Judge gives brain injured man go-ahead to marry after assessing his mental capacity
A disabled man in his 20s has been given the go-ahead to marry after telling a judge in a specialist court how he wants a chance to prove that he can “do anything”.
Mr Justice Francis had been asked to consider whether the man, who suffered brain damage as a child, had the mental capacity to marry his fiancee.
The judge analysed the case at a private hearing in the Court of Protection in Cardiff, where issues about people who might lack the mental capacity to take decisions for themselves are considered.
He approved the marriage plans and offered his best wishes.
Mr Justice Francis, who outlined details of the case in a written ruling published online on Friday, said the man had explained his thinking in a statement.
“I want to be judged as the person I am,” he had said.
“Yes, I have a brain injury, but that does not define me.
“I am a guy in a relationship just wanting independence and to be able to make the choices I want without people telling me I can or I can’t.”
The judge said he had ended his statement “movingly” by stating: “I’m a man who just wants to have the opportunity to explore life and to be given the chance to prove that I am able to do anything.”
He had been represented by staff from the office of the Official Solicitor, who provide help to vulnerable people caught up in litigation.
The judge said everyone involved had concluded that the man did have the “capacity to marry”.
He said the man lived in a bungalow in Wales and required help from carers.
He cannot be identified in media reports of the case.
Copyright (c) Press Association Ltd. 2019, All Rights Reserved. Picture (c) Nick Ansell / PA Wire.
