As summer gets underway, many college students head home for a couple months of relaxation or perhaps a summer job. In two short months, however, they will return to school, many of them in off campus housing. One question that students should keep in mind when they return is this: do you keep a disorderly house?
Massachusetts has passed a statute (M.G.L. c. 272 s. 53(a)) which states that “keepers of noisy and disorderly houses shall be punished by imprisonment in a jail or house of correction for not more than six months, or by a fine of not more than $200, or by both such fine and imprisonment.” In eras gone by, this law was specifically enacted and enforced to deal with people who held their property out for “crimes against common decency” such as prostitution and illegal gambling. This law allowed the police to close these properties down. Without the statute, they would not have the authority. Today, particularly in Boston with all its colleges, the police often will seek a criminal complaint against the residents or owners of a property where there are loud or disruptive parties, usually the home of a group of college students who decided to make money at a keg party by supplying beer and charging a fee for entrance.
These parties, which can often offset a good portion of the students’ rent, have become much more prevalent. With our office here in Newton, we are often asked to represent students at many of the local colleges. There are probably 30 or more colleges within ten miles of our office. Some of these colleges give students the option to live off campus, and some, like Boston College, require one year of off-campus housing for its students due to a shortage of housing. Many students find housing in the Brighton and Allston area of Boston, which is in the Brighton District Court jurisdiction. This court has a great deal of experience dealing with college students as so many live in the area. Brighton, like other courts, holds a clerk magistrate hearing before issuing a complaint against the students or residents where the party was held. This is an important step at which you should involve legal counsel. An experienced attorney who is familiar with the court and the clerk’s themselves may be able to reach an outcome with the court that the complaint application is held in abeyance for a period of time, usually after the lease for the property has ended, at which time, the matter is dismissed with no complaint issuing. As a result, there is nothing that would show on a person’s record. Some students think they can handle the hearing themselves, and after the complaint issues, they seek legal counsel. At that point, the lawyer may be able to get the matter dismissed, but in the future, it will show on a CORI inquiry that you were charged with the offense but it was dismissed. Better not to have the charge in the first place.
If a complaint issues, there are defenses to these cases. Often times all of the tenants on the lease may be charged but not all were aware of, or participating, in the party. They may have been home for the weekend or at staying with friends somewhere else. It may be that it was an orderly event before uninvited guests arrived, and while the tenants attempted to have the uninvited guests leave the premises, they would not and became unruly. If the tenants took action to prevent the unruly behavior, they may not be liable under the statute.
The best solution to this growing problem is to not have the party in the first place. There are better ways to make money. In addition to worrying about criminal charges, you could be civilly responsible if someone leaves the party intoxicated and causes injury to someone else. Any neighbor in the dense neighborhoods of Boston can call and complain, and if the police don’t like what they see, you could receive a notice from the court that an application for a criminal complaint has been sought against you. If that does happen, make sure to call and counsel before you attend the clerk magistrate hearing.
Thank you,
Michael K. Gillis, Esq.
GILLIS & BIKOFSKY, P.C.
1150 Walnut Street
Newton, MA 02461
Phone: 617-244-4300
Fax: 617-964-0862
E-mail: mgillis@gillisandbikofsky.com