The Hawaii Supreme Court hears oral argument Monday, Nov. 9, on whether two elephants at the Honolulu Zoo can invoke common-law habeas corpus, the Nonhuman Rights Project said. The argument starts at 10 a.m. Hawaii time at Punahou School.
The Hawaii Supreme Court elephants case asks a court to treat a writ meant for people held unlawfully as a tool for an animal. The court granted the group’s certiorari application, which put the question before the state’s highest bench.
Who Mari and Vaigai Are
Mari and Vaigai are wild-born Asian elephants. Mari has lived at the Honolulu Zoo since 1982 and Vaigai since 1992, the group said. Mari has been at the zoo 44 years, a calculation from the year, and the two have been together for 34.
The Nonhuman Rights Project wants the court to recognize a right to bodily liberty and order the elephants released to a sanctuary. The legal question is narrower than that goal. The justices decide whether the habeas corpus writ is available to them at all.
What Each Side Argues
Jake Davis, the group’s senior staff attorney and lead counsel, said “the common law has never been static” and evolves as courts confront new questions of justice. The group argues that courts have extended the writ before as the law’s understanding of who counts changed.
John Berry, the Honolulu Zoo’s director, told Hawaii News Now in its own reporting that the animals have “thrived under our care,” and that the zoo is committed to ensuring they continue to receive exceptional care and support. That is the zoo’s answer: the elephants are well, and the case asks the court to change who decides where they live.
How the Argument Is Set Up
The Hawaii Judiciary’s Courts in the Community program holds the session at Punahou School. It is open to the public and livestreamed, and the court’s members and the attorneys hold a discussion afterward. The argument takes place Nov. 9.
