Justice Andrew Becroft.
A High Court judge has written a letter to a teenager caught in the middle of a bitter custody battle, revealing his dislike of maths as a teenager and his love for the Warriors.
The letter, which recorded the judge’s decision of an appeal to an interim parenting order, was written by Justice Andrew Becroft to the 14-year-old personally, explaining his reasons, instead of a regular court judgment.
According to the letter, a Family Court judge determined in November that the teenager should live with his father overseas, believing that was what the young man wanted.
But as time went on, the teenager changed his mind. When it was time to leave the country, he refused to get into his mother’s car and even ran away from home for a time.
In February, a second Family Court judge agreed the teenager should live with his father, issuing a court order to put him on the plane, by force if necessary.
Upon hearing that, the letter says, the young man got upset and hit the wall, forcing the judge to “leave very quickly”.
Before last month’s hearing, the teenager asked to meet him. Although this was an unusual request, Justice Becroft noted the teenager’s views were important, “that is what the law says”.
During the 45-minute meeting, which a court registrar and the teenager’s lawyer were also present for, Justice Becroft said the young man made it clear he did not want to move overseas to live with his father, preferring instead to stay at school with his friends and play rugby.
“You said that you will not get onto the plane. No one can make you do that, and you were not going to go. You were very clear about that. You said that to me several times. I understood it.”
But the young man did agree to visit his father during school holidays, noting that things had improved at school, partly because he was now taking ADHD medication.
“You like PE. You do not like maths. (And as I said, neither did I at your age.)”
But the judge said he’d made it clear to the young man that he didn’t have the job or the burden of deciding the case.
“I said you were caught up in the middle. It is not your problem”.
That responsibility fell to his parents and their lawyers, who were tasked with coming up with a resolution to the appeal.
When it came to recording what had been agreed, Justice Becroft, a former Principal Youth Court judge and former Children’s Commissioner, wrote to the teenager, addressing him with the pseudonym “Claude”.
He said the teenager would stay at his school, visiting his father overseas during school holidays.
Justice Becroft said the teenager’s parents had promised to make it work and would stop saying bad things about each other in their son’s presence.
A final decision on the teenager’s custody arrangement is expected to be made by the Family Court later this year.
The judge concluded his letter saying how much he had enjoyed meeting the young man.
“I hope the Warriors do a lot better in the next couple of weeks. And I agree that try by Leka Halasima was 10/10. As I said to you, I thought it was 11/10.
“Sport is important. You keep up your involvement in sport. That will give you a good basis to do well in life. I am glad you enjoy it.
“Maybe one day I will sit in my lounge and watch Claude play for the Warriors. That would make me and all of us very, very happy and proud of you. I wish you well for the future.”
He ended his letter; “Warm Regards, Justice Andrew Becroft.”
Catherine Hutton is an Open Justice reporter, based in Wellington. She has worked as a journalist for 20 years, including at the Waikato Times and RNZ. Most recently she was working as a media adviser at the Ministry of Justice.