Brookline Domestic Violence Lawyer for the Brookline District Court

A person arrested for domestic violence by the Brookline police faces a criminal case in the Brookline District Court, at 360 Washington Street in Brookline. The Norfolk County District Attorney’s Office prosecutes the case. The alleged victim often files a separate 209A restraining order case in the Brookline District Court based on the same allegations.

The Commonwealth commonly charges assault and battery on a family or household member under G.L. c. 265, § 13M, in a Brookline domestic violence case. The Commonwealth charges an assault and battery on a parent, a sibling, or a roommate under the general assault and battery statute, G.L. c. 265, § 13A. The Commonwealth also charges strangulation or suffocation, threats to commit a crime, intimidation of a witness, and violation of a 209A restraining order in domestic violence cases.

Attorney Joe Serpa has practiced Massachusetts criminal defense since 1995. Attorney Serpa represents defendants in the Brookline District Court at clerk-magistrate hearings, arraignments, dangerousness hearings, motion hearings, trials, and 209A restraining order hearings. The firm’s page on Boston and Massachusetts domestic violence defense explains the domestic violence law that applies in every Massachusetts court.

Attorney Serpa obtained the dismissal of a charge of assault and battery on a family or household member against a partner at an investment firm in the Brookline District Court. The Brookline District Court then sealed the record. The firm’s results page describes the case.

Domestic Violence Arrests in Coolidge Corner, Brookline Village, and Washington Square

Many Brookline residents live in dense apartment buildings around Coolidge Corner and Washington Square, where neighbors can hear arguments through the walls. A neighbor often calls 911. The Brookline police then respond to the apartment. The officers usually decide at the scene whether to make an arrest. Under G.L. c. 209A, § 6, arrest is the preferred police response when an officer has probable cause to believe that a person committed a misdemeanor involving abuse.

Brookline police officers seek a complaint based on what the officers saw on the call, whether or not the alleged victim cooperates. A person arrested on a domestic call goes to arraignment without a clerk-magistrate hearing.

A bail commissioner cannot release a person arrested for a domestic violence offense until six hours after the arrest, unless a judge in open court orders an earlier release. G.L. c. 276, § 42A. The police hold an arrested person for arraignment on the next court day unless a bail commissioner releases the person from the station. A person released by a bail commissioner still appears for arraignment on the date the bail commissioner sets.

At the arraignment, the judge releases the defendant on personal recognizance, sets bail under G.L. c. 276, § 58, or imposes conditions of release. The judge may order the defendant to stay away from the alleged victim and the home and to have no contact with the alleged victim. The firm’s page on the no contact order explains how a defendant asks the judge to change a condition of release.

The Commonwealth may move to hold the defendant without bail as dangerous under G.L. c. 276, § 58A when the charge involves abuse as G.L. c. 209A, § 1 defines abuse. The judge decides the Commonwealth’s motion after a dangerousness hearing.

Clerk-Magistrate Hearings When the Police Do Not Arrest

When the Brookline police do not arrest the accused person, the police may apply to the clerk-magistrate for a criminal complaint. A person who has not been arrested has a right to a clerk-magistrate hearing under G.L. c. 218, § 35A on an application for a misdemeanor, such as a first offense under § 13M. The clerk-magistrate may issue the complaint without a hearing when the application shows an imminent threat of bodily injury, of a new crime, or of flight from Massachusetts.

When the clerk-magistrate denies the application, no complaint issues, no arraignment takes place, and no CORI entry results from the application. Attorney Serpa has appeared before the Brookline clerk-magistrates in domestic cases, student cases, and OUI cases. The firm’s page on the clerk-magistrate hearing explains how to prepare for the hearing.

Which Court and Which Prosecutor

The Brookline District Court hears criminal cases only from the town of Brookline, including Coolidge Corner, Brookline Village, Washington Square, and the Brookline side of Chestnut Hill. G.L. c. 218, § 1. Brookline is part of Norfolk County, even though Boston and Newton surround the town. The Norfolk County District Attorney’s Office prosecutes the Brookline cases. The same office prosecutes the cases in the Dedham District Court and the Quincy District Court, as the firm’s pages on domestic violence cases in the Dedham District Court and domestic violence cases in the Quincy District Court explain.

The Newton District Court hears cases from Newton, including the Newton side of Chestnut Hill, as the firm’s page on domestic violence cases in the Newton District Court explains. The Boston Municipal Court hears cases from the Boston neighborhoods that border Brookline, including Brighton, Allston, and Jamaica Plain.

A Brookline judge can impose up to 2½ years in the house of correction on a single charge but cannot sentence a defendant to state prison. The Norfolk County District Attorney’s Office prosecutes a felony that the District Court cannot try in the Norfolk County Superior Court in Dedham, after a grand jury indicts the defendant. A person under 18 accused of a domestic assault in Brookline appears in the Juvenile Court.

The Alleged Victim Cannot Drop the Charges

The alleged victim cannot drop a domestic violence charge in the Brookline District Court. The Norfolk County District Attorney’s Office decides whether the Commonwealth continues to prosecute the charge. The Norfolk County District Attorney’s Office often prosecutes a domestic assault and battery charge even when the alleged victim does not want the case to go forward. The firm’s page on what happens when the alleged victim will not testify explains the limits on the evidence the Commonwealth can use without the alleged victim’s testimony.

A married alleged victim may refuse to testify against the defendant in a § 13M case under the spousal privilege in G.L. c. 233, § 20, as the firm’s spousal privilege FAQ explains.

Domestic Violence Penalties in the Brookline District Court

A person convicted of a first § 13M offense faces up to 2½ years in the house of correction, a fine of up to $5,000, or both. A second or subsequent § 13M offense is a felony punishable by up to 5 years in state prison. The judge must order a person convicted of a § 13M offense, or placed on probation for a § 13M offense, to complete a certified intimate partner abuse education program, unless the judge makes specific written findings of good cause or the program finds the person unsuitable.

The Commonwealth charges strangulation or suffocation under G.L. c. 265, § 15D when the police report describes pressure on the throat or neck or a blocked nose or mouth. A person convicted of strangulation or suffocation, a felony, faces up to 5 years in state prison, up to 2½ years in the house of correction, a fine of up to $5,000, or both a fine and imprisonment.

A person convicted of violating a 209A restraining order under G.L. c. 209A, § 7 faces up to 2½ years in the house of correction, a fine of up to $5,000, or both.

209A Restraining Orders in Shared Buildings and Condominiums

Many 209A restraining orders in Brookline involve parties who share an apartment building, a condominium, or a lease. A judge who issues a 209A restraining order can order the defendant to leave a home the defendant owns and can restrict the defendant’s contact with the defendant’s own children. When the plaintiff shows a substantial likelihood of immediate danger of abuse, the judge must order the defendant to surrender all firearms, ammunition, and any license to carry or firearms identification card. G.L. c. 209A, § 3B.

The parties may still run into each other after the judge issues the order. A chance meeting in a shared entryway, a reply to a text from the plaintiff, or contact through a mutual friend can each result in a charge of violating the order. Contact that the plaintiff starts is not a defense to the charge, because only a judge can change or end the order.

A judge may issue a temporary 209A restraining order without the defendant present. The court then holds a hearing within ten court business days. G.L. c. 209A, § 4. The plaintiff must prove abuse by a preponderance of the evidence at the hearing. Frizado v. Frizado, 420 Mass. 592 (1995). Counsel at a contested Brookline hearing may present prior messages between the parties, building management records, and each party’s history in the property.

A defendant who testifies at the 209A restraining order hearing testifies under oath. A prosecutor may later offer the recorded testimony as evidence in the criminal case. The firm’s page on a 209A restraining order and criminal charges from the same incident explains the choice between testifying and asserting the privilege against self-incrimination.

Longwood Medical Area Professionals, Records, and Immigration

Many Brookline defendants are physicians, residents, nurses, pharmacists, researchers, and hospital staff who work in the Longwood Medical Area, just across the Boston line. A physician may have to answer questions about a domestic assault charge or a 209A restraining order from the Board of Registration in Medicine and on hospital credentialing forms, depending on the board’s rules and the hospital’s policies. A hospital may begin its own review after an arraignment, before the criminal case ends. The firm’s page on criminal charges and a professional license explains the reporting rules.

An arraignment creates a public criminal case and a CORI entry. A licensing board, a hospital, or an employer that checks CORI may see the pending case before the case ends. A defendant whose Brookline case ends in a dismissal or a nolle prosequi may petition the court to seal the record under G.L. c. 276, § 100C, with no waiting period. Commonwealth v. Pon, 469 Mass. 296 (2014). The abuse designation under G.L. c. 276, § 56A stays in the statewide domestic violence record keeping system after a dismissal.

Federal law, 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(9), prohibits a person convicted of a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence, including a first offense under § 13M, from possessing a firearm or ammunition.

Many noncitizens and visa holders work or study in Brookline’s medical and academic communities. A continuance without a finding after an admission to sufficient facts is a conviction under federal immigration law when the judge imposes probation or another restraint. 8 U.S.C. § 1101(a)(48)(A). A noncitizen should have an immigration lawyer review any proposed plea, admission, or continuance without a finding before the judge accepts the plea or admission. The firm’s page on domestic violence and immigration states the immigration result for each kind of battery.

Boston University, Boston College, and Northeastern Students

Many students from Boston University, Boston College, and Northeastern live in off-campus housing in Brookline. The Brookline District Court, rather than a Boston court, hears the case when the Brookline police respond to a physical dispute between roommates or partners in a Brookline apartment.

Roommates who live in the same household qualify as household members under G.L. c. 209A, § 1, so a roommate can seek a 209A restraining order against another roommate. The Commonwealth charges an assault and battery between roommates under G.L. c. 265, § 13A rather than § 13M. The firm’s page on restraining orders between roommates explains the household member rule.

A student charged with domestic assault and battery may also face a university conduct proceeding. The university often finishes its disciplinary proceeding before the court decides the criminal case. The Commonwealth can use a statement that a student makes in a disciplinary interview as evidence in the criminal case. The firm’s page on college and university student criminal defense explains the two proceedings.

Getting to the Brookline District Court

The Brookline District Court is at 360 Washington Street, Brookline, MA 02445. The courthouse is open Monday through Friday, from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. The clerk’s office answers at (617) 232-4660. The probation department answers at (617) 277-9032.

Metered spaces line the streets around the courthouse. A metered lot is across the street on School Street. The Brookline Village stop on the MBTA Green Line D branch is the closest train stop. MBTA buses 60, 65, and 66 stop nearby.

Serpa Law Office has offices in Boston, at 20 Park Plaza, Suite 400A, and in Quincy, at 500 Victory Road, Suite 400A. A person charged with domestic violence in the Brookline District Court can call 617.936.0201 or request a consultation.

Frequently Asked Questions

Related Serpa Law Office Resources

• Boston Domestic Violence Defense Lawyer
• Brookline District Court Criminal Defense
• Newton Domestic Violence Lawyer
• Dedham Domestic Violence Lawyer
• Assault and Battery on a Family or Household Member
• A 209A Restraining Order and Criminal Charges From the Same Incident
• Restraining Orders Between Roommates
• Massachusetts Criminal Defense Results
• Massachusetts Domestic Violence Arrest FAQs