David Breen is now Judge Breen

Openly gay community lawyer David Breen was sworn in as a judge by Governor Deval Patrick on Monday.

Breen is a former Manhattan District Attorney's Office prosecutor. In 1991, Breen was shot and nearly killed during a robbery inside an ATM. When he used the ATM servce phone to call for help, he was put on hold. After his recovery, he worked with the New York City Council to pass one of the first comprehensive ATM safety laws in the nation.

When Breen, a Massachusetts native, returned to the area, he worked with Milton Sen. Brian Joyce (D) to make the commonwealth's ATMs safer.

When the Governor's Council aske about his judicial philosophy at confirmation hearings in December, Breen said, according to The State House News, "My job is not to create law, it is to follow the law, and follow whatever the SJC tells me is the law."

Breen returned to teach at BU School of Law after a distinguished career of investigating and trying complex criminal and civil matters in both New York and Massachusetts. He has served as an assistant district attorney in the Manhattan District Attorney's office, as an assistant attorney general for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, and as an assistant corporation counsel for the City of Boston. Since 2003 he has served as a special assistant district attorney in Quincy, MA.

Breen's LGBTQ volunteer efforts include work with Fenway Community Health, Massachusetts Gay and Lesbian Political Caucus. He was honored by the Greater Boston Business Council's Individual Award for Excellence in 2002 for outstanding service to the Massachusetts Gay, Lesbian, Bi-Sexual and Transgender Community.

Breen is married to Michael Harrington. The couple have two children.