Yessayan, Raffi N.

Judicial Biography

Year admitted to bar:

1994

Year appointed/elected:

2014, by Gov. Deval Patrick

Background

Education:

Yessayan is a graduate of University of Massachusetts-Boston and New England School of Law.

Professional

Legal Employment History:

Had active solo practice in New Bedford focusing on criminal defense. He served in the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office from 1995 to 2007, where he spent three years in Roxbury District Court and nine years in the Gang Unit, including five years as chief.

General Character of Law Practice Prior to Judgeship:

Superior Court Judge Carol Ball joked during his confirmation hearing she is glad Yessayan decided to become a judge because “everyone knows he is not going to be Massachusetts’ answer to John Grisham.” Yessayan has written two novels, “Eight in the Box,” and “Two in the Hat,” both published by Ballantine Books, Random House.

The books are evidence of how hard he works, spending all day as a lawyer and his spare time as a writer, Ball said. “And he writes beautifully,” she said, adding it is a skill he will need as a judge. She described him as extremely intelligent and beloved by his colleagues.

“This is a judge who will do justice well, and efficiently, with the highest degree of excellence, without ever denigrating lawyers, witnesses, court personnel….” she said.

Currently Yessayan is a sole practitioner focusing on criminal defense and immigration law. From 1995 to 2007, he was a prosecutor in the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office, where he became chief assistant district attorney of the gang unit.

Several witnesses invited to speak on his behalf became tearful describing how Yessayan has influenced their lives.

“We have wakes in my family that are more fun than this,” Council Terrence Kennedy joked after some witnesses shed tears. “This is supposed to be a happy day.”

Yessayan said he wants to be judge to continue to make a difference in people’s lives.

District Court Judge Matthew Machera became choked up describing Yessayan’s character. They first met in law school, and eventually became close friends.

Machera said Yessayan worked for the Suffolk County District Attorney’s office for several months without pay because he wanted the job so bad. Yessayan said he volunteered in the DA’s office in 1994, when the job market was tough.

Yessayan threw himself into trying to get substance abuse treatment for people, Machera said, and as a prosecutor, he spent time trying to reach out to young people to prevent violence.

“I have never worked with anybody that has spent more time trying to direct people away from violence than prosecute people,” Machera said.

Last year, Yessayan was part of a group that advised House Speaker Robert DeLeo on gun legislation. The group decided every recommendation to lawmakers would be unanimous. “It made you compromise,” Yessayan said.

“For me, I was not going to put out something that was just another minimum mandatory for more inner-city kids to spend more time in jail,” he said.

Yessayan said the group’s goal was gun safety, not gun control. While chief of the gang unit in Suffolk County, he prosecuted hundreds of gun cases. He said people are unaware how many people die from suicide with a gun.

“We just wanted common sense changes that would make it safer for people to own firearms,” Yessayan said.

The final bill passed by the Legislature was not exactly what the committee put forward, Yessayan said, “But, I think they did pretty good.”

Yessayan talked about the need for more drug treatment beds in the state. He described one instance where a young man came to court with his parents, wanting to commit himself for treatment. But there were no beds available anywhere except at Bridgewater State Hospital. “He took off,” he said.

Yessayan said it is hard enough to get people to seek treatment, and heartbreaking when there is no place available to help them.

The youngest of seven children, Yessayan is of Armenian descent born in Beirut, Lebanon. When he was 2, his family immigrated to the United States.

His mother worked as a seamstress, while his father worked at the neighborhood store that he opened. His mother died at work at 40 years old. Since his father had to work so many hours, he said he was raised by his older siblings.

Suffering from depression because of his wife’s death, his father lost his business, Yessayan said. His father later went to work for the City of Boston, stopping work only when he became ill at 82 years old. Until the day he died, his father insisted he was going back to work, he said.

Yessayan said his work ethic was instilled by his parents. As teenagers, the children in his family contributed “house money” to pay the bills.

He graduated from the University of Massachusetts Boston, and received his law degree from New England School of Law. “I didn’t get to attend Harvard, but I got a job bartending at the Harvard Club,” he joked.