Attorney Joe Serpa has defended criminal cases in the Massachusetts District Courts and Boston Municipal Court for thirty years. These posts cover Massachusetts criminal law as it is actually practiced. Mr. Serpa explains statutes, case law, court-by-court procedure, and how charges are defended and resolved. These pages are written for defendants, licensed professionals, students, tradespeople, and non-citizens who need to understand what a Massachusetts criminal charge means and what the defense options are.
By Attorney Joe Serpa | Georgetown University Law Center | 30 Years Massachusetts Criminal Defense You’re arrested on a Saturday night after an argument at home. Your are then arraigned Monday morning, and your lawyer gives you the advice every defense lawyer gives. Do not talk about the case. Not to police, not to the…
Continue reading ›By Attorney Joe Serpa | Georgetown University Law Center | 30 Years Massachusetts Criminal Defense A Massachusetts traffic stop used to be a roadside event. An officer saw a violation, pulled the car over, and whatever happened next happened in person, on the shoulder, in a few minutes. That stop no longer exists. The modern…
Continue reading ›By Attorney Joe Serpa | Georgetown University Law Center | 30 Years Massachusetts Criminal Defense Most Massachusetts domestic violence complaints are made in good faith by people who were genuinely frightened, and nothing here suggests otherwise. There can sometimes be a specific and recurring subset that arises inside contested divorce and custody litigation, where a…
Continue reading ›By Attorney Joe Serpa | Georgetown University Law Center | 30 Years Massachusetts Criminal Defense Massachusetts police responding to a domestic call operate under a preferred-arrest policy and must decide in minutes, at a chaotic scene, usually from two conflicting accounts and whatever is visible: a red mark, a torn shirt, who is crying, who…
Continue reading ›By Attorney Joe Serpa | Georgetown University Law Center | 30 Years Massachusetts Criminal Defense For a Massachusetts gun owner, a domestic violence arrest or a 209A order is a firearms case from the first hour, whatever else it is. The consequences arrive in layers, state licensing law, state surrender orders, and federal prohibitions, and…
Continue reading ›Recantation in a Massachusetts Domestic Violence Case: Why the Case Does Not End When the Story Changes By Attorney Joe Serpa | Georgetown University Law Center | 30 Years Massachusetts Criminal Defense An alleged victim changes their account in a large share of Massachusetts domestic violence prosecutions. Days or weeks after the arrest, the complainant…
Continue reading ›By Attorney Joe Serpa | Georgetown University Law Center | 30 Years Massachusetts Criminal Defense A student from Connecticut resolves a Massachusetts case with a CWOF and a year of probation, and the semester ends. A software engineer on probation in Quincy accepts a job in Austin. A New Hampshire resident arrested on Route 93…
Continue reading ›By Attorney Joe Serpa | Georgetown University Law Center | 30 Years Massachusetts Criminal Defense A probation violation notice reads like a foregone conclusion. It is not one. The violation must be proven at a hearing, the proof must meet standards that Massachusetts appellate courts enforce, and the appellate reports contain a steady line of…
Continue reading ›By Attorney Joe Serpa | Georgetown University Law Center | 30 Years Massachusetts Criminal Defense A common call to this office begins the same way. Someone who has not lived in Massachusetts for years goes to renew a driver’s license in their current state, and the clerk tells them the renewal cannot be processed because…
Continue reading ›By Attorney Joe Serpa | Georgetown University Law Center | 30 Years Massachusetts Criminal Defense You are not required to bring a lawyer to a Massachusetts clerk-magistrate hearing. There is no right to appointed counsel at this stage, and the proceeding is informal enough that a person can appear alone. Eagle-Tribune Publishing Co. v. Clerk-Magistrate…
Continue reading ›
