Are animals people, too? Soon, a chimpanzee could walk into a courtroom as a thing, and walk out as a person

If you’ve heard of American lawyer and author Steven Wise, it’s likely due to the peculiar lawsuits he filed in 2013 in New York State court. What makes these suits eccentric, and their plaintiffs certified media darlings, is that the plaintiffs are not human – but rather chimpanzees. If these legal proceedings are successful, something unprecedented…