Home > Research Legal Advice > Domestic Violence > How long can a domestic assault and battery trial take?
Asked over 2 years ago - Attleboro, MA
FlagI live in massachusetts. my boyfriend is facing domestic assault and battery charges. He was already arrained,and will be going to the pre-trial soon. I was wondering how long trials like this usually take?
If there are no intervening date between the pretrial conference date and the trial (such as a date for motions), then the trial date can be scheduled about 30-45 days after the pretrial conference date, depending on the court calendar. The actual length of the trial itself depends on many factors such as the number of witnesses or the complexity of the factual issues, but most domestic assault and battery charges in the district court take between 1-2 days to complete, assuming that the prosecutor even has a witness to the crime so that they can proceed to trial.
I agree with attorney Pang's advice, the scheduling of these matters depends on how busy the court's schedule is at the time. Such an actual trial depends on the number of witnesses. So, the actual trial could last less than one hour, or it could last 2 days, depending on the number of witnesses in the case and the complexity of their testimony. At the pre trial conference the prosecutor and you or your attorney are required to complete and submit a joint pretrial statement, and one of the items of which you must notify the court is the anticipated length of trial. At that time you will see what the prosecutor is saying about this.
This answer is offered for informational purposes only. It is not offered as, and does not constitute, legal advice. Laws vary widely from state to state. You should rely only on the advice given to you during a personal consultation by a local attorney who is thoroughly familiar with state laws and the area of practice in which your concern lies.
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