Accord and Satisfaction in Massachusetts Criminal Cases Under G.L. c. 276, § 55

A person charged with assault and battery, shoplifting, malicious destruction of property, or another misdemeanor against an individual or a business can ask a Massachusetts judge to dismiss the charge after paying the alleged victim for the injury or loss. The alleged victim must come to court and acknowledge in writing that they have received satisfaction for the injury. The judge then decides whether to discharge the defendant from the complaint. G.L. c. 276, § 55. Lawyers and judges call the procedure under § 55 accord and satisfaction.

An alleged victim cannot drop a criminal charge in Massachusetts. The district attorney’s office decides whether the Commonwealth prosecutes the complaint. Under § 55, however, a judge can dismiss a qualifying misdemeanor once the alleged victim acknowledges satisfaction in court, even over the prosecutor’s objection. Commonwealth v. Guzman, 446 Mass. 344, 346-349 (2006).

Section 55 applies only to misdemeanors for which the alleged victim could sue the defendant in a civil case. Section 55 also excludes domestic abuse offenses, violations of 209A restraining orders and other protective orders, offenses committed by or against a law enforcement officer, offenses committed as part of a riot, and offenses committed with intent to commit a felony.

Attorney Joe Serpa represents people charged with misdemeanors in the District Court and the Boston Municipal Court. In cases that qualify under § 55, Attorney Serpa prepares the written acknowledgment and presents the accord and satisfaction to the judge.

Charges That Qualify for Accord and Satisfaction

A judge can dismiss a charge of assault and battery, or any other misdemeanor for which the defendant is liable in a civil action, by accord and satisfaction. G.L. c. 276, § 55. A defendant is liable in a civil action when the alleged victim could sue the defendant for damages for the same conduct. A crime punishable by imprisonment in the state prison is a felony. Every other crime is a misdemeanor. G.L. c. 274, § 1.

Charges that can qualify include the following.

• Assault, and assault and battery, on a stranger or an acquaintance under G.L. c. 265, § 13A(a)
• Shoplifting under G.L. c. 266, § 30A, which is a misdemeanor at every value and every offense level
• Larceny of property worth $1,200 or less under G.L. c. 266, § 30(1)
• Wanton destruction of property at any value, and malicious destruction of property with damage of $1,200 or less, under G.L. c. 266, § 127
• Trespass under G.L. c. 266, § 120

Larceny of property worth more than $1,200, malicious destruction of property with damage over $1,200, and assault and battery causing serious bodily injury are felonies. G.L. c. 266, § 30(1). G.L. c. 266, § 127. G.L. c. 265, § 13A(b). A judge cannot dismiss a felony by accord and satisfaction, even when the District Court hears the felony.

A store’s civil demand letter is separate from the criminal case. A defendant who pays the amount in the letter still faces the shoplifting charge. A judge dismisses a shoplifting charge by accord and satisfaction only after a manager or other representative of the store appears in court and acknowledges satisfaction in writing.

Charges Excluded From Accord and Satisfaction

Section 55 excludes the following charges, even when the charge is a misdemeanor. G.L. c. 276, § 55.

• An offense committed by or against a sheriff or another officer of justice, such as an assault and battery on a police officer
• An offense committed riotously, meaning as part of a riot
• An offense committed with intent to commit a felony
• A violation of a 209A restraining order issued under G.L. c. 209A, § 3, § 4, or § 5
• A violation of a protective order issued in a divorce, separate support, or paternity case under G.L. c. 208, § 18 or § 34B, G.L. c. 209, § 32, or G.L. c. 209C, § 15 or § 20
• Assault and battery on a family or household member under G.L. c. 265, § 13M, and strangulation or suffocation under G.L. c. 265, § 15D
• Any other offense between family or household members that would be abuse under G.L. c. 209A, § 1

Abuse under G.L. c. 209A, § 1 means any of four acts between family or household members. The four acts are attempting to cause or causing physical harm, placing another person in fear of imminent serious physical harm, causing another person to engage involuntarily in sexual relations by force, threat, or duress, and coercive control. Coercive control includes a pattern of behavior intended to threaten, intimidate, harass, isolate, or control a family or household member. Family or household members include current and former spouses, people who live or have lived in the same household, people related by blood or marriage, people who have a child in common, and people who are or were in a substantive dating or engagement relationship. G.L. c. 209A, § 1. A judge therefore cannot dismiss an assault and battery between roommates who live or lived in the same household by accord and satisfaction.

In Guzman, the defendant faced a charge of assault and battery on his wife. A District Court judge dismissed the charge by accord and satisfaction over the Commonwealth’s objection. The Supreme Judicial Court upheld the dismissal in 2006. 446 Mass. at 344-345, 349. In 2014, the Legislature amended § 55 to exclude domestic abuse. St. 2014, c. 260, § 29.

The Written Acknowledgment and the Hearing

The alleged victim must appear before the court where the complaint is pending and acknowledge in writing that they have received satisfaction for the injury. G.L. c. 276, § 55. The Supreme Judicial Court has described a written acknowledgment stating “that I have received satisfaction for my injury and request that the charges be dropped.” Commonwealth v. Henderson, 434 Mass. 155, 158 (2001).

The judge must also have credible evidence of what the alleged victim received. The alleged victim can describe the satisfaction in the acknowledgment, in an affidavit, or in testimony at a hearing. Guzman, 446 Mass. at 348 & n.5. The satisfaction does not have to be money and can be small. Id. at 348. Payment of medical bills, payment for a repair, the repair itself, and the return of property are examples of satisfaction.

The written acknowledgment should contain the following information.

• The alleged victim’s name, the court, the docket number, and the charge
• A description of what the alleged victim received, such as the amount paid and the loss the payment covers
• A statement that the alleged victim has received satisfaction for the injury
• A request that the court dismiss the complaint
• The alleged victim’s signature and the date

The judge can question the alleged victim about whether they signed the acknowledgment voluntarily. In Guzman, the judge found that the defendant’s wife signed the accord and satisfaction voluntarily before the judge dismissed the complaint. 446 Mass. at 345.

The Judge’s Decision and the Commonwealth’s Objection

The judge decides whether to discharge the defendant from the complaint. The written acknowledgment does not end the case by itself. Guzman, 446 Mass. at 349. The judge can also order the defendant to pay expenses of the case before the discharge. G.L. c. 276, § 55.

A judge can dismiss a qualifying charge by accord and satisfaction over the Commonwealth’s objection. In Guzman, the Commonwealth argued that § 55 violated the separation of powers, because a judge cannot dismiss a legally sufficient complaint over the prosecutor’s objection without a legal basis. The Supreme Judicial Court held that § 55 is constitutional and provides the judge a legal basis to dismiss the complaint. Accordingly, the Supreme Judicial Court upheld the judge’s dismissal of the complaint. 446 Mass. at 346-349.

The prosecutor can still oppose the dismissal. The prosecutor can argue, for example, that § 55 excludes the charge, that the satisfaction is not genuine, or that the alleged victim did not sign the acknowledgment voluntarily. The Supreme Judicial Court has stated that the record should show the judge’s reasons for a dismissal by accord and satisfaction. Guzman, 446 Mass. at 348.

Accord and Satisfaction Before a Complaint Issues

Section 55 applies while a criminal complaint or an indictment is pending against the defendant. G.L. c. 276, § 55. A person who is not under arrest for a misdemeanor ordinarily receives a clerk-magistrate hearing before any complaint issues. At the hearing, the alleged victim can tell the clerk-magistrate that the person accused has paid for the injury. The clerk-magistrate then decides whether to issue the complaint. A denial prevents a complaint, an arraignment, and a Criminal Offender Record Information (CORI) entry from that application.

Offers of Money and the Witness Intimidation Statute

The defendant’s lawyer, not the defendant, should discuss an accord and satisfaction with the alleged victim or with the alleged victim’s lawyer. G.L. c. 268, § 13B prohibits conveying a gift, offer, or promise of anything of value to a witness with the intent to interfere with a criminal proceeding, or with reckless disregard of the risk that the offer may interfere with the proceeding. Section 13B covers clerk’s hearings as well as criminal cases. A judge can sentence a person convicted of intimidation of a witness to up to ten years in state prison. G.L. c. 268, § 13B.

In Henderson, the Supreme Judicial Court upheld a defendant’s convictions for interfering with a witness. The defendant had written letters from jail offering the alleged victim money if she would lie about the assault and keep the payment secret. The Supreme Judicial Court held that no reasonable jury could find that the defendant intended to enter into an accord and satisfaction, because § 55 requires an arrangement presented to the court and approved by the judge. 434 Mass. at 155-159.

A defendant released on a condition to stay away from and have no contact with the alleged victim must obey the no contact condition while the case is pending. A judge can revoke the release of a defendant who violates a condition of release, after a hearing under G.L. c. 276, § 58B.

The Alleged Victim’s Civil Claim

An alleged victim who accepts an accord and satisfaction gives up the right to sue the defendant for the same injury. Under G.L. c. 276, § 56, the alleged victim cannot bring a civil action for the injury after the clerk files the judge’s order discharging the defendant. An alleged victim with medical bills, lost wages, or property damage should therefore confirm that the satisfaction covers the whole loss before signing the acknowledgment. The alleged victim chooses whether to accept satisfaction and sign the acknowledgment.

Accord and Satisfaction Compared With Restitution and a Continuance Without a Finding

A judge who dismisses a charge by accord and satisfaction ends the case without a guilty plea, an admission, or probation. By contrast, a judge continues a case without a finding only after the defendant pleads guilty or admits to sufficient facts. G.L. c. 278, § 18. The judge can impose probation and other conditions during the continuance. The judge dismisses the charge at the end of the continuance if the defendant has complied with the conditions.

The Supreme Judicial Court has stated that a crime is an offense against the public, which the defendant and the alleged victim cannot settle privately except as a statute expressly allows. Commonwealth v. Rotonda, 434 Mass. 211, 220 (2001), quoting Partridge v. Hood, 120 Mass. 403, 407 (1876). Section 55 is the statute that allows a defendant and an alleged victim to resolve a qualifying misdemeanor through the court.

In Rotonda, a District Court judge continued a threats and civil rights case without a finding on the condition that the defendant pay the complaining witness $5,000. The Supreme Judicial Court held that the payment condition was contrary to law and public policy, because the judge chose the amount without regard to any documented loss. 434 Mass. at 211-213, 220-221. Apart from § 55, a judge can order a payment to the alleged victim as a condition of a continuance without a finding only as restitution of documented losses. Id. at 221.

The site’s page on how Massachusetts criminal cases get dismissed explains the other ways a judge or the Commonwealth can end a case before trial.

Records and Sealing After a Dismissal by Accord and Satisfaction

A charge appears on the person’s CORI once the court arraigns the person on the complaint. The dismissal by accord and satisfaction then appears on the same record. A person whose case ended in a dismissal can ask a judge to seal the record at any time under G.L. c. 276, § 100C. The site’s page on sealing a Massachusetts criminal record explains the procedure and the standard the judge applies.

Immigration Consequences

Federal immigration law imposes its own consequences on a conviction or a continuance without a finding. The defendant enters no guilty plea and makes no admission to sufficient facts in a case dismissed by accord and satisfaction. A noncitizen should still consult an immigration lawyer, because an immigration officer can ask about the arrest, or about the conduct described in the police report, even after the dismissal. The immigration lawyer should review the exact question, the person’s immigration status, and the court record before the person files a petition or attends an interview.

Frequently Asked Questions

Related Serpa Law Office Resources

• Assault and Battery Charges in Massachusetts Under G.L. c. 265, § 13A
• Massachusetts Shoplifting and Larceny Defense Lawyer
• How Criminal Cases Get Dismissed in the Massachusetts District and Municipal Courts
• CWOF, Pretrial Probation, and Diversion in Massachusetts Criminal Law
• Massachusetts Clerk-Magistrate Hearing Lawyer
• Intimidation of a Witness (G.L. c. 268, § 13B)
• Criminal Charges Between Roommates in Massachusetts: Dorms, Apartments and Clerk-Magistrate Hearings
• Malicious Destruction of Property in Massachusetts Domestic Violence Cases (M.G.L. c. 266, § 127)
• What a Massachusetts Judge Can and Cannot Decide in a Criminal Case
• Sealing and Expunging a Massachusetts Criminal Record
• Felonies and Misdemeanors in Massachusetts
• Criminal Records and Outcomes in Massachusetts