Orleans District Court

The Orleans District Court serves the Outer Cape, from Brewster and Chatham out to Provincetown, a string of small towns whose year-round population is modest and whose summer population is enormous. The Cape and Islands District Attorney’s Office prosecutes here, and Attorney Joe Serpa prepares each case, resident or visitor, as a matter to be ended at the earliest stage, often with counsel appearing so an off-Cape client does not have to return.

Every case heard in this court can end in more than one way, and the most valuable outcome is an outright dismissal. Our companion page explains how criminal cases get dismissed in Massachusetts, from the clerk-magistrate stage through trial.

Location and Access. The Orleans District Court, 237 Rock Harbor Rd., Orleans, MA 02653, sits off Route 6. The court’s phone is (508) 255-4700.

Communities Served. Brewster, Chatham, Dennis, Eastham, Harwich, Orleans, Provincetown, Truro, and Wellfleet.

Seasonal and Visitor Cases. The Outer Cape’s summer surge, and Provincetown’s in particular, brings OUI, disorderly, and assault matters, most against visitors whose cases can be handled with counsel appearing so the client does not drive back to the Outer Cape; a denial at the clerk-magistrate hearing ends the matter with no record. The four-day citation rule governs the motor vehicle cases that begin without an arrest.

Domestic Violence and the Year-Round Calendar. The court runs domestic violence and 209A sessions and the drug and theft matters of a small year-round community, each defended on its elements.

Prepared for Trial From Day One. See Massachusetts Criminal Defense Results. Call 617.936.0201 for a confidential consultation before your Orleans date, wherever you live.

Related Serpa Law Office Resources: Clerk-Magistrate Hearings • OUI Defense • I Received a Show Cause Notice • Criminal Traffic Citation • Domestic Violence Defense • Courts We Serve Nearby: Barnstable District Court • Falmouth District Court