Boston Domestic Violence Information

The Boston answer in plain language

Boston domestic-violence cases typically run two parallel tracks: a criminal charge in the local District Court (assault and battery on a family or household member under M.G.L. c. 265 sec. 13M, restraining-order violation under c. 209A sec. 7) and a civil 209A or 258E petition with a 10-day return hearing. Where the parties share a child or are presently married, related parenting orders move in the Suffolk County Probate and Family Court. The intake call evaluates the matter and the firm either handles it directly or connects the client with a Massachusetts criminal-defense partner attorney at no extra cost.

Forum and venue for Boston matters

For readers in Boston, the following Suffolk County courts hear this category of matter:

• Boston Municipal Court 24 New Chardon Street, Boston, MA 02114 criminal arraignment and 209A and 258E petition return hearings
• Suffolk County Probate and Family Court 24 New Chardon Street, Boston, MA 02114 parallel parenting orders and 209A petitions involving spouses or co-parents
• Suffolk County Superior Court 3 Pemberton Square, Boston, MA 02108 felony domestic-violence cases bound over after probable-cause hearing

Filing in the wrong forum is a procedural setback rather than a permanent bar, but it costs time. Counsel routes the matter to the correct court at intake.

Engaging the firm from Boston

Jim Glaser Law accepts Boston matters by telephone at the number above. The first telephone consultation is offered without charge. Matters accepted on contingency carry no attorney fee unless and until the matter resolves with a recovery to the client; case-related costs and expenses are addressed in the written fee agreement.

Boston sits in Suffolk County, Massachusetts, with a population of approximately 675,647 per the most recent Census estimate. Suffolk County matters of this category are heard and administered through the appropriate Suffolk County forums and are evaluated under the same Massachusetts framework that applies to every domestic violence matter in the Commonwealth.

Boston's case-pattern profile reflects the city's commuter and industrial mix: rideshare and TNC collisions on Storrow Drive and Memorial Drive; pedestrian incidents around the South Station and North Station transit hubs; construction-site injuries on the active high-rise and lab-fit-out projects across the Seaport, Back Bay, and Longwood Medical Area; and slip-and-fall claims tied to the city's seasonal sidewalk-clearing obligations under the Boston Public Works Code. The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority is named as a defendant in many transit-related Boston cases. Boston was incorporated as a town in 1630 and as a city in 1822, making it the oldest city in Massachusetts. The city covers roughly 48 square miles and carries one of the highest population densities in the United States. Boston ZIP codes span 02108 through 02137, with the State House at 02133 and Logan Airport at 02128.