Attorney Joe Serpa has defended criminal cases in the Massachusetts District Courts and Boston Municipal Court since 1995. These posts cover Massachusetts criminal law as it is 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 | Massachusetts Criminal Defense Since 1995 A Massachusetts fake ID case in Boston or Cambridge often begins at a clerk-magistrate hearing, before a criminal complaint or arraignment. The hearing is private. It does not itself create a public criminal case or a Criminal Offender Record Information…
Continue reading ›By Attorney Joe Serpa | Georgetown University Law Center | Massachusetts Criminal Defense Since 1995 Cambridge District Court exercises jurisdiction over Cambridge, Arlington, and Belmont. That compact geographic footprint takes in Harvard University, MIT, Lesley University, the Kendall Square biotech and technology corridor, and some of the most active late-night enforcement zones in Middlesex County.…
Continue reading ›By Attorney Joe Serpa | Georgetown University Law Center | Massachusetts Criminal Defense Since 1995 Massachusetts firearms owners face two separate compliance deadlines in October 2026, and much of the confusion in circulation comes from running them together. Under 501 CMR 20.00, the regulation implementing M.G.L. c. 140, § 121C, every firearm, frame, or receiver…
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