Dedham Domestic Violence Lawyer for the Dedham District Court

A person arrested for domestic violence by the Dedham, Dover, Medfield, Needham, Norwood, Wellesley, or Westwood police is arraigned in the Dedham District Court, at 631 High Street in Dedham. The Norfolk County District Attorney’s Office prosecutes the case. The alleged victim often files a separate 209A restraining order case in the same courthouse based on the same allegations. A judge decides whether to issue the 209A restraining order in a civil proceeding that is separate from the criminal case.

The Commonwealth commonly charges assault and battery on a family or household member under G.L. c. 265, § 13M, in a Dedham domestic violence case. Prosecutors often add a charge of intimidation of a witness under G.L. c. 268, § 13B. The Commonwealth also charges strangulation or suffocation, threats to commit a crime, 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 Dedham District Court at arraignments, dangerousness hearings, motion hearings, jury 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.

Domestic Violence Arrests in Dedham, Needham, Wellesley, and the Other Towns

The police in the seven towns make most domestic violence arrests after a call from a private home where neighbors rarely see anything. The responding officer’s report is therefore often the main evidence in a Dedham domestic violence case.

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 person then appears for arraignment in the Dedham District Court. The Dedham District Court hears domestic violence cases in its regular criminal sessions. The court has no session set aside for domestic violence cases.

A Dedham judge often imposes a stay away no contact order as a condition of release at the arraignment of a defendant charged with domestic assault and battery. The stay away no contact order in the criminal case is separate from any 209A restraining order. A defendant can be subject to both orders at the same time. 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 may order the defendant held without bail after a dangerousness hearing on the Commonwealth’s motion.

Witness Intimidation Charges in Dedham Domestic Violence Cases

The Commonwealth can charge a defendant with felony witness intimidation under G.L. c. 268, § 13B for a text message asking a spouse to talk before court. A person convicted of intimidation of a witness faces up to 10 years in state prison or up to 2½ years in the house of correction, a fine of $1,000 to $5,000, or both.

The Commissioner of Probation cannot seal a witness intimidation conviction. G.L. c. 276, § 100A. A judge can seal the record of a witness intimidation charge that ended in a dismissal. The Commissioner of Probation seals the record of a not guilty finding. G.L. c. 276, § 100C. Attorney Serpa obtained the dismissal of charges of domestic assault and battery and witness intimidation in the Dedham District Court, as the firm’s results page describes.

Domestic Violence Penalties in the Dedham 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.

Strangulation or suffocation under G.L. c. 265, § 15D(b) is a felony punishable by up to 5 years in state prison. 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. Contact initiated by the plaintiff is not a defense to a charge of violating a 209A restraining order.

A Dedham judge can impose up to 2½ years in the house of correction on a single charge. The Norfolk County District Attorney’s Office may present a domestic violence felony to a grand jury and, after an indictment, prosecute the case in the Norfolk County Superior Court, across the street at 650 High Street.

The Alleged Victim Cannot Drop the Charges

The alleged victim cannot drop a domestic violence charge in the Dedham 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 Commonwealth may try to prove the case with 911 recordings, statements the alleged victim made to the responding officers, photographs, and medical records.

The firm’s page on what happens when the alleged victim will not testify explains when a judge admits the alleged victim’s 911 call and statements to the police 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.

209A Restraining Orders in the Dedham District Court

A plaintiff who lives in one of the seven towns may file a complaint for a 209A restraining order in the Dedham District Court. G.L. c. 209A, § 2. A judge may issue a temporary 209A restraining order without notice to the defendant when the plaintiff demonstrates a substantial likelihood of immediate danger of abuse. G.L. c. 209A, § 4. The court must then give the defendant an opportunity to be heard no later than ten court business days after the judge enters the temporary order. The plaintiff must prove abuse by a preponderance of the evidence at that hearing. Frizado v. Frizado, 420 Mass. 592, 597 (1995).

The judge may order the defendant to stay away from the plaintiff, to have no contact with the plaintiff, and to leave a shared home. When the plaintiff shows a substantial likelihood of immediate danger of abuse, the judge must also order the defendant to surrender firearms, ammunition, and any firearms license. G.L. c. 209A, § 3B. A judge who extends or modifies a 209A restraining order must order or continue the surrender of firearms when the judge determines that returning the firearms would present a likelihood of abuse to the plaintiff. G.L. c. 209A, § 3C.

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 what happens when a 209A hearing and a criminal case involve the same events. An active 209A restraining order can also affect a pending divorce or custody case, so the criminal defense and the family law strategy must be coordinated.

A judge in a later 209A or 258E case can see a record of the earlier 209A proceeding in the statewide domestic violence record keeping system, even when the judge denied or did not extend the order. Attorney Serpa persuaded a Dedham judge not to extend a 209A restraining order after another judge had issued the initial order.

Veterans, Juveniles, Students, and Professionals

The Norfolk County Veterans Treatment Court sits at the Dedham District Court. The Veterans Treatment Court is a court-supervised treatment session for defendants who served in the United States Armed Forces. A participant must abstain from drugs and alcohol, complete the treatment the judge orders, and report to the court every week. Attorney Serpa advises a veteran charged with domestic violence whether to ask for admission to the Veterans Treatment Court.

The Norfolk County Juvenile Court, at 55 Allied Drive in Dedham, ordinarily hears the case of a child who was under 18 on the date of an alleged offense in one of the seven towns. A student at Babson College, Wellesley College, Massachusetts Bay Community College, or Olin College of Engineering who is arrested in one of the seven towns appears in the Dedham District Court and may also face a school conduct proceeding, as the firm’s page on college and university student criminal defense explains.

Many people charged in the Dedham District Court live or work in Wellesley, Needham, and Westwood and hold professional licenses in medicine, nursing, law, finance, or education. A licensed professional may have to report an arrest, a charge, a continuance without a finding, or a conviction, depending on the licensing board and the wording of the board’s question. Attorney Serpa reviews the board’s reporting rule with the client before the client accepts any plea, admission, or continuance without a finding.

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. A noncitizen charged in the Dedham District Court 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.

Getting to the Dedham District Court

The Dedham District Court is at 631 High Street, Dedham, MA 02026. The courthouse is open Monday through Friday, from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. The clerk’s office and the probation department both answer at (781) 329-4777.

A large paid parking lot behind the Registry of Deeds is open to the public. MBTA bus routes 34E, 35, 36, and 52 serve the courthouse. The Norfolk County Superior Court is across the street, at 650 High Street.

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 Dedham District Court can call 617.936.0201 or request a consultation.

Frequently Asked Questions

Related Serpa Law Office Resources

• Boston Domestic Violence Defense Lawyer
• Dedham District Court Criminal Defense
• Assault and Battery on a Family or Household Member
• Intimidation of a Witness
• No Contact Orders and Conditions of Release
• A 209A Restraining Order and Criminal Charges From the Same Incident
• Domestic Violence Records, CORI, and the DVRS
• Massachusetts Domestic Violence Arrest FAQs