Defense Lawyer
Ayer District Court
The Ayer District Court sits at 25 East Main Street, Ayer, MA 01432, and is open Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
- Clerk’s office and probation department: (978) 772-2100
- Clerk’s fax: (978) 772-5345
- Probation fax: (978) 772-9021
- Clerk’s email: cmayerdc@jud.state.ma.us
Two small lots at the courthouse are open to the public, and additional parking is available down the street at Pirone Park. The courthouse is reachable on the MBTA Fitchburg and South Acton commuter rail line and sits near Route 2 and Route 2A.
The Ayer District Court serves a wide swath of northwest Middlesex County, from the Route 2 corridor to the New Hampshire line, including the communities around the former Fort Devens. The Middlesex District Attorney’s Office prosecutes its docket of OUI, drug, motor vehicle, and domestic violence matters, most of them first offenses against people who have never faced a criminal charge. Attorney Joe Serpa has defended across Middlesex County since 1995 and prepares each of these cases as a matter to be ended before it becomes a permanent record.
Some of the strongest defenses end a case entirely rather than settling it. The firm’s companion page explains how criminal cases get dismissed in the Massachusetts district and municipal courts.
Communities Served. Ashby, Ayer, Boxborough, Dunstable, Groton, Littleton, Pepperell, Shirley, Townsend, Westford, and the Devens Regional Enterprise Zone.
OUI and the Route 2 Corridor. Route 2 supplies the court’s steadiest OUI calendar, defended on the legality of the stop, the field sobriety tests, and the breath-test records, with the four-day citation rule governing the cases that begin without an arrest.
Drug and Search Litigation. The court’s drug matters are built on car stops and searches and are litigated by motion to suppress under Article 14, where the suppression ruling frequently decides the case.
Domestic Violence and the 209A Restraining Order Calendar. The court runs its domestic violence session with the 209A calendar alongside, defended as one coordinated matter, with self-defense and the complainant’s own history raised where the client was not the aggressor.
The Clerk-Magistrate Session. A large share of Ayer’s criminal business begins at the show cause hearing under G.L. c. 218, § 35A, where a denial ends the matter with no arraignment and no CORI entry. These are prepared as documentary presentations that test whether the report makes out every element.
Prepared for Trial From Day One. See Massachusetts Criminal Defense Results. Call 617.936.0201 for a free and confidential consultation before your Ayer date.
Related Serpa Law Office Resources: Clerk-Magistrate Hearings • OUI Defense • Drug Crimes Defense • Illegal Searches and Seizures • Domestic Violence Defense • Courts Across Greater Boston











