Articles Posted in Domestic Violence and Restraining Orders

Updated August 2026 A Massachusetts domestic violence arrest can end a defendant’s access to firearms long before the criminal charge is resolved. A temporary 209A order can require immediate surrender of firearms, ammunition, and the license to carry under G.L. c. 209A, § 3B. The licensing authority can suspend the license on a suitability review…

By Attorney Joe Serpa | Georgetown University Law Center | Massachusetts Criminal Defense Since 1995 A complainant cannot drop a domestic violence charge in Massachusetts. Once the police file a complaint, the district attorney, not the complainant, decides whether the case proceeds. Recantation is common in Massachusetts domestic violence cases. Days or weeks after an…

By Attorney Joe Serpa | Georgetown University Law Center | Massachusetts Criminal Defense Since 1995 Massachusetts uses the word “harassment” in several distinct laws. Criminal harassment under M.G.L. c. 265, § 43A is a criminal charge. A 258E harassment restraining order (harassment prevention order) is a civil remedy. Under the three-act ground in Chapter 258E,…

By Attorney Joe Serpa | Georgetown University Law Center | Massachusetts Criminal Defense Since 1995 Prepared by Attorney Joe Serpa | Georgetown University Law Center | Massachusetts Criminal Defense Since 1995 | Serpa Law Office, Boston and Quincy | Last Reviewed: August 2026 A Massachusetts domestic violence case begins with a criminal allegation, but it…

By Attorney Joe Serpa | Georgetown University Law Center | Massachusetts Criminal Defense Since 1995 August 2026 A judge issues a harassment restraining order (harassment prevention order) under G.L. c. 258E only on proof of a specific statutory definition of harassment. The Appeals Court has said outright that the statutory definition is much more exacting…