Quincy Criminal Defense Lawyer and Quincy District Court Attorney

A person arrested or summoned to court in Quincy, Braintree, Cohasset, Holbrook, Milton, Randolph, or Weymouth faces a criminal case in the Quincy District Court, at 1 Dennis Ryan Parkway, Quincy, MA 02169. Attorney Joe Serpa is a Quincy criminal defense lawyer with an office at 500 Victory Road, Suite 400A, in the Marina Bay section of Quincy, about 4.6 miles from the courthouse. He has practiced Massachusetts criminal defense since 1995 and represents clients in the Quincy District Court at arraignments, clerk-magistrate hearings, motion hearings, and jury trials. The firm’s page on domestic violence cases in the Quincy District Court explains what happens after a domestic violence arrest in Quincy, Braintree, Weymouth, and the other towns the court serves. Call 617.936.0201. The courthouse is open Monday through Friday, from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

• Clerk’s office: (617) 471-1650
• Clerk’s fax: (617) 472-1924
• Probation department, 1150 Hancock Street, Quincy: (617) 847-8963
• Probation faxes: (617) 847-1574 at the annex, (617) 773-0530 at the courthouse
• Clerk’s email: cmquincydc@jud.state.ma.us

Public parking sits beside and behind the courthouse and is paid at a central meter that the City of Quincy operates. One hour of on-street parking is available in front of the courthouse on Dennis Ryan Parkway. A public pay garage across from the courthouse is reached from Cottage Avenue. The Quincy Center stop on the MBTA Red Line is the closest stop, and the Greenbush, Kingston and Plymouth, and Middleborough and Lakeville commuter rail lines all stop there.

The District Court posts a Daily List Report for the Quincy District Court on the Trial Court’s masscourts.org website. The daily list shows the cases scheduled in the courthouse each day and the session assigned to each case. A person who cannot find a case on the Quincy District Court daily list can call the clerk’s office at (617) 471-1650.

The Norfolk County District Attorney’s Office prosecutes every criminal case in the Quincy District Court. The Commonwealth prosecutes a felony beyond the district court’s final jurisdiction in the Norfolk Superior Court in Dedham, 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.

The prosecutor may end a Quincy case by filing a nolle prosequi. A judge may also dismiss a Quincy 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 each kind of dismissal.

The Quincy Office at Marina Bay

Serpa Law Office has an office in the Marina Bay section of Quincy, at 500 Victory Road, Suite 400A, Quincy, MA 02171, near Neponset Circle and the North Quincy stop on the MBTA Red Line. Attorney Serpa meets Quincy, Braintree, Milton, Weymouth and South Shore clients there. The firm’s Boston office is at 20 Park Plaza, Suite 400A, Boston, MA 02116. A client can call 617.936.0201 to schedule a consultation at either office.

Attorney Serpa also represents clients in five other courts near the Quincy office.

• The Boston Municipal Court, Dorchester Division, at 510 Washington Street in Dorchester, hears criminal cases from Dorchester.
• The Boston Municipal Court, South Boston Division, at 535 East Broadway in South Boston, hears criminal cases from South Boston.
• The Dedham District Court, at 631 High Street in Dedham, hears criminal cases from Dedham, Dover, Medfield, Needham, Norwood, Wellesley, and Westwood.
• The Hingham District Court, at 28 George Washington Boulevard in Hingham, hears criminal cases from Hanover, Hingham, Hull, Norwell, Rockland, and Scituate.
• The Commonwealth prosecutes indicted felony cases from Norfolk County in the Norfolk Superior Court, at 650 High Street in Dedham.

The Quincy office is about two miles from Neponset Circle in Dorchester, by way of Commander Shea Boulevard or Quincy Shore Drive. North Quincy station on the MBTA Red Line is about two miles from the office along Commander Shea Boulevard.

Jurisdiction

The Quincy District Court hears criminal cases from Quincy, Braintree, Cohasset, Holbrook, Milton, Randolph, and Weymouth. A Quincy judge 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.

The 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 Quincy is tried before a jury of six. G.L. c. 218, § 26A.

The Seven Towns the Court Serves

Milton is a quiet residential town. Cohasset is a small coastal town. Randolph and Holbrook are diverse working-class towns. A case from either town often affects the defendant’s housing and job. Weymouth and Braintree are large suburbs. Many of the court’s domestic violence cases come from those two towns. Many shoplifting and larceny complaint applications come from the stores around South Shore Plaza, a large shopping mall in Braintree. Many OUI and drug cases begin with State Police stops on Route 3 and Interstate 93.

The Quincy District Court hears many cases each day. A case moves through the court’s standard procedures unless the defense acts early. The events of the first two weeks often determine whether the case creates a record. A client who calls a lawyer the day a show cause notice arrives can sometimes keep the case out of the arraignment session. A client who appears at arraignment without a lawyer has already passed that stage.

The People of Quincy

Quincy is a city of about one hundred thousand people and the largest city in Norfolk County. Four Red Line stations connect Quincy to downtown Boston. Many Quincy residents commute to jobs in Boston hospitals, banks, and offices. Many young renters live in the new apartment buildings in Quincy Center. Roommate disputes, noise complaints, and fights near bars in those neighborhoods often end in assault and disorderly conduct complaints. The police make many late-night stops on the roads out of the restaurants and bars in Marina Bay.

Quincy has a large Asian American community, much of it in North Quincy and Wollaston. Many Quincy residents are immigrants. An outcome that looks routine to a citizen can be a conviction that makes a green card holder deportable. A shoplifting charge, a first-offense OUI, or a domestic dispute can affect naturalization, a pending green card application, or a visa renewal. Attorney Serpa asks every client about immigration status before recommending any plea.

Many defendants in the Quincy District Court are nurses and hospital staff, union tradespeople, financial services workers who commute to Boston on the Red Line, and state employees. Many Quincy residents work in health care, financial services, or public employment. Employers in each of those fields run background checks. A nurse answers to the Board of Registration in Nursing. A financial services employee may have to answer FINRA disclosure questions. Teachers, home health aides, and childcare workers go through CORI screening. A pending charge appears on that screening from the arraignment forward. The firm’s licensed professionals FAQ explains these obligations board by board. A professional often has to decide whether to report a charge to a board before the criminal case ends.

Public employees face the same questions. Many Quincy residents work for the city, the county, or the state. Public employers usually learn about criminal charges quickly. Many tradespeople also hold licenses. An outcome that an office worker could accept without harm to a career can put a hoisting license or a journeyman electrician’s license at risk. Attorney Serpa considers who the client is as well as what the charge is. The right outcome for a retiree may be the wrong outcome for a twenty-six-year-old nurse, even on identical facts.

The Clerk-Magistrate Hearing

The Quincy clerk-magistrates hear a varied set of applications, including OUI applications from Route 3 and Interstate 93, shoplifting applications from the South Shore Plaza, assault complaints from Weymouth and Braintree, and first-offense applications against professionals from Milton and Cohasset. A store’s loss prevention office files many of the South Shore Plaza applications, often for modest dollar amounts. Counsel can often resolve the application before a complaint issues.

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.

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 who declines to issue a complaint leaves no criminal court case, no public arraignment, and no arraignment-based CORI entry, although a police record may remain. An application that the clerk-magistrate holds open remains pending until the clerk-magistrate closes it. Attorney Serpa has appeared before Quincy’s clerk-magistrates across the full range of matters that come before the Quincy District Court.

Common Charges

OUI (G.L. c. 90, § 24). Many Quincy OUI arrests take place on Route 3 and Interstate 93, where the State Police 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. The firm’s page on Massachusetts OUI License Suspensions explains each license consequence. The firm’s page on OUI cases in the Quincy District Court explains the arrest, the license suspension, and the defense of an OUI case in Quincy.

The defense often begins with a motion to suppress. The judge can exclude the evidence when the officer stopped the car without an observed violation, gave an exit order without justification, or gave a breath test that did not comply with the regulations. A first offense resolved under G.L. c. 90, § 24D allows the client to apply for a hardship license quickly, and the case ends without a conviction after probation. A commercial driver faces separate disqualification rules that make the § 24D outcome far more costly than it appears.

Domestic Violence (G.L. c. 265, § 13M, and G.L. c. 265, § 13A). The Norfolk 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 police reports, 911 recordings, and medical records.

Many domestic violence cases in the Quincy District Court come from Weymouth and Braintree. The police usually make an arrest the same night as the 911 call, and the arraignment takes place the next business morning. Within days, the judge sets conditions of release, may issue a 209A restraining order, and in some cases holds a dangerousness hearing under G.L. c. 276, § 58A. The period before arraignment gives the defense time to address the conditions of release and prepare for a dangerousness hearing.

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). A licensed professional may also have to report a domestic assault charge to a licensing board, depending on the board’s rules. The firm’s pages on A&B on a Family or Household Member and Strangulation Charges explain each charge.

209A Restraining Orders (Abuse Prevention Orders Under G.L. c. 209A). A judge may issue a temporary 209A restraining order based on the plaintiff’s affidavit before the defendant has a chance to be heard. After service of the order by the police, the defendant must follow the stay-away and no-contact terms, may have to surrender firearms under G.L. c. 209A, § 3B, and may have to leave the family home.

At the contested hearing, counsel for the defendant may examine the reasonableness of the plaintiff’s claimed fear, inconsistencies in the plaintiff’s account, and prior messages between the parties. A defendant convicted of violating a 209A restraining order under G.L. c. 209A, § 7 faces up to two and one-half years in the house of correction, a fine of up to $5,000, or both.

The Commonwealth must prove that the order was valid and in effect, that the defendant knew of it, and that the defendant violated it. Contact that the plaintiff starts is not a defense to a charge of violating the order. The firm’s page on Violation of a Massachusetts 209A Restraining Order explains the violation charge.

258E Harassment Prevention Orders (G.L. c. 258E). Many 258E harassment prevention order cases in Quincy arise between neighbors in Quincy’s multi-family homes and condominiums, between landlords and tenants downtown, and between residents of Weymouth and Braintree. Many disputes over noise, parking, and shared spaces continue for months before a party applies for a 258E harassment prevention order.

A judge may issue a 258E harassment prevention order based on harassment only on proof of 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 together must have caused fear, intimidation, abuse, or damage to property.

G.L. c. 258E, § 1. O’Brien v. Borowski, 461 Mass. 415 (2012). Counsel often addresses whether acts listed in an application for a 258E harassment prevention order were legitimate complaints to a landlord or to town officials rather than willful and malicious acts.

Serpa Law Office represents defendants who contest 258E harassment prevention orders and plaintiffs who need protection. A defendant convicted of violating a 258E harassment prevention order under G.L. c. 258E, § 9 faces up to two and one-half years in the house of correction, a fine of up to $5,000, or both. The firm’s article When Does Unwanted Contact Become Harassment? explains the standard in more detail.

Drug Offenses (G.L. c. 94C). Many Quincy drug charges arise from State Police stops on Route 3 and Interstate 93. 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.

Firearms (G.L. c. 269, § 10). 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, continue the case 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.

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. The firm’s article on the Massachusetts Firearms Registration Deadline explains both requirements.

Shoplifting and Larceny (G.L. c. 266, §§ 30, 30A). Many shoplifting and larceny cases in Quincy begin at the South Shore Plaza in Braintree and at stores in Quincy Center. 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. A theft conviction can affect employment, a professional license, or a security clearance. The question whether a particular employer or agency may see the CORI depends on its level of access and on whether the record has been sealed.

Motor Vehicle Offenses (G.L. c. 90C, § 3). Many Quincy 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 4-Day Deadline explains the deadline in more detail.

Professional License and Immigration Consequences

Many Quincy defendants are tradespeople, medical professionals, financial services workers, and state employees. A continuance without a finding, pretrial probation, or statutory diversion can end a case without a conviction, but licensing boards, immigration authorities, and employers treat each of those outcomes differently. A licensed professional may have to report a continuance without a finding, depending on the profession, the board or regulator, and the wording of the board’s question. Attorney Serpa reviews the board’s question with the client before any plea or admission.

Quincy and Randolph have large immigrant communities. Federal immigration law imposes its own consequences on a conviction or a continuance without a finding in the Quincy District Court. A noncitizen should have an immigration lawyer review any proposed disposition before accepting it. A noncitizen whose Quincy 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 Quincy court record before the client files the application or attends the interview.

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

Quick Answers

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