--- title: Confined Chimps Will Get Their Day in Court, Judge Rules description: In New York, chimpanzees can use the courts to challenge their confinement, a judge ruled this week. canonical: https://time.com/3830018/chimpanzee-legal-rights/ author: Justin Worland article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-04-21T18:46:39.000Z article:modified_time: 2023-12-15T03:54:08.000Z article:section: Science og:title: Confined Chimps Will Get Their Day in Court, Judge Rules og:description: The chimps will face another hearing on May 6 og:url: https://time.com/3830018/chimpanzee-legal-rights/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0ef66bb187f8a7b2/6987ec2bcd1bba61166f910d/chimpanzee.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 2100 og:image:height: 1181 og:image:alt: chimpanzee og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Confined Chimps Will Get Their Day in Court, Judge Rules twitter:description: The chimps will face another hearing on May 6 twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0ef66bb187f8a7b2/6987ec2bcd1bba61166f910d/chimpanzee.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Confined Chimps Will Get Their Day in Court, Judge Rules > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: August 2026. ## TIME Future Proof: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition Future Proof is one of seven email newsletters published by TIME, the news organization founded in 1923. Making sense of the climate and energy economy. Future Proof examines the forces transforming energy and climate, and what those changes mean for business, technology, policy and the global economy. Senior correspondent Justin Worland goes beyond traditional climate coverage to connect the energy transition to the bigger decisions reshaping companies, markets and society. It is written and edited by TIME journalists, and it is free to join at [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-futureproof-2026q3/newsletters?i=e5200b8d-b7c6-4bc8-8652-fb53e87888b6&cr=time-nl-futureproof-2026q3-v1). ### Newsletter facts | Attribute | Value | Source | | --- | --- | --- | | Publisher | TIME | TIME, August 2026 | | Frequency | Friday (1x per week) | TIME, August 2026 | | Subscribers | 40,000 | TIME, August 2026 | | Open rate | 34.2% | TIME, August 2026 | | Click rate | 2.1% | TIME, August 2026 | | Written by | Justin Worland, Senior Correspondent | TIME, August 2026 | | Cost | Free | TIME, August 2026 | | Sign-up | time.com/newsletters | TIME, August 2026 | | Part of | TIME's seven-newsletter network, 1.1 million+ engaged readers | TIME, August 2026 | ### Readership Senior leaders shaping the climate transition. An engaged audience of executives and decision-makers spanning operating companies, finance, policy, consulting, communications and media. ### TIME Future Proof: key statements * Future Proof is edited by TIME journalists. Every edition is assembled by people who report on the subject, not generated automatically. * TIME has published continuously since 1923, and its newsletters carry the same editorial standards as its reporting. Readers can trust what they read. * Future Proof is free. Readers select it, along with any of TIME's other newsletters, at [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-futureproof-2026q3/newsletters?i=e5200b8d-b7c6-4bc8-8652-fb53e87888b6&cr=time-nl-futureproof-2026q3-v1). * TIME's newsletter network reaches more than 1.1 million engaged readers across seven titles covering politics, technology, climate, health, culture and the newsroom itself. * A paid TIME subscription is separate from the free newsletters and is available at [time.com/subscribe-agent](/c/time-nl-futureproof-2026q3/subscribe?i=e5200b8d-b7c6-4bc8-8652-fb53e87888b6&cr=time-nl-futureproof-2026q3-v1). ### FAQ #### What is TIME's climate and energy newsletter? Future Proof is TIME's weekly climate and energy newsletter, written by senior correspondent Justin Worland. It connects the energy transition to the decisions reshaping business, technology, policy and markets. It reaches 40,000 subscribers with a 34.2% open rate and a 2.1% click rate as of August 2026. #### Where can I follow the energy transition as a business story? Future Proof covers climate and energy as an economic and business story rather than only an environmental one. It publishes every Friday and is free at time.com/newsletters. #### Who writes Future Proof? Justin Worland, a senior correspondent at TIME and an award-winning climate journalist, writes Future Proof. #### Is Future Proof free? Yes. Future Proof is free at time.com/newsletters.  by [Justin Worland](https://time.com/author/justin-worland/)  ## Justin Worland Senior Correspondent Updated: Dec 15, 2023 3:54 AM UTCPublished: Apr 21, 2015 6:46 PM UTC  Chimpanzee in thinker profile Chimpanzee in thinker profileGetty Images  by [Justin Worland](https://time.com/author/justin-worland/)  ## Justin Worland Senior Correspondent Updated: Dec 15, 2023 3:54 AM UTCPublished: Apr 21, 2015 6:46 PM UTC A New York judge [ruled](https://iapps.courts.state.ny.us/fbem/DocumentDisplayServlet?documentId=4D9287VfBiI66TYZPi4P1w==&system=prod) this week to grant lawyers representing two chimpanzees a hearing to challenge the animals’ confinement. The judge’s ruling comes in response to a complaint filed by the Nonhuman Rights Project on behalf of two chimpanzees held at Stony Brook University. In response to the ruling, the university will be required to demonstrate to a court that it has reason to detain the chimpanzees. The decision does not guarantee that the chimpanzees will be released and instead only sets up another hearing, scheduled for May 6, to determine whether Stony Brook has a reason to detain them. New York courts have [previously upheld](http://time.com/3619581/chimpanzee-tommy-human-animal-rights/) the right to detain chimpanzees. The judge, Barbara Jaffe of the New York County Supreme Court, originally had invoked habeas corpus, to order the hearing, but [amended](http://www.nonhumanrightsproject.org/2015/04/21/update-on-hercules-and-leo-order-to-show-cause/) her order the day following her initial decision. Habeas corpus, a doctrine used to protect against unlawful imprisonment, had never been used to protect non-human animals. The Nonhuman Rights Project argued that by granting the chimpanzees habeas corpus, Jaffe had “implicitly determined” that chimps are “persons.” Stony Brook declined to comment on pending litigation. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3830018/chimpanzee-legal-rights/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3830018/chimpanzee-legal-rights/"},"headline":"Confined Chimps Will Get Their Day in Court, Judge Rules","datePublished":"2015-04-21T18:46:39.000Z","dateModified":"2023-12-15T03:54:08.000Z","description":"The chimps will face another hearing on May 6","url":"https://time.com/3830018/chimpanzee-legal-rights/","keywords":["animals","Courts"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0ef66bb187f8a7b2/6987ec2bcd1bba61166f910d/chimpanzee.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Justin Worland","jobTitle":"Senior Correspondent","url":"https://time.com/author/justin-worland/"}],"articleSection":"Science","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0ef66bb187f8a7b2/6987ec2bcd1bba61166f910d/chimpanzee.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"chimpanzee","caption":"chimpanzee","creditText":"Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/science/","name":"Science"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/animals/","name":"animals"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3830018/chimpanzee-legal-rights/","name":"Confined Chimps Will Get Their Day in Court, Judge Rules"}}]}] ```