About District and Superior Court
Massachusetts has 62 district courts, each responsible for criminal cases arising within a defined geographic area.
Lowell District Court serves Billerica, Chelmsford, Dracut, Lowell, Tewksbury, andTyngsborough. It is located inside the Cornelius F. Kiernan Judicial Center at370 Jackson Street in Lowell.
District court is where the overwhelming majority ofcriminal cases are handled from start to finish, including arraignments, bail hearings, pretrial conferences, motions, and trials. More serious felonies are indicted and transferred to Middlesex Superior Court, which sits in Woburn and Lowell. Lowell Superior Court sits at 370 JacksonStreet and serves all cities and towns of Middlesex County.
Juvenile matters are handled by Lowell Juvenile Court, alsoat 370 Jackson Street, serving a wider area including Ashby, Ayer, Billerica, Boxborough, Burlington, Chelmsford, Dracut, Dunstable, Fort Devens, Groton, Littleton, Lowell, North Reading, Pepperell, Reading, Shirley, Stoneham,Tewksbury, Townsend, Tyngsborough, Westford, Wilmington, Winchester, and Woburn.
Lowell's Kiernan Judicial Center houses five court departments together: District, Superior, Housing, Juvenile, and Probate and Family Court.
Serious Felony Charges: Middlesex Superior Court
More serious felony charges, including rape, armed robbery, assault with intent to murder, and drug trafficking, are indicted and transferred to Middlesex Superior Court, also located at 370 Jackson Street in the Kiernan Judicial Center.
Superior Court carries much higher stakes, including long potential sentences in state prison. Cases involve more complex procedures and evidence. Serious felony charges in Superior Court require a more experienced and skilled lawyer.We have defended people in serious felony cases in Superior Court for over 30 years, with a successful history of negotiation and at trial. If your case is, or could be, headed to Superior Court, that experience matters
Clerk Magistrate Hearings at Lowell District Court
Many cases at Lowell District Court begin, and end, at Clerk's Hearings.
Before a criminal complaint is formally issued in many Massachusetts cases, a Clerk Magistrate Hearing, also called a "show cause hearing," takes place at the courthouse. At this hearing, the clerk magistrate reviews an application for a complaint and determines whether there is probable cause to issue it.
This hearing is one of the most important opportunities in a criminal case. If the clerk magistrate finds insufficient probable cause, no criminal complaint is issued, meaning no arraignment, no criminal record, no case.
Even when a complaint does issue, a skilled defense attorney can use the hearing to develop the facts, assess the evidence, and begin building a defense before the case moves forward. Importantly, there may be an opportunity to resolve the matter without a complaint issuing even if there is probable cause.
You are not required to have an attorney at a clerk magistrate hearing, but appearing without one is a serious mistake. The Commonwealth will have a police officer or prosecutor present the case for a complaint. You should have someone equally prepared to present your side.
We regularly represent clients at clerk magistrate hearings at Lowell District Court. If you have received a notice for a clerk magistrate hearing, call us immediately. These hearings move quickly, and early intervention makes a significant difference.
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