Commonwealth v. Dossantos

In this case, we consider a report of a District Court judge pursuant to Mass. R. Crim. P. 34, as amended, 442 Mass. 1501 (2004), 1 concerning G. L. c. 276, § 56A (§ 56A), a statute enacted in 2014 as one component of a comprehensive package of legislation entitled “An Act relative to domestic violence.” See St. 2014, c. 260, § 30. Section § 56A requires that in every case in which a person is arrested and charged with a crime against the person or property, if the Commonwealth alleges that domestic abuse occurred “immediately prior to or in conjunction with” the charged crime, the…