By Debra Cassens Weiss | ABA Journal
An animal rights group asserts in habeas suit that scientific evidence supports “legal personhood” for a chimpanzee named Tommy.
The suit filed on Monday by the Nonhuman Rights Project argues that chimps have complex cognitive abilities, including a “concept of their past and future,” the Wall Street Journal Law Blog (sub. req.), The New York Times and Reuters report.
The suit, filed in Fulton County Court in New York, says courts in the state have granted legal personhood to domestic animals that are trust beneficiaries. It also says corporations have been granted rights though they aren’t human.
Statement by Rose Law Group attorney Laura Bianchi: “As an animal lover I certainly understand the Nonhuman Rights Project’s position and applaud them for taking whatever steps they can to protect our animals. As a lawyer I am quite interested to see how a court of law will address these lawsuits and in particular the argument “that scientific evidence supports legal personhood” for a chimpanzee…” Certainly a fascinating and out-of-the-box argument.
