Boston Municipal Court East Boston Division Criminal Defense Attorney

A person arrested or summoned to court in East Boston or Winthrop, or at Logan International Airport, faces a criminal case in the East Boston Division of the Boston Municipal Court, at 37 Meridian Street, East Boston, MA 02128. The State Police and the Massachusetts Port Authority police bring the arrests made at Logan Airport, including arrests at the security checkpoints and in the terminals, to this division.

• Clerk’s office: 617.569.7550
• Clerk’s fax: 617.561.4988
• Probation department: 617.569.7553
• Probation fax: 617.569.8458
• Clerk’s email: bmceastboston@jud.state.ma.us

The Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office prosecutes every criminal case in the Boston Municipal Court. The Commonwealth prosecutes a felony beyond the court’s final jurisdiction in the Suffolk Superior Court, at 3 Pemberton Square in Boston, after a grand jury indicts the defendant. The firm’s Boston Municipal Court guide explains what the court can and cannot decide, and the firm’s guide to each stage of a BMC criminal case explains what happens from the clerk-magistrate hearing through trial.

Attorney Joe Serpa has practiced Massachusetts criminal defense since 1995. He represents clients in the East Boston Division at arraignments, clerk-magistrate hearings, motion hearings, and jury trials, from the firm’s Boston office at 20 Park Plaza, Suite 400A. Call 617.936.0201.

The East Boston Division of the Boston Municipal Court hears criminal cases from East Boston and Winthrop. The division also hears the criminal cases that arise at Logan Airport. Many Logan defendants are business travelers, flight crew members, and visa holders. For these defendants, a Massachusetts criminal record can come up at a border crossing or in an employment background check years after the case ends. The firm’s Boston Municipal Court page describes the court system that includes this division.

Attorney Serpa defends East Boston cases at every stage of Massachusetts criminal practice, including the clerk-magistrate hearing, the period before arraignment, motions to suppress evidence, and the protection of the client’s record. Many East Boston residents were born outside the United States. For a defendant who is not a citizen, the federal immigration consequences of a case are often more serious than the state penalty.

Cases From Logan Airport

The East Boston Division hears every arrest and complaint application that arises at Logan Airport. Travelers from anywhere in the world can become defendants in this court after a dispute at a gate, a fight on an arriving flight, a confrontation at a security checkpoint, or an incident in a terminal bar. Most Logan cases begin as applications for a misdemeanor complaint rather than as arrests. In those cases, the clerk-magistrate hearing takes place before any criminal case exists.

In one Logan case, Attorney Serpa obtained the denial of an application charging assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, a felony. No complaint issued, no arraignment took place, and no record resulted. The firm’s results page describes the case. A traveler charged at Logan should try to resolve the case before leaving Massachusetts.

The judge can issue a default warrant against a traveler who misses a court date. The warrant remains in effect, sometimes for years, until a judge recalls it. For a traveler who is not a citizen, an arraignment can have immigration consequences at every later entry into the United States.

Many East Boston and Winthrop residents work at Logan Airport, in the terminals, on the ramps, in the kitchens, and in the parking operations. Many airport jobs require a security badge. A pending criminal charge can put an airport worker’s security badge at risk before any court decides the case. For that reason, Attorney Serpa tries to resolve an airport worker’s case at the earliest possible stage.

The Communities the Court Serves

East Boston has large Salvadoran and Colombian communities and many other residents from Latin America. The neighborhood also has many Italian-American families who have lived there for generations. Around Maverick Square and Eagle Hill, many families live in triple-deckers and small apartment buildings. The Blue Line connects East Boston to downtown Boston. Along the waterfront, new apartment buildings house many young professionals who commute to Boston. Cases involving all of these residents are heard in the same courtroom.

Winthrop is a small residential town on a peninsula next to East Boston. Most Winthrop cases in this court are motor vehicle cases, and some are domestic cases. Many Winthrop residents are homeowners, municipal employees, and tradespeople. For a Winthrop resident with no record, a first criminal charge can threaten a clean record and sometimes a professional license.

The consequences of the same charge differ from one defendant to the next. A permanent resident needs to know how federal immigration law treats each possible outcome of the case. A nurse or a licensed tradesperson needs to know how a licensing board will treat the outcome. The firm’s licensed professionals FAQ covers those questions. A waterfront professional may face an employer background check, and an airport worker may lose a security badge. Attorney Serpa first identifies which of these consequences the client faces, because the right outcome for one client can be the wrong outcome for another.

Immigration Consequences of a Criminal Case

For a defendant who is not a citizen, Attorney Serpa checks every possible outcome of the case against federal immigration law. An outcome that is harmless under state law can count as a conviction under federal immigration law. A continuance without a finding is a common example.

Under Massachusetts law, a continuance without a finding is not a conviction, and for a citizen it is often a favorable result. Federal immigration law can treat the same continuance without a finding as a conviction, because the defendant admitted to sufficient facts. A permanent resident who accepts a continuance without a finding on certain charges can end the state case and still face deportation.

Attorney Serpa therefore learns the client’s immigration status before he evaluates the charge. He determines whether the client is a citizen, a permanent resident, a visa holder, undocumented, or an applicant for an immigration benefit, because each status changes which outcomes are safe. For some noncitizens, the safe outcome requires contesting a charge that a citizen would resolve quickly.

For other noncitizens, the safe outcome is a plea to a different charge or a sentence that falls outside the federal deportation categories. For a noncitizen, an ordinary East Boston case, such as a domestic violence case, a motor vehicle case on Route 1A or in the harbor tunnels, a shoplifting charge, or a workplace dispute, can have immigration consequences.

Motor Vehicle Cases on Route 1A and in the Harbor Tunnels

Many of the division’s motor vehicle cases arise on Route 1A and in the harbor tunnels. These roads connect Logan Airport, the beaches, and downtown Boston. Police stops on these roads lead to many OUI arrests, license and registration charges, and other charges that follow late-night stops.

In many motor vehicle and firearms cases from these roads, Attorney Serpa files a motion to suppress. The officer must justify the stop with what the officer observed before stopping the car. Attorney Serpa examines the claimed traffic violation, the basis for any exit order, the scope of any search, and the way the police obtained any statement from the driver.

A judge who rules that the stop was unlawful suppresses the evidence the police obtained because of the stop. The Commonwealth then often cannot proceed with the case. The same rule applies to a gun found in a car. The Commonwealth can use the gun as evidence only if the stop and the search were lawful.

A motor vehicle case can also have consequences outside the courtroom. A Logan ramp worker who starts work at 4 a.m. may have no way to get to work without a driver’s license. An OUI case can lead a licensing board to review a professional’s license and can have immigration consequences for a noncitizen. Attorney Serpa prepares the motion to suppress and reviews these consequences at the same time.

Domestic Violence Cases

Many East Boston families live in triple-deckers and small apartment buildings, especially around Maverick Square and Eagle Hill. Families, roommates, and extended households live close together in these buildings. Neighbors who hear an argument in a shared hallway often call the police. Massachusetts prosecutors pursue domestic violence cases on an evidence-based model. The prosecutor proceeds with the case on the 911 recording, the responding officers’ observations, photographs, and earlier statements, even when the complaining witness no longer wants the case to continue. A complaining witness who stops cooperating does not end the case.

A domestic violence case can have consequences beyond the charge itself. A judge can order a defendant to have no contact with the complaining witness, and that order can force the defendant to leave the defendant’s only housing.

A conviction for a crime of domestic violence can make a noncitizen deportable under federal immigration law. In these cases, Attorney Serpa examines what the recordings show, what the officers saw, and whether the Commonwealth can prove the case without the testimony of the complaining witness.

Clerk-Magistrate Hearings in East Boston

When police seek a misdemeanor complaint after an incident that did not result in a warrantless arrest, the accused person is ordinarily entitled to a clerk-magistrate hearing under G.L. c. 218, § 35A. The hearing occurs before a criminal complaint and before arraignment. The East Boston Division hears eligible complaint applications arising in East Boston, Winthrop, and at Logan Airport. The guide to what happens at a clerk-magistrate hearing explains the notice, presentation, probable-cause decision, and possible outcomes.

The clerk-magistrate decides whether the application establishes probable cause and, where the law permits discretion, whether to authorize a complaint despite probable cause. If the application is denied, no complaint issues, no arraignment occurs, and the application creates no CORI entry. If a complaint is authorized, the case proceeds to arraignment. The clerk-magistrate hearing FAQ answers individual questions about evidence, witnesses, privacy, missed hearings, and records.

A case that begins with a warrantless arrest ordinarily proceeds directly to arraignment rather than to a clerk-magistrate hearing. The difference between an arrest and a summons often comes up in Logan Airport cases. After some Logan incidents, the police apply for a complaint and the court sends a summons. After other Logan incidents, the police make an arrest. Attorney Joe Serpa has practiced Massachusetts criminal defense since 1995. He provides representation at Massachusetts clerk-magistrate hearings in the East Boston Division. Contact Serpa Law Office at 617.936.0201 for a confidential consultation.

Quick Answers

Related Serpa Law Office Resources:

• Massachusetts Criminal Court FAQs
• Clerk-Magistrate Hearing FAQ
• Sealing and Expunging a Criminal Record
• What to Do After an Arrest