In Massachusetts, a Clerk Magistrate Hearing is a hearing in which a Clerk Magistrate makes a determination if there is probable cause to issue a criminal complaint against an accused person. This process can be initiated when a police officer receives a complaint from a person and that police officer will file an Application for Criminal Complaint with the court if the officer has not personally seen the alleged conduct. An Application for Complaint can also be filed by an individual directly with the Court in some circumstances, this is sometimes done when a defense attorney believes a cross-complaint should be filed in an ongoing criminal matter. The hearings are not conducted in a formal courtroom, but in an office or hearing room in the district court where the complaint was filed, this will be the court which has jurisdiction of the matter.

Clerk Magistrate Hearings are also known as Probable Cause Hearings and Show Cause Hearings. These hearings are private and not open to the public. The Clerk Magistrate presides over the hearings and the parties have an opportunity to be heard and present evidence. The Clerk Magistrate will listen to testimony and review any evidence provided and then determine if there is probable cause to issue a Criminal Complaint against the accused person. If that happens, then the accused person will be arraigned in the District Court at a later date and will need to defend against the charges as a Defendant in a criminal case.

The Clerk Magistrate Hearing is a critical stage in the criminal justice system, the probable cause standard is quite low, it is best to be represented by a skilled and experienced attorney.

Never ignore a summons to appear for a Clerk Magistrate Hearing because it is your opportunity to try to prevent a Criminal Complaint from issuing against you, if you ignore the summons, a Criminal Complaint will be issued against you by default.