Superior Court Criminal Defense
Each county in Massachusetts has one or more Superior Court. While most criminal cases are prosecuted out of the District or Municipal Courts, the District Attorney may choose to indict a case and elevate it to the Superior Court. By doing so, the prosecutor will be able to request much more serious sentences if the accused is convicted.
If you are facing a Superior Court charge, it is important that you contact an experienced defense attorney. Attorneys James G. DeGiacomo and Sergey Mikhlin are former Plymouth County Prosecutors and have experience successfully defending clients in Superior Courts.
How the Indictment Process Works
Most Superior Court cases start in District Court. Usually, the defendant is arrested, or even summonsed to the local District Court where they are arraigned. After the arraignment, the prosecutor will review the case for indictment. Some charges, such as murder, rape, or trafficking in narcotics, can only be prosecuted in the Superior Courts, so after a District Court arraignment, there will be a probable cause date set as a placeholder to give the prosecutor time to get the case transferred to Superior Court. However, any felony, such as a Fourth or Fifth Offense OUI, can be indicted, and the prosecutor can take as long as they want to make the decision on whether or not to indict.
After a decision has been made, the prosecutor will present the case to the Grand Jury. The Grand Jury is a secret body, and neither the defendant nor his attorney can be in the room. Often times, they won’t even know that a case is being presented. After hearing the case, the Grand Jury will decide to if they believe that probable cause exists, and if they do, they will issue the indictments.
Once the case has been indicted, the District Court case will be dismissed, and the defendant will be arraigned in the local Superior Court.
DeGiacomo & Mikhlin, P.C.
Attorneys James G. DeGiacomo and Sergey Mikhlin are experienced Superior Court defense attorneys who have successfully represented clients in numerous Superior Court cases, including in the Plymouth Superior Court, Essex Superior Court, and Worcester Superior Court. If you have been indicted in a Superior Court Case, or if you have been charged in a District Court, call DeGiacomo & Mikhlin, P.C. right away for a free case evaluation.
Here are a list of the Superior Courts in Massachusetts:
- Barnstable Superior Court, located at 3195 Main Street, Barnstable, MA 02630
- Berkshire County Superior Court, located at 76 East Street, Pittsfield, MA 01201
- Bristol County Superior Court – Taunton, located at 9 Court Street, Taunton, MA 02780
- Bristol County Superior Court – Fall River, located at 186 South Main Street, Fall River, MA 02720
- Bristol County Superior Court – New Bedford, located at 441 County Street, New Bedford, MA 02740
- Dukes County Superior Court, located at 81 Main Street, Edgartown, MA 02539
- Essex County Superior Court – Salem, located at 56 Federal Street, Salem, MA 01970
- Essex County Superior Court – Lawrence, located at 43 Appleton Way, Lawrence, MA 01841
- Essex County Superior Court – Newburyport, located at 145 High Street, Newburyport, MA 01950
- Franklin County Superior Court, located at 44 Hope Street, Greenfield, MA 01301
- Hampden County Superior Court, located at 50 State Street, Springfield, MA 01102
- Hampshire County Superior Court, located at 15 Gothic Street, Northampton, MA 016061
- Middlesex County Superior Court – Woburn, located at 200 Trade Center, Woburn, MA 01801
- Middlesex County Superior Court – Lowell, located at 360 Gorham Street, Lowell, MA 01852
- Nantucket County Superior Court, located at 16 Broad Street, Nantucket, MA 02544
- Norfolk County Superior Court, located at 650 High Street, Dedham, MA 02026
- Plymouth County Superior Court – Plymouth, located at 52 Obery Street, Plymouth, MA 02630
- Plymouth County Superior Court – Brockton, located at 72 Belmont Street, Brockton, MA 02301
- Suffolk County Superior Court, located at 3 Pemberton Square, Boston, MA 02108
- Worcester County Superior Court, located at 225 Main Street, Worcester, MA 01608
