Somerville, Middlesex, Massachusetts Crime Index

According to the FBI’s 2019 Uniform Crime Report, there were 166 instances of violent crimes in Somerville, Massachusetts including

• 16 cases of rape,
• 38 reported cases of robbery,
• 112 cases of aggravated assaults
• 1,205 instances of property crimes including 140 burglaries and 796 cases of larceny-thefts, 89 incidents of motor vehicle theft, and 4 incidents of arson.
• There were no cases of murder or nonnegligent manslaughter.

Somerville District Courthouse

The Somerville District Court adjudicates criminal, civil, small claims, housing, juvenile, and mental health cases. It also hears civil cases with the potential award of damages between $7,000 and $50,000. This court oversees matters relating to violations of municipal ordinances, bylaws, rules, regulations, and misdemeanor offenses. Somerville District Court has criminal jurisdiction over all felonies that are punishable by a sentence of up to 5 years imprisonment, and other specified felonies with graver penalties.

The Court's civil jurisdiction extends to several specialized proceedings, including,

• Inquests
• Summary process (eviction of a party from their residence)
• Debt collection processes.
• Abuse preventative restraint orders.
• Mental health issues (enforced civil commitments and medication orders, and observation of offenders committed for such processes due to the fact that they are incompetent to stand trial or after an episode of insanity).
• Appeals from specified administrative agencies (for example, firearms licenses or unemployment compensation).
• Civil motor vehicle infractions (initially attempted to a magistrate, followed by the right of appeal to a judge).
• Other diversified civil matters.
   

According to the District Court Department of Massachusetts Report for the 2020 fiscal year, Somerville District Court received a total of 5,892 case filings. This includes 1,236 criminal defendants. 83 search warrants were issued by the court. In the Civil Division, the court received 480 regular civil cases, 1,093 small claims, 48 supplementary processes, 261 summary processes, 494 restraining orders, 128 cases involving mental health issues, 77 civil motor vehicle infraction appeals, 191 administrative warrants, five administrative appeals, and one miscellaneous case filing. Under the division of scheduled magistrate hearings, a total of 786 civil motor vehicle infraction appeals, 42 non-mv infractions, and 967 filings of show of cause cases were reported.
In 2020, there were no juvenile court filings.

Due to Covid-19, the Somerville District Court has made virtual court hearings available to the public. The court will contact the parties scheduled for a virtual hearing either by U.S mail, email, or telephone. The court will then provide them with instructions regarding how to prepare for an online hearing. In the event that an individual does not own a device that can connect to the internet, the party must contact the court as soon as possible. The court may postpone the hearing or assist the party in participating in the hearing. If an individual is in need of an interpreter for a hearing, they can either contact the court or call the Trial Court Helpline at (833) 912-6878 for assistance in obtaining one.
In virtual hearings, the party can contact the court if they wish to present evidence, either through a witness or with documents or photos. The Somerville District Court is located at
175 Fellsway
Somerville, Massachusetts
02145
Telephone: (617) 666-8000
Email: cmsomervilledc@jud.state.ma.us

The Eastern Housing Court is a jury trial court, located within the Somerville District Court. It has jurisdiction to administer

• Contract cases, tort cases, real property, and claims of up to $7,000.
• Preliminary hearings and misdemeanors.
• Violations of ordinances.

The court sits on Fridays at 8:30 am within a specified timeframe.

The records for the Massachusetts Housing Court Department 2020, indicate that the Eastern Housing Court received a total of 10,144 case entries. 333 of the recorded cases were criminal cases, 631 civil cases, 693 probable causes, and 274 small claims. The court also administered 4,452 summary processes, three supplementary processes, one search warrant, and 382 tickets. Furthermore, the court handled 3,375 alternative dispute resolution (ADR) cases.

Cambridge Juvenile Courthouse

Cambridge Juvenile Court is a jury trial court, serving the city of Somerville. It manages matters relating to:

• Guardianship.
• Adoption.
• Matters involving juveniles.
   

The courthouse is located at

121 Third Street
Cambridge, Massachusetts
02141

Telephone: (617) 494-4100

Email: middlesex-jccallctr@jud.state.ma.us

The courthouse opens Monday to Friday from 8:30 am to 4:30 pm.

The court received 3,214 cases in 2020. 70 of them were adoption cases, 1,307 applications for complaints, 341 care and protection cases, and 518 cases of children requiring assistance. There were 3 contempt (civil) cases, no contempt (criminal) cases, 2 cases involving contributing to delinquency, as well as 695 cases of delinquency. In 2020, the court also recorded 5 cases of equity, 20 instances of failure to cause, 61 cases of guardianship, and 67 incidents of harassment. The court also recorded 2 mental illness cases, name changes, and 32 cases revolving around paternity. In the Juvenile Department, the court handled 22 cases of substance abuse, 51 young adult permanency hearings, and 12 incidents of youthful offender cases.

Suffolk County Courthouse

The Land Court which serves Somerville is a non-jury trial court that handles cases concerning real property and mortgage foreclosure.

The courthouse is located at

3 Pemberton Square
Boston, Massachusetts
02108

If a party has been contacted by the Courts or by a third party, they may look at the received document to obtain specific contact information linked to their query. Otherwise, parties may contact the ADA Coordinator Barbara Lewiton by phone at (617) 788-7474 or by email. The Land Court opens Monday-Friday from 8:30 am to 4:30 pm.

In 2020, the court received 26,037 cases. 791 of them were registration/confirmation cases, 2,038 cases related to subsequence to registration, 7,224 tax lien foreclosure cases, 3,847 miscellaneous cases, 11 permits, and 12,126 servicemember cases.

Due to the outbreak of Covid-19, The Land Court has imposed special protocols that ensure the safety of all employees and visitors of the Court. These protocols may be revised at any time by The Recorder. The guidelines will be published and updated on the trial court’s website.

The Court has postponed any non-emergency matters and implemented virtual hearings until further notice.

Middlesex County Probate and Family Courthouse

The Middlesex County Probate and Family Courthouse is a non-jury trial court, and it offers services regarding:

• Probate, estate, and miscellaneous civil cases.
• Domestic relations including divorce and dissolution cases.
• Juvenile dependency.

The courthouse is located at

10-U Commerce Way

Woburn, Massachusetts

01801Telephone: (781) 865-4000

Email: middlesexprobate@jud.state.ma.us

(781) 865-4002. For cases regarding adoption or special immigrant juvenile status, parties

(781) 865-4004. For cases regarding divorce, parties

(781) 865-4007. If parties need assistance in handling cases regarding paternity

(781) 865-4008. If the parties inquire assistance with a case linked to probate (estate and guardianships)

The courthouse opens Mondays to Fridays from 8:00 am to 4:30 pm.
 

Middlesex Probate-Family Court statistics for 2020 indicates there were 19,893 cases filed in Middlesex County. 6,274 of them were estate administration cases, 919 changes of names, 1,300 incidents of guardianship cases, 611 conservatorship matters, and 90 cases regarding equity. There were also 152 case filings on adoption and child welfare, 204 special immigrant juvenile status cases, 5,396 incidents of divorces and other domestic relations, 1,955 contempt cases, 2,880 modification matters, and 112 abuse prevention cases.

Due to COVID-19 Pandemic, the Court will only conduct emergency in-person proceedings, when it is necessary for parties to the case to be physically present in the courthouse. All other cases that are identified as non-emergencies will be administered virtually until further notice.
 

Middlesex County Superior Courthouse

The Superior Court of Middlesex County is a jury trial court and serves the city of Somerville. The court handles cases regarding:

• Exclusive torts, contracts, real property that bring a charge of at least $25,000.
• Restraining orders and/or civil protection.
• Misdemeanors and felonies.
• Administrative appeal cases and other civil cases.
   

The courthouse is located at

200 Trade Center 2nd Floor

Woburn, Massachusetts

01801

Telephone: (781) 939-2700

Email: Middlesex.clerksoffice@jud.state.ma.us
The courthouse opens from Monday to Friday between 8:30 am to 4:30 pm.
 

According to the Massachusetts Superior Court Department Report of 2020, there were a total of 4,444 case entries in the 2020 Fiscal year. 3,556 of them were civil cases, and 888 were criminal cases.

John Adams Courthouse

The John Adams Courthouse functions both as the Massachusetts Appeals Court and the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court. The Appeals Court hears

• Criminal appeals cases.
• Criminal, civil, and administrative appeals.

The Supreme Court hears appeals for 1st-degree murder and any other criminal, civil, and administrative appeals cases from the Appeals Court

The courthouse is located at

1 Pemberton Square

Boston, Massachusetts

02108

Parties may contact the Appeals Court at (617) 921-4443, and the Supreme Judicial Court at (617) 557-1000, Monday to Friday between 8:30 am to 4:30 pm.

The Appeals Court Case Statistics for the 2020 Fiscal Year recorded a total of 842 civil cases in the Appeals Court of Massachusetts. 430 cases from the Superior Court, and 100 cases from Probate and Family Court. Furthermore, there were 79 cases from the District Court, 91 cases from Juvenile Court, 43 cases from the Land Court, 58 cases from Housing Court, 10 appellate Tax Board cases, 10 Industrial Accident Review Board matters, 1 Employment Relations Board matter, and 20 cases of Appeals Court Single Justice.

Appeals Court also recorded 736 criminal cases in the 2020 fiscal year. 388 of the recorded cases were from the Superior courts, 303 from the District Courts, 30 from the Juvenile Courts, and 15 matters from Appeals Court Single Justice.

For the 2018 Fiscal Year, the Supreme Judicial Court, Massachusetts handled a total of 194 cases. 102 of them were direct entries, 44 were matters of allowed direct appellate review applications, 15 instances of allowed further appellate review applications, and 33 cases that were transferred by the Supreme Judicial Court from the Appeals Court caseload. 

Lincoln Technical Institute

Lincoln Technical Institute in the city of Somerville is one of fourteen Lincoln campuses located throughout the country. According to Campus Safety and Security 2018 report, there were a total of 2 crimes at the Somerville campus and the surrounding properties of Lincoln Technical Institute. Both crimes were incidents of aggravated assault. 

Tufts University

According to the U.S Department of Education’s Campus Safety and Security 2018 report, there were reports of 27 crimes committed at the Tufts University Somerville campus, campus housing facilities, and surrounding properties of Tufts University. 12 of the reported crimes were incidents of rape, 6 cases of fondling, 1 robbery, and 8 burglaries.