Hingham District Court Criminal Defense Lawyer

A person arrested or summoned to court in Hingham, Hanover, Hull, Norwell, Rockland, or Scituate faces a criminal case in the Hingham District Court, at 28 George Washington Boulevard, Hingham, MA 02043. The courthouse is open Monday through Friday, from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

• Clerk’s office and probation department: (781) 749-7000
• Clerk’s fax: (781) 740-8390
• Probation fax: (781) 741-5215
• Clerk’s email: cmhinghamdc@jud.state.ma.us

A free parking lot serves the courthouse. The closest stop on the MBTA Greenbush commuter rail line is Nantasket Junction, about a mile from the courthouse.

The Plymouth County District Attorney’s Office prosecutes every criminal case in the Hingham District Court. The Commonwealth prosecutes a felony beyond the district court’s final jurisdiction in the Plymouth County Superior Court, after a grand jury indicts the defendant. A district court judge who finds probable cause at a probable cause hearing binds the case over to the Superior Court, where the Commonwealth must still obtain an indictment unless the defendant waives indictment.

Attorney Joe Serpa has practiced Massachusetts criminal defense since 1995. He represents clients in the Hingham District Court at clerk-magistrate hearings, arraignments, motion hearings, and trials. Call 617.936.0201.

The prosecutor may end a Hingham case by filing a nolle prosequi. A judge may also dismiss a Hingham case on a legal ground that the defense raises, such as a lack of probable cause. The firm’s page on how criminal cases get dismissed in Massachusetts explains a nolle prosequi and a dismissal in more detail.

Jurisdiction

The Hingham District Court hears criminal cases from Hingham, Hanover, Hull, Norwell, Rockland, and Scituate. A judge in the Hingham District Court hears every misdemeanor except libel, every felony punishable by no more than five years in state prison, and the more serious felonies listed in G.L. c. 218, § 26.

A Hingham judge may impose up to two and one-half years in the house of correction on a single charge, but may not sentence a defendant to state prison. G.L. c. 218, § 27. A defendant who chooses a jury trial in Hingham is tried before a jury of six. G.L. c. 218, § 26A.

The Clerk-Magistrate Hearing

A person who has not been arrested has a right to a clerk-magistrate hearing under G.L. c. 218, § 35A on any misdemeanor application, and on a felony application when the police officer requests a hearing. The right to a hearing does not apply when there is an imminent threat of bodily injury, of a crime, or of flight from Massachusetts. Many people who come before the Hingham clerk-magistrates are professionals from the South Shore towns with no prior record. Counsel may present the person’s work, standing, and the specific harm that an arraignment would cause.

A clerk-magistrate may decline to issue a complaint even when the application shows probable cause, as long as the district attorney’s office has not told the clerk-magistrate that it intends to prosecute. Victory Distributors, Inc. v. Ayer Div. of the Dist. Court Dep’t, 435 Mass. 136, 142 to 143 (2001). A clerk-magistrate may also hold the application open for a set period and then dismiss it. A clerk-magistrate who issues no complaint leaves no arraignment and no CORI entry from that application.

Common Charges

OUI, Operating Under the Influence (G.L. c. 90, § 24). Many Hingham OUI arrests take place on Route 3, where the State Police and local police departments patrol. A judge may not place an OUI case on file or continue it without a finding, except through a disposition under G.L. c. 90, § 24D. G.L. c. 90, § 24(1)(a)(1). A defendant convicted of a first offense faces up to two and one-half years in the house of correction, a fine of $500 to $5,000, or both. The defendant also loses the license for one year.

Counsel examines the stop, the field sobriety tests, and the calibration records of the Draeger Alcotest 9510 breathalyzer. The firm’s page on Massachusetts OUI License Suspensions explains each license consequence.

Domestic Violence and Assault (G.L. c. 265, § 13M, and G.L. c. 265, § 13A). The Plymouth 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 rely on the police officers’ observations, 911 recordings, and medical records to prove the case. Federal law prohibits a person convicted of a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence from possessing a firearm or ammunition. 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(9).

At arraignment, the judge may order the defendant, as a condition of release, to stay away from and have no contact with the alleged victim. A 209A restraining order is a separate civil order that the alleged victim applies for. The judge who issues a 209A restraining order can also order the defendant to surrender firearms and any license to carry. The firm’s pages on A&B on a Family or Household Member and Strangulation Charges explain each charge.

258E Harassment Prevention Orders (G.L. c. 258E). A plaintiff who lives in Hingham, Hanover, Hull, Norwell, Rockland, or Scituate may file a 258E harassment prevention order complaint in the Hingham District Court or the Plymouth County Superior Court. The plaintiff must instead file the complaint in the Juvenile Court when the defendant is under 18.

The plaintiff does not need a family, household, or dating relationship with the defendant. A judge may issue a 258E harassment prevention order when the plaintiff proves three or more willful and malicious acts aimed at the plaintiff. The defendant must have committed each act with the intent to cause fear, intimidation, abuse, or damage to property. The acts must also have caused fear, intimidation, abuse, or damage to property. O’Brien v. Borowski, 461 Mass. 415 (2012). The plaintiff may instead prove one act of forced sexual relations or one of the crimes specified in G.L. c. 258E, § 1.

The judge ordinarily hears the plaintiff on the day of filing, without the defendant present, and may issue a temporary order. The court must then hear the defendant not later than ten court business days after the judge enters the temporary order. G.L. c. 258E, § 5. Serpa Law Office represents defendants in 258E harassment prevention order cases in Hingham and represents plaintiffs seeking a 258E harassment prevention order. The firm’s page on 258E harassment prevention orders explains the three act standard, the hearing after notice, and how Attorney Serpa defends a complaint that alleges physical acts.

Violations of 209A Restraining Orders and 258E Harassment Prevention Orders (G.L. c. 209A, § 7, and G.L. c. 258E, § 9). To convict a defendant of violating a 209A restraining order or a 258E harassment prevention order, the Commonwealth must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that a valid order was in effect on the date alleged. The Commonwealth must also prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant knew of the order and violated it.

A defendant convicted of violating a 209A restraining order or a 258E harassment prevention order faces up to two and one-half years in the house of correction, a fine of up to $5,000, or both. Contact that the plaintiff starts is not a defense. A defendant on release in another case who is charged with a violation may face revocation of that release after a hearing under G.L. c. 276, § 58B. The firm’s Massachusetts 209A Restraining Order and 258E Harassment Prevention Order Violation FAQs answer common questions.

Drug Offenses (G.L. c. 94C). Many Hingham drug charges arise from State Police stops on Route 3 and from local police enforcement in the South Shore towns. First-offense possession under G.L. c. 94C, § 34 is a misdemeanor. A defendant convicted of a first offense of distributing a Class A or Class B substance faces no mandatory minimum sentence. A defendant convicted of a second Class A distribution offense, or of trafficking under § 32E, faces a mandatory minimum sentence.

A defendant convicted under § 32J of a drug offense within 300 feet of a school between 5:00 a.m. and midnight, or within 100 feet of a public park or playground, faces a mandatory minimum sentence of two years.

The Commonwealth must also prove one of three facts. The first is that the defendant used violence, threatened violence, or possessed a firearm. The second is that the defendant directed another person who committed a drug felony. The third is that the defendant distributed drugs to a minor or used a minor to distribute drugs under § 32F or § 32K. Counsel examines the stop, the search, and the chain of custody of the evidence.

Motor Vehicle Offenses (G.L. c. 90C, § 3). Many Hingham charges of negligent operation, leaving the scene, and operating after suspension begin with a criminal citation. A driver cited for a misdemeanor motor vehicle offense, with no felony charge and no arrest, has four days from the violation to ask the clerk-magistrate in writing for a hearing. G.L. c. 90C, § 3(B)(2). The statute requires a hearing only when the driver makes a timely written request. The firm’s article The Criminal Uniform Traffic Citation and the 4-Day Deadline explains the deadline.

Shoplifting and Larceny (G.L. c. 266, § 30, and G.L. c. 266, § 30A). Many shoplifting and larceny cases in Hingham begin at stores in Hanover and Rockland. A defendant convicted of a first shoplifting offense under G.L. c. 266, § 30A, involving goods worth less than $250, faces a fine of up to $250. A defendant convicted of a second offense involving goods worth less than $250 faces a fine of $100 to $500. A defendant convicted of a third or later offense involving goods worth less than $250 faces a fine of up to $500, up to two years in jail, or both. A defendant convicted of shoplifting goods worth $250 or more faces a fine of up to $1,000, up to two and one-half years in the house of correction, or both. Larceny of property worth more than $1,200 is a felony under G.L. c. 266, § 30. An employer, a licensing board, or a security clearance investigator may treat a theft charge as a crime of dishonesty.

Firearms Offenses (G.L. c. 269, § 10, and St. 2024, c. 135). A defendant convicted of carrying a firearm without a license under G.L. c. 269, § 10(a) faces a sentence of at least 18 months in jail or prison. The judge cannot suspend the 18-month minimum sentence, give a continuance without a finding, or place the case on file.

An Act Modernizing Firearm Laws, St. 2024, c. 135, added serial number and registration requirements under G.L. c. 140, §§ 121C and 121B, with penalties that increase on a second and on a third offense. A regulation of the Executive Office of Public Safety and Security required the owner of a firearm without a valid serial number to serialize the firearm by October 2, 2026, unless an exemption applies. 501 CMR 20.08(1). The Executive Office’s firearm modernization page states that firearms must be serialized and registered by October 28, 2026.

South Shore Clients

Many Hingham defendants are physicians, nurses, lawyers, and tradespeople from Hingham, Norwell, and Scituate. A licensed professional may have to report a criminal charge, a conviction, or a continuance without a finding to a licensing board, depending on the board’s rules. An arraignment also creates a pending court case that an employer’s background check may show. A clerk-magistrate who declines to issue a complaint ends the matter without an arraignment.

Federal immigration law imposes its own consequences on a conviction or a continuance without a finding in the Hingham District Court. A noncitizen or visa holder should have an immigration lawyer review any proposed disposition before accepting it. A noncitizen whose Hingham case ends without a conviction may still have to answer questions about the arrest on an immigration application or at an interview. An immigration lawyer should review the exact question, the client’s immigration status, and the Hingham court record before the client files the application or attends the interview.

The firm’s Massachusetts Criminal Court FAQs, Clerk-Magistrate Hearing FAQ, and article on What to Do in the First 24 Hours After a Massachusetts Arrest answer more questions. The firm’s page on Immigration Consequences of Massachusetts Criminal Charges explains the immigration risks in more detail.

Contact Serpa Law Office at 617.936.0201 for a free consultation. The Boston office is at 20 Park Plaza, Suite 400A. The Quincy office is at 500 Victory Road, Suite 400A.