[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 179 (Thursday, December 10, 2015)]
[Senate]
[Page S8601]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                TRIBUTE TO JUDGE HAIGANUSH R. BEDROSIAN

  Mr. WHITEHOUSE. Mr. President, as this year draws to a close, 
so too does a long and accomplished legal career for Rhode Island 
Family Court Chief Judge Haiganush R. Bedrosian. She will retire from 
the bench at the end of December after serving on the family court for 
over 35 years. Judge Bedrosian is a trailblazer and a skilled leader in 
the Rhode Island legal community. She will be missed.
  Judge Bedrosian, the daughter of Armenian immigrants, is a lifelong 
Rhode Islander who grew up in Cranston. She attended Cranston East High 
School and then Brown University's Pembroke College, where she 
graduated with a degree in political science in 1965.
  She says that when she graduated from Pembroke, she was told ``women 
don't go to law school'' and she had best look for work elsewhere. That 
didn't sound right to her.
  Judge Bedrosian enrolled at Suffolk Law School, where she excelled. 
She earned a clerkship with Rhode Island Supreme Court Justice Thomas 
Paolino. After her clerkship, she rose quickly in the legal profession, 
serving as an assistant general counsel for the Providence & Worcester 
Railroad, representing children in private practice and serving as a 
special assistant to the Rhode Island Attorney General in the Criminal 
Division.
  In 1980, Rhode Island Governor J. Joseph Garrahy nominated her to 
serve on Rhode Island's family court, making her the first woman to sit 
on the family court bench. Over the course of her tenure, she has built 
a reputation for fairness, compassion, and thorough command of the law. 
She has deftly handled some of the most complex and difficult cases to 
come before the Court.
  She rose to the position of chief judge on the family court in 2010--
another first for a woman in Rhode Island--where she has proven herself 
an able leader. She has promoted mediation as a way to resolve 
challenging family disputes more quickly and with less stress on the 
parties involved. She has advocated for improvements to the way 
juveniles are treated in our justice system, both at the State and 
Federal levels. She has worked to combat human trafficking and sexual 
violence. And she has expanded the family treatment drug court, a smart 
and effective program to address drug offenses that involve youth and 
families.
  In addition to her good work in the courtroom, Judge Bedrosian has 
contributed a great deal to her community. She remains a committed 
member of the congregation of Saints Vartanantz Armenian Apostolic 
Church in Providence where she is a frequent volunteer. She has also 
founded and served as president of the Rhode Island Trial Judges 
Association.
  We will miss Judge Bedrosian's steady hand and compassionate, 
reasoned rulings on the bench. But we wish her well in the next chapter 
of her life. Best of luck, Your Honor.

                          ____________________