The National Trial Lawyers
  • Home
    • Meet Our Team
    • Contact Us
    • Mission & Goals
    • FAQ
  • Webinars
  • News
  • Membership Directory
    • Top 100 Map – Civil Plaintiff
    • Top 100 Map – Criminal Defense
    • Top 40 Under 40 Map – Civil Plaintiff
    • Top 40 Under 40 Map – Criminal Defense
  • Top 100
    • Civil Plaintiff Officers / Executive Committee
    • Criminal Defense Officers / Executive Committee
    • Benefits
    • About
    • Top 100 President’s Message
    • Diplomat
    • Membership Renewal
    • Member Profile Updates
    • Top 100 Badge
    • Media
  • Top 40
    • Civil Plaintiff Officers / Executive Committee
    • Criminal Defense Officers / Executive Committee
    • Top 40 Under 40 Trial Academy Bootcamp
    • Benefits
    • About
    • Top 40 President’s Message
    • Membership Renewal
    • Member Profile Updates
    • Top 40 Badge
    • Media
  • Specialty Assoc
    • About
    • Shop
    • Officers
    • Membership Renewal
    • Member Profile Updates
    • Media
  • Nominate
    • Top 100
    • Top 40
    • Specialty Association
    • Trial Lawyer Hall of Fame
    • Trial Lawyer of the Year
    • Trial Team of the Year
    • America’s Most Influential Trial Lawyer
    • America’s Most Influential Law Firm
    • Lifetime Achievement Award
  • Shop
  • Magazine
    • A-List
  • Education and Networking Agenda
    • Trial Lawyers Summit
      • Summit Sponsors
    • Top 40 Under 40 Trial Academy Boot Camp
    • Mass Torts Made Perfect
    • The Lanier Master Class 5.0 Trial Academy 2021
    • Webinars
  • Hall of Fame
    • Trial Lawyer Hall of Fame

Chimpanzees in New York Get a Show Cause Hearing

Posted on May 15, 2015 by Eleanor Smith
Chimpanzees in New York Awarded Show Cause Hearing

The show cause hearing for Hercules and Leo is scheduled for Wednesday, May 27, 2015, at 10:30 AM at the New York City Supreme Court, 80 Centre St., New York, NY 10013. The hearing is open to the public.

Two chimpanzees will have their day in court now that a New York judge has ordered Stony Brook University to show cause why the simian plaintiffs should not be transferred to a sanctuary.

The Nonhuman Rights Project, an animal rights group, has been working through the court system seeking to confer legal status upon nonhuman animals since 2013. It came the closest to achieving its goal on April 21, 2015 when New York Supreme Court Judge Barbara Jaffe granted the hearing.

“Article 70-Habeas Corpus”

The NhRP filed the case on behalf of chimpanzees Hercules and Leo as part of a trio of cases the organization has brought in an attempt to free chimpanzees imprisoned within the State of New York through an “Article 70-Habeas Corpus” proceeding. Hercules and Leo, with the help of the NhRP, garnered unprecedented results. This is the first Order to Show Cause that has been issued as a result of the NhRP’s efforts, as well as the first issued for any nonhuman animal.

The NhRP was also hoping to retain the Writ of Habeas Corpus initially granted by the court. Judge Jaffe amended her April 20th “Order to Show Cause & Writ of Habeas Corpus” on April 21, 2015, by literally striking through the words “& Writ of Habeas Corpus,” making it unclear whether the chimpanzees have standing to challenge their detention. NhRP claims Hercules and Leo are too cognitively and emotionally complex to be held in captivity and should be relocated to an established chimpanzee sanctuary.

The ruling compels representatives from Stony Brook University, one of the named defendants along with University President Samuel L. Stanley, Jr., M.D., to provide a legally sufficient reason for keeping Hercules and Leo. Stony Brook will likely argue the well-established legal principles that regard animals as property, or chattel, which cannot possess such fundamental rights as bodily integrity and bodily liberty.

The court has made no decision on whether Hercules and Leo deserve to be treated as legal persons, and Stony Brook University has made clear it will not comment while awaiting the court’s “full consideration on the matter.” The NhRP, however, has responded to the amended order, saying:

“These cases are novel. We are grateful for an opportunity to litigate the issue of the freedom of the chimpanzees, Hercules and Leo, at the ordered May hearing.”

However the state trial court, the Supreme Court, rules — the upcoming hearing likely will not be the end of this lawsuit or this new era of proposed rights for animals. This hearing alone is a significant step that could lead to nonhuman animals gaining more legal standing. This lawsuit has been traveling through the New York court system for a little over one year, and can be appealed all the way to New York’s highest court, the Court of Appeals.

The show cause hearing for Hercules and Leo is scheduled for Wednesday, May 27, 2015, at 10:30 AM at the New York City Supreme Court, 80 Centre St., New York, NY 10013. The hearing is open to the public.

Posted in Blog, Civil Rights, Personal Injury

Comments are closed.

News Categories

Subscribe to Blog and VFJ via Email

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog, the Voice for Justice and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Read about other Top Jury Verdicts

Toyota Will Pay $180M to Settle Violations of the Clean-Air Act

Toyota Will Pay $180M to Settle Violations of the Clean-Air Act

The U.S. Department of Justice and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced today that the United States has[Read More...]
Boeing's Insitu Will Pay $25M to Settle a Whistleblower Complaint About Used Drone Parts

Boeing's Insitu Will Pay $25M to Settle a Whistleblower Complaint About Used Drone Parts

Bingen, Wash.-based Insitu, a Boeing subsidiary, has agreed to pay $25 million to settle allegations that it used recycl[Read More...]
Deutsche Bank Agrees to Settle Criminal and Civil Charges for $130M

Deutsche Bank Agrees to Settle Criminal and Civil Charges for $130M

DEUTSCHE Bank AG agreed to pay US$130 million to settle criminal and civil charges that it bribed foreign officials and manip[Read More...]
Boeing Pays $2.5B to Settle Charges Tied to the 737 MAX Crashes

Boeing Pays $2.5B to Settle Charges Tied to the 737 MAX Crashes

Boeing has agreed to pay just over $2.5 billion to resolve a federal charge of “criminal misconduct” for how its [Read More...]
Texas Attorney General Seeks $43M in Google Antitrust Lawsuit

Texas Attorney General Seeks $43M in Google Antitrust Lawsuit

The mass exodus of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton's top staff over accusations of bribery against their former boss has le[Read More...]

#LegalNews

@@TheNTLtop100

Contact Us | Terms of Use | Privacy Policy

Attorney information and content provided on this website is provided for the benefit of members of The National Trial Lawyers and as a public service by Legal Associations Management, Inc. The website and all data are the property of Legal Associations Management, Inc. Data, including without limitation attorney information and content, on the site may not be mined, sold, or used commercially for any purpose without the explicit written consent of Legal Associations Management, Inc. This site may not be accessed by any automated program for extracting data for any use. By accessing and using the site you agree that you will not develop, support or use software, devices, scripts, robots, or any other means or processes (including crawlers, browser plug-ins and add-ons, or any other technology) to scrape data or otherwise copy profiles and other data. Unauthorized use or attempted unauthorized use of this system may subject you to both civil and criminal penalties.