Berkshire County Criminal Defense Lawyers

Like the thirteen other counties in Massachusetts, Berkshire County is a historical geographic region that has no county government functions. All former county functions were assumed by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the year 2000. Berkshire County is located on the western edge of Massachusetts and is often referred to as “the Berkshires.” It is located in the Massachusetts’s first congressional district, which is a primarily rural district that makes up most of Western Massachusetts.

The General Court of Massachusetts is the state legislature of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The name of the “General Court” is a name from the Colonial Era. In fact before the adoption of the state constitution in 1780 the court was called the “Great and General Court,” however, John Adams who was the author of the state constitution wanted to shorten the title of the bicameral body. The upper house is the Massachusetts Senate, which is composed of forty members. The lower body, the Massachusetts House of Representatives, has 160 members. Berkshire County has four districts and elected Representatives in the Massachusetts House of Representatives.

The Massachusetts Governor’s Council, which is also known as the Executive Council, is composed of eight individuals elected from districts and the Lt. Governor who serves as an ex officio. Berkshire County is located in the 8th District. (The 8th district consist of all of Berkshire County and the following cities: Chesterfield, Cummington, Goshen, Huntington, Middlefield, Plainfield, Westhampton, Williamsburg and Worthington, in the county of Hampshire; and Ashfield, Charlemont, Conway, Hawley, Heath, Monroe and Rowe, in the county of Franklin.) These eight councilors are elected from their respective districts every two years. They meet to discuss and act on such issues as payments from the state treasury, criminal pardons and commutations, and approval of gubernatorial appointments; such as judges, notaries and justices of the peace.

Crime in Berkshire County

Between the years of 1999 and 2008 there were 24,507 total crimes reported in Berkshire County, Massachusetts, and out of that number, 3,547 of the crimes were violent. Of the 2,451 crimes that take place per year in Berkshire County, close to 50% occur less than one mile from home. These numbers average that someone is a victim of a crime in Berkshire County, Massachusetts every 3 hours. These violent crimes include 14 murders, 441 rapes, and just about fifteen thousand thefts, which include 1,382 car thefts. In the most recent ten years, the crime data that was available for Berkshire County showed that reported crime in Berkshire County has risen by 32% and that violent crime climbed by 57%.

The court system in Berkshire County includes the Berkshire Superior Court which is located at 76 East Street in Berkshire, Massachusetts. The Berkshire Division of the District Court has jurisdiction over Shire Town and Pittsfield. The Northern Berkshire District Court is found at 111 Holden St and it has jurisdiction over the towns of Adams, Cheshire, Clarksburg, Florida, Hancock, New Ashford, North Adams, Savoy, Williamstown, and Windsor. There is also the larger Pittsfield Division or Pittsfield District Court, located at the 24 Wendell Ave. The Pittsfield District Court has jurisdiction over the following towns: Becket, Dalton, Hancock, Hinsdale, Lanesborough, Lenox, Peru, Pittsfield, Richmond and Washington, Windsor. Lastly, the Southern Berkshire Division, found on 9 Gilmore Ave – this district has jurisdiction over the municipalities over Alford, Becket, Egremont, Great Barrington, Lee, Lenox, Monterey, Mt. Washington, New Marlborough, Otis, Sandisfield, Sheffield, Stockbridge, Tyringham and West Stockbridge.

Experienced Berkshire County Criminal Lawyer

The Law Office of Patrick J. Murphy has nearly twenty years of criminal defense experience providing expert legal representation for clients charged with crimes throughout Berkshire County. Boston criminal defense lawyer Patrick J. Murphy’s Law Office is conveniently located at One South Market Street, Fourth Floor in downtown Boston. If you would like a free, confidential consultation regarding your Berkshire County criminal case contact Attorney Murphy 24/7 directly at (617) 367-0450 or complete the contacts tab on the website today.