Baker taps Jubinville to fill magistrate post at Framingham District Court

BOSTON — Charlie Baker has nominated Robert Jubinville, one of the elected members of the Governor's Council that vets judicial nominees, to serve as clerk magistrate at Framingham District Court.

The Framingham clerkship has been open since the August 2020 death of Clerk Magistrate John DeLuca, according to a court spokeswoman.

Since 2013, Jubinville has been a member of the council whose members, all Democrats, will now decide the fate of his nomination. The council has set aside just 30 minutes next Wednesday to hold a confirmation hearing with Jubinville.

Jubinville applied for the post on Aug. 23, while he was campaigning for reelection, according to a copy of the application shared by a council source.

His application also came one day before the council interviewed his daughter, Sarah Jubinville, for a District Court judgeship.

Jubinville won reelection to the council in November over Republican Dashe Videira, 194,480 to 112,941. If his seat is declared vacant on swearing-in day in January, it will present the Legislature with an unusual opportunity to hand-pick a new council member.

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A 1977 Suffolk University Law School graduate, Jubinville, of Quincy, started his legal career in 1979 with Buckley, Haight, Muldoon, Jubinville before moving to Flavin & Jubinville in 1993. Since 1996, he has operated his own law practice.

"With the addition of Attorney Jubinville, Massachusetts will receive a well qualified candidate for the judiciary," Baker said in a statement. "I am proud to submit his nomination to the Governor's Council."

Raised in Holyoke, Jubinville was a sprinkler fitter before serving in the Army from 1968 to 1970, including time as a test subject at the Natick Army Labs. He was a Massachusetts State Police trooper and detective from 1972 to 1979.

He earned a bachelor's degree from Suffolk University in 1973 and his juris doctor from Suffolk University Law School in 1977.

A Milton Democrat, Jubinville often questions judicial nominees about issues related to substance addiction, and in 2015 he encouraged top lawmakers and the Baker administration to consider decriminalizing heroin.

Councilors have cooled off a bit since their raucous debates of 2017, which included a spat between Jubinville and Councilor Joseph Ferreira in which Jubinville called his colleague a "bootlicker" and "rubber stamp."

The council quickly scheduled a hearing for Jubinville, setting his public interview for 10 a.m. next Wednesday, with Councilor Christopher Iannella of Boston presiding. The council has another hearing scheduled to start at 10:30 a.m. that morning.

This article originally appeared on MetroWest Daily News: Gov. Baker picks Jubinville for open Framingham clerk magistrate post