Massachusetts Guidelines for Judicial Practice Abuse Prevention Proceedings Guideline 8:08

In criminal cases involving violations of abuse prevention orders or domestic abuse, reasonable efforts must be made to notify the named victim when the defendant is released from custody.G.L. c. 209A, § 6; G.L. c. 276, §§ 42A, 57, and 58. While G.L. c. 209A, § 6 provides that notification be made by the judge or other person authorized to take bail who releases the defendant, the bail statutes assign this responsibility to the police department when a defendant is bailed from the place of detention, and to the district attorney when the defendant is released on bail by order of a court.G.L. c. 276, §§ 42A, 57, and 58.

The judge's responsibility pursuant to G.L. c. 209A, § 6, to see that a reasonable effort is made to inform the named victim of a defendant's in court release, does not depend on whether the named victim is in court or not. It is appropriate for a judge to instruct the police, prosecutor, or victim witness advocate to attempt to contact the named victim. In the alternative, the judge can request a probation officer or a staff member of the clerk's office to make such contact. In either case, such request should be made on the record. When a defendant posts bail with the clerk during court hours, the clerk should instruct the police, prosecutor, or a victim witness advocate to attempt to contact the named victim to inform the named victim of such release prior to or at the time of said release.G.L. c. 209A, § 6; G.L. c. 276, § 57. Individual courts should develop a procedure, appropriate to the size and resources of the court, to ensure this requirement is met.