Massachusetts Criminal Law Library for Lawyers

This library collects the pages of serpalaw.com written at practitioner depth, for defense lawyers, referring counsel, students of the system, and anyone who needs Massachusetts criminal law stated with its authorities. Every legal claim on these pages is verified against a primary source before publication, and Massachusetts cases are cited to the official reporter.

Attorney Joe Serpa has tried criminal cases in the District Courts and the Boston Municipal Court for thirty years, and he maintains these pages as working references. A monthly roundup of Supreme Judicial Court and Appeals Court criminal decisions begins in August 2026 in the Boston criminal law updates, and the firm’s case notes on new decisions collect in the Massachusetts Criminal Decisions archive.

Clerk-Magistrate Practice

The firm treats clerk-magistrate practice at length in A Practitioner’s Guide to Clerk-Magistrate Hearings, which covers G. L. c. 218, § 35A, the probable cause standard, and preparation for the hearing. Common questions are answered on the Massachusetts Clerk-Magistrate Hearing FAQs, and the first steps after a notice arrives are set out in What to Do With a Massachusetts Show Cause Notice.

OUI and the Breath Test

The Massachusetts OUI defense page states the elements, the penalties by offense, the refusal rules, and the leading cases with their holdings. The firm explains its trial method in How Massachusetts OUI Cases Are Won at Trial and in Cross-Examining the Field Sobriety Opinion, and it covers the science on the breath test and blood alcohol science page.

Evidence and Confrontation

The firm addresses the recurring evidence questions of a District Court practice: the wiretap statute and secret recordings, digital searches of phones and computers, and excited utterances and the recanting accuser. The confrontation problem of the substitute analyst is treated in a dedicated case note.

Trial Practice

Attorney Serpa’s approach to cross-examination is described with examples from tried cases. Companion articles cover how Massachusetts drug cases are won at trial and the dangerousness hearing under G. L. c. 276, § 58A.

Records, Sealing, and Expungement

The sealing and expungement standards page states the governing law, and the criminal dismissal rules page states when a judge may dismiss over objection. The record consequences of a domestic violence case are covered on the domestic violence records page, and the treatment of vacated protective orders in State and Federal Records of Massachusetts 209A and 258E Protective Orders.

Referring counsel may reach Attorney Serpa at 617.936.0201.

Last Reviewed: July 2026