If you have been notified of an assault and battery at clerk magistrate hearing, you have a critical opportunity that most people do not fully understand. Unlike an arraignment, where you are formally charged, and a criminal case begins, a clerk magistrate hearing is a chance to stop the case before it ever becomes a criminal complaint. For assault and battery charges in particular, this hearing can mean the difference between a clean record and a criminal case that follows you for years.
How A&B Cases End Up at a Clerk Magistrate Hearing
Not every assault and battery accusation leads directly to an arrest and arraignment. Under Massachusetts law, when a person has not been arrested and either a law enforcement officer or a private citizen applies for a criminal complaint alleging misdemeanor assault and battery, the accused must be given the opportunity to be heard at a show cause hearing before a clerk magistrate. This is your statutory right.
Common scenarios that lead to these hearings include altercations at bars or sporting events, disputes between neighbors, road rage incidents, and confrontations between acquaintances or family members where police were called but no arrest was made. The SJC has used the example of two parents getting into a fist fight at a youth hockey game—if one parent or an officer seeks misdemeanor A&B charges, a show cause hearing must be held.
How This Differs from an Arraignment-Track Case
The distinction is significant. If you are arrested for assault and battery, you will typically be arraigned, and a criminal complaint will issue. You will have a public criminal record from that point forward. At a clerk magistrate hearing, by contrast, the proceedings are presumptively closed to the public, and the clerk magistrate’s sole task is to determine whether probable cause exists to issue the complaint. If the clerk magistrate finds insufficient probable cause, the complaint does not issue—and no criminal record is created.
This is not a trial. The rules of evidence are relaxed, and both parties may present their version of events. The standard is merely probable cause, not proof beyond a reasonable doubt. But this lower threshold also means that the right presentation can be decisive.
Defense Strategies at the Hearing
An experienced defense attorney can present several powerful arguments at this stage.
Self-defense.
Massachusetts recognizes the right to use reasonable force to defend oneself. If the complainant was the initial aggressor, or if you reasonably believed you were in imminent danger of bodily harm, presenting that narrative persuasively to the clerk magistrate can defeat the probable cause finding entirely.
Mutual altercations and initial aggressor
Massachusetts does not recognize mutual consent to fight as a defense to assault and battery—agreeing to a fight is still illegal. However, the fact that both parties were active participants is far from irrelevant at a clerk magistrate hearing.
An attorney can argue that the complainant was the initial aggressor, that the complainant’s own conduct makes the account unreliable, or that the evidence cannot establish who struck first. In Bradford v. Knights, both parties accused each other of A&B, each seeking a criminal complaint against the other—illustrating how these disputes often lack a clear victim.
Lack of intent
Assault and battery requires an intentional touching. Accidental contact—even if it results in injury—does not satisfy this element. In crowded or chaotic situations, demonstrating that contact was incidental rather than purposeful can be an effective defense.
Credibility and motive
Clerk magistrate hearings often involve private citizen complaints. An attorney can highlight inconsistencies, bias, or retaliatory motives behind the application.
Why You Need an Attorney
You have the statutory right to appear at a clerk magistrate hearing personally or through counsel. You should exercise the right to counsel. An attorney understands the probable cause standard, knows how to frame your version of events persuasively, and can negotiate with the complainant or the officer before the hearing even begins. Many cases are resolved through an accord and satisfaction or a mutual agreement to withdraw before the clerk magistrate makes a finding.
If the complaint is denied, you walk away without a criminal record. If you go in unprepared and the complaint issues, you will face arraignment and everything that comes with it. The clerk magistrate hearing is your best and earliest chance to end this matter—do not waste it.
At the Law Office of Matthew W. Peterson, we have successfully helped clients navigate Massachusetts clerk-magistrate hearings for assault and battery, fighting to protect their records. If you need a Boston Clerk Magistrate Hearings attorney, call 617-391-0060 today to schedule a strategy session.
Footnotes
[1] Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 218, § 35A.
[2] Boston Globe Media Partners, LLC v. Chief Justice of the Trial Court, 483 Mass. 80, 84–85 (2019).
[3] Id. at 85.
[4] District Court Standards of Judicial Practice, The Complaint Procedure, Standard 3:22; see also Boston Globe Media Partners, 483 Mass. at 80.
[5] See Commonwealth v. Collberg, 119 Mass. 350, 353 (1876) (consent to a mutual affray is no defense to a charge of assault and battery).
[6] Bradford v. Knights, 427 Mass. 748, 749 (1998).
[7] Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 218, § 35A.
