina's Court of Appeals, a member of both the state House of Representatives and Senate, and co-founded the Charleston School of Law, to name a few.

However, center Executive Director Jennie Stephens said it's Sanders' longtime advocacy for heirs' property owners that earned him this year's award.

"We wanted to recognize those individuals who were committed to fairness, and this year we selected Judge Alex Sanders, not just because he's a judge, but because he's very vocal about what he believes in and he speaks up for justice," Stephens said.

Sanders said he began to explore the law's take on heirs' property in the 1960s when Judge Matthew Perry approached him about families losing inherited land on Hilton Head Island due to increased development. Unfortunately, he discovered not much could be done to reverse the damage.

Much of the heirs' property in the Lowcountry was first purchased or deeded to African-Americans after the Civil War and passed down through generations. But without a will specifying ownership, the land is thereby owned "in common" and can be lost to developers simply by purchasing a percentage from an heir and forcing the sale of the entire property in court.

"It's one of the great failures of our law," Sanders said. "This country, as much as we don't always recognize it, was founded on property rights. ... For people to lose their property is like losing a part of what it means to be an American."

Sanders said the law has changed barely if at all since the '60s, but that he admires the work the Center for Heirs' Property Preservation does to help protect land owners.

Sanders said he doesn't necessarily consider himself to be a champion for heirs' property rights, having advocated for a number of causes in his career. However, in receiving the "Commitment to Justice" award, he hopes money can be raised in his name to support and educate the community.

"It's a worthy cause, but it can be hard to raise money because a lot of people don't understand it," Sanders said.

Sanders will be honored from 5:30 to 8 p.m. Feb. 9 in the Crystal Ballroom at the Charleston Marriott, 170 Lockwood Drive, downtown Charleston.

Tickets are $100. For more information, call 745-7055 or visit www.heirsproperty.org.