Skip to main content
  • Our New Client in Our First California Lawsuit 
  • LA Times: “For too long, we’ve salved our consciences with tepid animal welfare laws”
  • “The most important animal-rights case of the 21st century”
  • NhRP Seminar Series
  • NhRP Interview Series
<
>
Blog

Back to nonhumanrights.org

  • Donate
  • Shop   ↗

Back to nonhumanrights.org

  • About NhRP
    • Meet the Team
    • Our Story
    • FAQ
    • Unlocking the Cage
    • Media Center
    • Contact Us
  • Our Work
    • Litigation
    • Legislation + Advocacy
    • Education
    • The Fight to #FreeTheFresnoElephants
    • Free Happy Now
  • Progress
  • Blog
Photo: Gigi Glendinning

News

Connecticut Supreme Court Declines To Hear Minnie’s Elephant Rights Case

By Lauren Choplin on July 7, 2020
Share this story:

In June, the Nonhuman Rights Project filed a motion with the Connecticut Supreme Court, requesting permission to appeal the May 2020 decision of the state’s Appellate Court denying habeas corpus relief to Minnie, the sole surviving elephant imprisoned and exploited by the Commerford Zoo traveling circus. This is the second time the NhRP has sought Connecticut Supreme Court review in a case involving Minnie.

Our motion details how the Appellate Court’s decision—which maintains that elephants lack legal rights—violates the Connecticut law of habeas corpus and its law of standing. As we argue, its refusal to grant the NhRP standing conflicts with the Court’s seminal decision in Jackson v. Bulloch (in which a stranger was permitted to seek a writ of habeas corpus on behalf of an enslaved human being) as well as other cases.

Unfortunately, we learned today that the Connecticut Supreme Court again declined to hear Minnie’s case. We are now carefully considering our next steps as we continue outside the courtroom the fight for her liberty and release to a sanctuary.

Thank you for your continued support!

Lauren is the NhRP’s Communications Director. She heads up internal and external communications, coordinating media coverage of our legal and policy work and managing our blog and social media pages.

Must Reads

  • Why Happy needs and deserves sanctuary in Court Cases, Grassroots Advocacy
  • Amicus support for the fight to #FreeHappy in Court Cases
  • Where is Tommy the Chimp? in News
  • Why We Fight for Nonhuman Rights: Sk’aliCh’elh-tenaut’s Story Part 1 in Stories
  • “The key is ending injustice, period” in Interviews

Get Involved

Subscribe to our email list to receive updates and learn about events and volunteer opportunities in your area.

Nonhuman Rights Project

We are the only civil rights organization in the United States dedicated solely to securing rights for nonhuman animals.

5195 NW 112th Terrace
Coral Springs, FL 33076
Tax ID #: 04-3289466

Sign up to receive updates

© 2023 Nonhuman Rights Project, all rights reserved.

  • Privacy

Follow us to get updates