Albany

Steven Wise hopes to convince five state Supreme Court judges that a chimpanzee is a person.

The Florida attorney says that courts have recognized ships, corporations and idols as persons who can sue or be sued. Holy books and a river, he said, have also been recognized as people.

Next week, Wise will ask an Appellate Division panel in Albany to conclude that "Tommy," a chimpanzee that lives in Gloversville, is a prisoner and a person under the law.

"A person is not synonymous with a human being — or even a living being," Wise told the Times Union in a telephone interview on Thursday from Coral Springs, Fla. "It's really a matter of public policy for the courts and the Legislature to decide whether or not this entity ought to count, whether it ought to have the capacity for legal rights or not."

The arguments will be heard at 1 p.m. on Wednesday by Presiding Justice Karen Peters and Justices John Lahtinen, Elizabeth Garry, Robert Rose and Michael Lynch.

On Dec. 3, 2013, Wise and his group, the Nonhuman Rights Project, made their case before Justice Joseph Sise in Montgomery County, calling for Tommy to be sent to a sanctuary in Florida to be with other chimpanzees.

Wise told the judge that Tommy and all other chimpanzees in New York should be classified as persons because the highly intelligent primates are autonomous, self-aware creatures that can make choices.

"They're so extraordinarily close to us," Wise told the judge.

Wise said chimpanzees are not solitary creatures. And he said it is inappropriate, while not illegal, for Tommy to be living under his present conditions.

In addition, Wise said the chimp, which is in its early 20s, was also legally a person under the state's Pet Trust statute because it's a beneficiary of a trust the group created for him.

Sise did not act on Wise's writ of habeas corpus, which typically demands that a prisoner be produced so a court can determine if imprisonment is lawful.

But he expressed sympathy.

"You make a very strong argument," Sise said. "However, I do not agree with the argument only insofar as (habeas corpus) applies to chimpanzees. Good luck with your venture. I'm sorry I can't sign the order, but I hope you continue. As an animal lover, I appreciate your work."

Depending on the decision by the Appellate Division, which will be handed down several weeks after Wednesday's hearing, the midlevel court could declare Tommy a person, send the case back to Sise or reject Wise's effort outright.

Wise is president of the Nonhuman Rights Project, whose three-member board includes his wife, Gail Price-Wise, and the world-renowned primatologist Jane Goodall. He said the group, which began its work in 1985, chose New York as a state to watch in 2013.

He said he had learned that two chimpanzees were living in a roadside zoo in Catskill, but both animals died before he could make a case for their release.

"We decided that we had a moral obligation to bring suit on behalf of every chimpanzee that we could identify in the state of New York," Wise said. He said the group learned that as many as seven chimpanzees could have been living in the state, including Tommy.

When he went to visit Tommy last year, he said, the chimpanzee was alone in a small cage in a small room in an enclosed warehouse-type setting.

"He was definitely not in the kind of situation that we think a chimpanzee should be in," Wise said. "Having a sole chimpanzee is like being a human being who is in solitary confinement. Right there, that's a huge red flag for us because chimpanzees are so social that to have a chimpanzee living like that is a terrible thing."

Wise seeks to free Tommy from his owners, Patrick and Diane Lavery.

In December, Patrick Lavery told the Times Union that Tommy "likes being by himself" and prefers it.

"He's really got it good," Lavery said. "He's got a lot of enrichment. He's got color TV, cable and a stereo."

The Laverys did not file any paperwork with the Appellate Division.

Wise believes he has a reasonable chance of winning. But he's embarked on a larger fight.

"This case with Tommy is not a stand-alone case," Wise said. "It's really the first salvo in a long, strategic litigation campaign that we have been planning for many, many years. Tommy is the first case to actually begin."

rgavin@timesunion.com • 518-434-2403 • @RobertGavinTU