Join the Guarini Center for a fireside chat with the Honorable Rowan D. Wilson, Chief Judge of the New York State Court of Appeals, which will feature a discussion of Nonhuman Rights Project, ex rel. Happy v. Breheny, a historic case that challenged the boundaries of nonhuman animal rights.
Before his appointment to Chief Judge in 2023, Judge Wilson served as an Associate Judge on the Court of Appeals, during which time the Court heard Nonhuman Rights Project, ex rel. Happy v. Breheny. The case concerned the question of whether Happy—an elephant that has lived in captivity at the Bronx Zoo for over 40 years—should be extended the right of habeas corpus, which entitles a person to a judicial determination on the lawfulness of their detention. The case marked the first time that the highest court of any English-speaking jurisdiction examined such a question.
While a majority of the Court ultimately rejected the argument that habeas corpus should be extended to nonhuman animals, two judges—including Judge Wilson—issued landmark dissenting opinions.
MODERATOR
Katrina Wyman, Faculty Director, Guarini Center; Wilf Family Professor of Property Law, NYU School of Law