Somerville Domestic Violence Lawyer for the Somerville District Court

A person arrested for domestic violence by the Somerville or Medford police faces a criminal case in the Somerville District Court, at 175 Fellsway in Somerville. The Middlesex County District Attorney’s Office prosecutes the case. The Medford police bring the people they arrest for domestic violence to the Somerville District Court, not to the Malden District Court, even though the Malden District Court building is in Medford. The alleged victim often files a separate 209A restraining order case 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 Somerville domestic violence case. 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 Somerville District Court at 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.

Domestic Violence Arrests in Somerville and Medford Apartments

Many domestic violence cases in Somerville begin with a neighbor’s 911 call from a triple-decker or a shared apartment. Neighbors hear a loud argument through a shared wall and call the police. 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.

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 arrested person then appears for arraignment in the Somerville District Court. The period before arraignment is short. Attorney Serpa uses the time before arraignment to find witnesses, preserve text messages, and prepare the argument about bail and conditions of release.

At the arraignment, the judge releases the defendant on personal recognizance, admits the defendant to bail, or imposes conditions of release. The judge commonly orders the defendant to stay away from and have no contact with the alleged victim. A stay-away order can force a defendant to leave the defendant’s own apartment, in a city where a new lease is expensive and slow to find. 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.

Roommates, Partners, and the Charge the Commonwealth Brings

Many Somerville defendants and complainants are roommates in shared housing rather than partners. Assault and battery on a family or household member under § 13M applies only to spouses and former spouses, parents of a child in common, and people in a substantive dating or engagement relationship. The Commonwealth charges an assault and battery between roommates under the general assault and battery statute, G.L. c. 265, § 13A.

The police treat a call about a fight between roommates as a domestic call. The bail, no-contact, and firearms consequences that follow a domestic call can therefore apply in a roommate case. Roommates who reside together in the same household also qualify as household members under G.L. c. 209A, § 1, so a roommate can seek a 209A restraining order against another roommate even without a romantic relationship.

Domestic Violence Penalties in the Somerville 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 is a felony punishable by up to 5 years in state prison. A Somerville judge can impose up to 2½ years in the house of correction on a single charge. The Middlesex County District Attorney’s Office prosecutes a felony beyond the District Court’s final jurisdiction in the Middlesex Superior Court, after a grand jury indicts the defendant.

The Alleged Victim Cannot Drop the Charges

The alleged victim cannot drop a domestic violence charge in the Somerville District Court. The Middlesex County District Attorney’s Office decides whether the Commonwealth continues to prosecute the charge. The Middlesex County District Attorney’s Office often prosecutes a domestic assault charge even when the alleged victim does not want the case to go forward. The Commonwealth relies on the 911 recording, the responding officers’ observations, photographs, and medical records.

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.

209A Restraining Orders and Shared Apartments

A plaintiff who lives in Somerville or Medford may apply for a 209A restraining order in the Somerville District Court, the Middlesex Probate and Family Court, or the Middlesex Superior Court. 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.

A judge who orders a defendant to leave a shared Somerville apartment under a 209A restraining order may leave the defendant with no place to live. Counsel at the hearing examines the relationship between the parties and whether the plaintiff’s claimed fear is reasonable in the specific living situation. A defendant who testifies at the hearing testifies under oath. The firm’s page on a 209A restraining order and criminal charges from the same incident explains how the defendant’s testimony at the 209A restraining order hearing can affect the criminal case.

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 that the plaintiff starts is not a defense to a charge of violating a 209A restraining order. A defendant who still shares a lease or a mailbox with the plaintiff is therefore at risk of a violation charge.

When the plaintiff shows a substantial likelihood of immediate danger of abuse, the judge who issues a temporary 209A restraining order must order the defendant to surrender all firearms, ammunition, and any license to carry or firearms identification card. G.L. c. 209A, § 3B.

Tufts Students, Young Professionals, and Visa Holders

The Tufts University campus sits on the Somerville and Medford line, so the Somerville District Court hears cases involving Tufts students that arise in either city. A student charged with domestic assault and battery may also face a university conduct proceeding. The university conduct office uses a lower standard of proof and follows its own schedule. The Commonwealth can use what a student says in a disciplinary interview in the criminal case. The firm’s page on college and university student criminal defense explains the two proceedings.

Many Somerville defendants are scientists, engineers, and startup employees from nearby Kendall Square whose employers run background checks. After arraignment, the domestic violence charge appears on the defendant’s CORI record. A standard CORI report shows a pending case. The abuse designation under G.L. c. 276, § 56A stays in the statewide domestic violence record keeping system after a dismissal. Massachusetts law bars most employers from asking about an arrest that did not end in a conviction. G.L. c. 151B, § 4(9).

Somerville has large immigrant communities, including long-established Portuguese-speaking and Salvadoran communities. Many students and researchers in Somerville and Medford hold F-1, J-1, or H-1B visas. Federal immigration law imposes its own consequences on a conviction or a continuance without a finding in the Somerville District Court. 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.

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.

Getting to the Somerville District Court

The Somerville District Court is at 175 Fellsway, Somerville, MA 02145. 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 (617) 666-8000.

A free parking lot sits behind the courthouse. MBTA buses 90 and 92 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 Somerville District Court can call 617.936.0201 or request a consultation.

Frequently Asked Questions

Related Serpa Law Office Resources

• Boston Domestic Violence Defense Lawyer
• Somerville District Court Criminal Defense
• Assault and Battery on a Family or Household Member
• No Contact Orders and Conditions of Release
• A 209A Restraining Order and Criminal Charges From the Same Incident
• College and University Student Criminal Defense
• Domestic Violence and Immigration Consequences
• Massachusetts Domestic Violence Arrest FAQs