Mum of locked up autistic man takes fight for his release to High Court

The mother of an autistic man locked up in secure care for half his life is asking the High Court to intervene, arguing the Family Court is taking too long to revisit whether his detention is unlawful.

The man, only known as "J" to protect his identity, has been held under the Intellectual Disability (Compulsory Care and Rehabilitation) Act since he was 20.

In August 2025, the Supreme Court decided the Family Court had used the wrong legal test to detain "J", and ordered it to urgently review its decision.

A lack of resources and difficulties finding times for a hearing has meant a hearing for this review will be held in two parts, the first at the end of July, with a second hearing in October.

The man's mother, who also has name suppression, has this week filed an application with the High Court of Wellington saying the process is taking too long, given October was some 14 months after the Supreme Court's order for an urgent review.

"It's been a year and nothing's happened," her lawyer, Tony Ellis, told RNZ.

The delay amounted to a breach of J's rights, he said, pointing to a past finding by the UN Human Rights Committee of the Family Court had caused undue delay in an unrelated custody case.

"The Committee has already said that the New Zealand Family Court is dragging its feet, and that doesn't seem to have become apparent to the Family Court judges," he said.

The High Court application asks it to use its own powers to review whether J's detention remains unlawful, rather than waiting for the Family Court to run its course.

Ellis said the case would also likely seek damages for J's unlawful detention in the region of $5 million, drawing a comparison with the compensation awarded following the wrongful conviction of Alan Hall.

In May, Ellis lodged a separate complaint with the United Nations Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

He said the Committee had now formally accepted the case, which was an "unusual" step given that a complainant normally had to have exhausted all domestic legal options first. Any UN hearing, however, would likely be years away.

J has been detained for 21 years in a secure facility after being found unfit to stand trial over minor offending, including breaking windows. He currently lives in a secure wing of the Mason Clinic, where he lives alone under the constant care of three staff, an arrangement

described by another judge as "untenable" and unsuited to his needs.