GRASP™ update 2004
From Property to Person - The Case of Evelyn Hart
On this site you can read the article in the Seton Hall Constitutional Law Journal, "From Property to Person: The Case of Evelyn Hart", which is mentioned in the Bibliography of the recently-published book Animal Rights: Current Debates & New Directions (Cass R. Sunstein & Martha C. Nussbaum, eds.; 2004)."
In the context of non-human personhood, this article marks the debut of a model U.S. Supreme Court brief in the legal literature. This is designed to spark further debate in law and philosophy journals, to enhance ethics courses, to be cited in court, and to be used in an actual case on behalf of a class of non-human plaintiffs. It should be noted that this type of brief would not only apply to a nonhuman ape.It is morally unjustifiable to treat sentient animals as items of chattel property. Moreover, non-human apes possess the key traits which underlie the constitutional protections held by human persons. Thus, the exclusion of non-human apes from the community of equals is arbitrary and irrational, as well as morally unjustifiable. "From Property to Person: The Case of Evelyn Hart" makes a strong case that U.S. law already protects all apes, human and others. We expect that Evelyn Hart's case will inspire jurists to act on this reality.
Of course, apes are not the only sentient beings. The reason a hypothetical ape appears as the plaintiff here was the availability of work already done on this suject with regard to apes, particularly the legal theory of personhood for non-human apes through The Great Ape Project: Equality Beyond Humanity (Paola Cavalieri and Peter Singer, eds., 1993). Joan Dunayer's book Speciesism (2004) is current being published and those looking for argument that shows the importance of acknowledging the personhood of all concious animals would find that book most helpful.
GRASP thanks web design specialists Carsten Scholvien and Chris Kelly for marathon work on the site, including the article with its unique footnote search function. GRASP thanks Nathan Searles of Friends of Animals for updating this site.
- This page updated August 2004 -