Robert L. Jubinville is an American attorney and politician, previously serving as a member of the

Massachusetts Governor's Council The Massachusetts Governor's Council (also known as the Executive Council) is a governmental body that provides advice and consent in certain matterssuch as judicial nominations, pardons, and commutationsto the Governor of Massachusetts. Council ...

. He is one of only three "Board Certified Criminal Trial Attorneys" in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.

Early life and education

Jubinville was born and raised in

Holyoke, Massachusetts Holyoke is a city in Hampden County, Massachusetts, United States, that lies between the western bank of the Connecticut River and the Mount Tom Range. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city had a population of 38,247. Loca ...

. By age fourteen, he became involved in The Boys and Girls Club of Greater Holyoke. His fascination with the American judicial system began as a child after watching the television series ''

Perry Mason Perry Mason is a fictional character, an American criminal defense lawyer who is the main character in works of detective fiction written by Erle Stanley Gardner. Perry Mason features in 82 novels and four short stories, all of which involve a ...

''. Watching the show as a child provided an "escape from a difficult family life and an abusive, alcoholic father", according to Jubinville. Following his graduation from high school, he briefly attended

Holyoke Community College Holyoke Community College (HCC) is a public community college in Holyoke, Massachusetts. It offers associate degrees and certificate programs, as well as a transfer program for students to earn credits for transfer to other colleges. It was the f ...

before being drafted in 1968 into the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

, where he has said he "spent his entire hitch at the

Natick Laboratories The DEVCOM Soldier Center, sometimes CCDC Soldier Center (Combat Capabilities Development Command Soldier Center, DEVCOM SC aka CCDC SC), formerly the Natick Soldier Research, Development and Engineering Center (NSRDEC), is a military research com ...

as a test subject for everything from equipment to new field drugs." After his service in the Army, Jubinville worked as a

Massachusetts State Police The Massachusetts State Police (MSP) is an agency of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts' Executive Office of Public Safety and Security, responsible for law enforcement and vehicle regulation across the state. As of 2024, it has 2,500 sworn troop ...

officer and was later promoted to detective. During this time, Jubinville studied at

Suffolk University Suffolk University is a private university, private research university in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. With 7,560 students on all campuses, it is the List of colleges and universities in metropolitan Boston, tenth-largest university ...

, where he earned an undergraduate degree and

Juris Doctor A Juris Doctor, Doctor of Jurisprudence, or Doctor of Law (JD) is a graduate-entry professional degree that primarily prepares individuals to practice law. In the United States and the Philippines, it is the only qualifying law degree. Other j ...

Career

Following his tenure as a detective, Jubinville practiced law for over forty-three years. He has stated that "his role is to make sure every client gets a fair trial, even if he doesn't like the person." He has been a legal contributor to

New England Cable News New England Cable News (NECN) is a regional 24-hour cable news television network owned and operated by NBCUniversal (as part of the NBCUniversal Owned Television Stations division, both ultimately owned by Comcast) serving the New England reg ...

and continues to work as a trial attorney with his daughter, Sarah. In 2022, Sarah Jubinville became a judge in a district court.

Governor's Council

In 2012, Jubinville won a seat on the

. Citing a lack of sufficient legal experience, he voted against Governor

Deval Patrick Deval Laurdine Patrick (born July 31, 1956) is an American politician who served as the 71st governor of Massachusetts from 2007 to 2015. He was the first African Americans, African-American Governor of Massachusetts and the first Democratic Pa ...

's Superior Court nominee, Brockton District Court Judge Angel Kelley Brown. Jubinville said he is concerned about lawyers on the Parole Board "using it as a stepping stone to judgeships". Jubinville is also an advocate for reforming mandatory minimum drug sentences. When discussing non-violent drug offenders, he notes that it costs $45,000 a year in Massachusetts to house, feed and guard a single inmate per year. He argues that money is better spent on treatment programs. On December 15, 2022 Governor Charlie Baker nominated Jubinville to serve as clerk magistrate of the Framingham District Court. On December 27, 2022 he was confirmed to serve as a clerk magistrate.

Electoral history

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jubinville, Robert Living people Military personnel from Massachusetts Suffolk University alumni Members of the Massachusetts Governor's Council Massachusetts Democrats People from Milton, Massachusetts Politicians from Holyoke, Massachusetts 1946 births