Massachusetts
Massachusetts General Laws — Part IV, Title II, Criminal Procedure
407 sections, each with the official text and a plain-English explanation of what it means for you.
- § 276B:4 — Effect of participation in community-based restorative justice program in current or subsequent legal proceedings; confidentiality of statements made during the course of an assignment to program
- § 276B:5 — Restorative justice advisory committee
- § 277:1 — Issuance of writs of venire facias for grand jurors; attendance at sittings of court
- § 277:11 — Re-summoning at same sitting
- § 277:14 — Grand juror serving as traverse juror
- § 277:14A — Right to counsel; grand jury proceedings
- § 277:15 — Discharge of accused person not indicted
- § 277:18 — Circumstances of the act
- § 277:19 — Name of accused person; description by fictitious name; entry of true name
- § 277:1A — Completion of investigations by grand juries; notice; order
- § 277:2 — Suffolk county; issuance of writs of venire facias for grand jurors
- § 277:20 — Time and place of commission of crime
- § 277:21 — Means
- § 277:22 — Description of written instrument; variance
- § 277:23 — Description of money
- § 277:24 — Description of value or price
- § 277:25 — Description of ownership
- § 277:26 — Description of public place
- § 277:27 — Description of animal
- § 277:28 — Description of judicial proceedings
- § 277:29 — Criminal responsibility
- § 277:2A — Issuance of writs of venire facias for special grand jury
- § 277:2B — Middlesex county; issuance of letters of venire for grand jurors
- § 277:2C — Hampden county; issuance of writs of venire facias for grand jurors
- § 277:2D — Plymouth county; issuance of writs of venire facias for grand jurors
- § 277:2E — Worcester county; issuance of writs of venire facias for grand jurors
- § 277:2F — Norfolk county; issuance of writs of venire facias for grand jurors
- § 277:2G — Essex county; issuance of writs of venire facias for grand jurors
- § 277:2H — Bristol county; issuance of writs of venire facias for grand jurors
- § 277:3 — Drawing and summoning of grand jurors
- § 277:30 — Intent to injure or defraud; general allegation
- § 277:31 — Alternative allegations
- § 277:32 — Continuing offenses
- § 277:33 — Unnecessary and immaterial allegations
- § 277:34 — Immaterial defects
- § 277:35 — Variance; prejudice
- § 277:36 — Scope of word ''oath''
- § 277:37 — Negativing excuses, exceptions or provisos
- § 277:38 — Allegations, bill of particulars, presumption and proof in prosecutions involving controlled substances
- § 277:39 — Construction of certain words used in indictment
- § 277:3A — Suffolk county; impanelling grand jurors
- § 277:4 — Deficiency of grand jurors
- § 277:41 — Indictment for criminal dealing with personal property
- § 277:42 — Prosecutions for buying, receiving or aiding in concealment of stolen property
- § 277:43 — Indictment for perjury
- § 277:44 — Indictment for subornation of perjury
- § 277:45 — Indictment for unnatural and lascivious acts
- § 277:47 — Arraignment in capital cases; sentence; assignment of counsel
- § 277:47A — Defenses or objections; time of motion
- § 277:5 — Impanelling and oath
- § 277:53 — District attorneys; authority and duty as to transferred cases
- § 277:54 — Custody and delivery of prisoner
- § 277:55 — Compensation of counsel of prisoner
- § 277:56 — Expenses of counsel of prisoner
- § 277:57 — Venue for prosecution of crimes committed near boundary line of counties, etc.; crimes committed on sea
- § 277:57A — Venue in cases where crime was committed without county or territorial jurisdiction of court
- § 277:58 — Larceny; venue
- § 277:58A — Buying, receiving, concealing or aiding in concealment of stolen or embezzled property; venue
- § 277:58B — Embezzlement or fraudulent conversion or appropriation by fiduciaries; venue
- § 277:59 — Obtaining money or personal chattel by false pretences; venue
- § 277:59A — Transmission of false reports, location of explosives, etc.; venue
- § 277:6 — Affirmation in lieu of oath
- § 277:60 — Homicide if injury is in one county and death in another; venue
- § 277:61 — Crime committed at sea, etc., resulting in death in county; venue
- § 277:62 — Crime committed in commonwealth resulting in death outside commonwealth; venue
- § 277:62A — Violations of chapter 209A; venue
- § 277:62B — Stalking; venue
- § 277:62C — Violations of Sec. 35A of chapter 266; venue
- § 277:63 — Limitation of criminal prosecutions
- § 277:64 — Limitation of new indictment against corporation after abatement or defeat of former indictment
- § 277:65 — Service of copy of indictment for murder on prisoner, etc.
- § 277:66 — List of jurors to prisoners; process for witnesses
- § 277:67 — Furnishing person in custody, etc., with copy of indictment
- § 277:68 — Issuance of subpoenas by attorney general and district attorneys
- § 277:70 — Recognizance of witnesses
- § 277:70B — Placing cases on file; statement of reasons
- § 277:70C — Treatment of violation of ordinance, by-law or misdemeanor offense as a civil infraction
- § 277:73 — Compensation for confinement of persons discharged
- § 277:78 — Criminal proceedings as no bar to civil action
- § 277:79 — Application of annexed forms; schedule
- § 278:1 — Trial list of criminal cases, adding cases to list
- § 278:10 — Night time; definition
- § 278:11 — Directed verdict; setting aside verdict, new trial or finding of guilty of included offense
- § 278:11A — Habitual criminals; separate trial on issue of prior conviction
- § 278:12 — Acquittal of part of crime and conviction of residue
- § 278:14 — Liability for fees of person acquitted
- § 278:15 — Discontinuance of prosecution under by-laws, ordinances, etc.
- § 278:16 — Assignment of counsel for inmates of institutions for reformation of juvenile offenders
- § 278:16A — Exclusion of public from trial for sex offenses involving minors under age of eighteen
- § 278:16B — Exclusion of public from trial of criminal proceeding involving husband and wife
- § 278:16C — Exclusion of public from trial involving crime of incest or rape
- § 278:16D — Child witness testimony; videotaping or transmission by simultaneous electronic means in certain cases
- § 278:16F — Expedited trials of sex crimes involving minor children as victims or witnesses; continuance; impact statement
- § 278:18 — Pleas of not guilty, guilty or nolo contendere; requests for specific disposition; pretrial motions
- § 278:2 — Trial of issues of fact
- § 278:23 — Certain acts or omissions by defendant not admissible against him in criminal trial
- § 278:28 — Appeal to supreme judicial court
- § 278:28A — Appellate division of superior court for review of sentences
- § 278:28B — Right of appeal to appellate division; time limit; stay of execution of sentence; jurisdiction; review of judgment, etc.; disposition
- § 278:28C — Amendment of judgment; resentencing or other disposition
- § 278:28E — Appeals by commonwealth
- § 278:29B — Withdrawal of uncounseled guilty plea
- § 278:29D — Conviction upon plea of guilty, nolo contendere or an admission to sufficient facts; motion to vacate
- § 278:33E — Capital cases; review by supreme judicial court
- § 278:34 — Motions in arrest of judgment
- § 278:35 — Trial of male and female prisoners
- § 278:4 — Oaths of jurors
- § 278:5 — Affirmation of jurors
- § 278:6A — Testimony concerning ownership in cases involving motor vehicle theft or fraudulent claims; preservation of testimony
- § 278:7 — Burden to prove license or admission to practice as attorney at law
- § 278:8 — Justification in libel cases
- § 278:8A — Killing or injuring a person unlawfully in a dwelling; defense
- § 278:9 — Proof of ownership of property
- § 278A:1 — Definitions
- § 278A:10 — Cost of analysis
- § 278A:11 — Effect of proceedings on terms of sentence imposed
- § 278A:12 — Disclosure of analysis results; orders to produce data, documents and notes
- § 278A:13 — Additional analysis ordered upon inconclusive findings
- § 278A:14 — Victim notification
- § 278A:15 — Waiver of right to file motion prohibited
- § 278A:16 — Retention and preservation of evidence or biological material by governmental entities; regulations
- § 278A:17 — Civil or criminal liability of governmental officials; willful or wanton misconduct or gross negligence by governmental entities resulting in deterioration or destruction of evidence; damages
- § 278A:18 — Appeals
- § 278A:2 — Conditions for filing motion for forensic or scientific analysis; affect of chapter upon analysis under other circumstances
- § 278A:3 — Filing of motion; contents; motion for discovery; affidavit of factual innocence; expeditious review of motion
- § 278A:4 — Jurisdiction over motion; service of motion; response by prosecuting attorney
- § 278A:5 — Appointed counsel
- § 278A:6 — Hearing
- § 278A:7 — Findings of fact and conclusions of law; criteria for allowing requested analysis; orders for discovery
- § 278A:8 — Conditions of analysis; selection of forensic service provider; equal access to personnel and information; retention of material evidence to allow for replicate analysis; cooperation with laboratory by moving party
- § 278A:9 — Time for performing analysis
- § 279:1 — Suspension of execution; payment of fine; probation; revocation of suspension; exceptions
- § 279:10 — Conditional sentence
- § 279:11 — Punishment by imprisonment only or by fine only when law prescribes both
- § 279:12 — Recognizance of husband convicted of assault upon wife
- § 279:13 — Recognizance to keep the peace or to be of good behavior
- § 279:14 — Recognizance; filing; proceedings on breach of condition
- § 279:15 — Sentence to jail or house of correction in any county
- § 279:16 — Sentencing of female to Massachusetts Correctional Institution, Framingham
- § 279:19 — Place of imprisonment of females convicted of felony
- § 279:1A — Suspension of execution of sentence; probation; child support payments
- § 279:1B — Funds collection and disbursement; single point for clerk-magistrate and probation offices
- § 279:2 — Suspension of execution of orders of commitment to Massachusetts reformatory, etc.
- § 279:20 — Execution of sentence of imprisonment of females sentenced to confinement at hard labor
- § 279:23 — Limitation of sentences of males to jails or houses of correction
- § 279:24 — Indeterminate sentence to state prison; determination of sentence for offender aged fourteen through seventeen
- § 279:25 — Punishment of habitual criminals
- § 279:26 — Further sentence of convict in state prison
- § 279:27 — Immediate execution of sentence to state prison of convict sentenced to jail or house of correction
- § 279:3 — Arrest without warrant of person on probation; notice of surrender; surrender hearing; warrant for arrest of persons already imprisoned; application for disposition; temporary custody
- § 279:30 — Vacation of office from time of sentence to state prison
- § 279:33A — Credit for days of confinement awaiting and during trial
- § 279:34 — Delivery to sheriff of certified transcript from minutes of court of conviction and sentence; execution of sentence
- § 279:35 — Transmission of complaint or indictment to correctional institution
- § 279:36 — Sentences to state farm
- § 279:37 — Setting out statutory name of crime in warrant for commitment
- § 279:38 — Powers of sheriff or constable in execution of warrant of commitment
- § 279:39 — Return of precept to magistrate
- § 279:3A — Motion of district attorney for sentence
- § 279:4 — Imposition of sentence; stay of execution
- § 279:40 — Service of new warrant of commitment upon convict
- § 279:41 — Default of corporation
- § 279:42 — Warrant of distress to compel payment of penalty or assessment
- § 279:4B — Notice to victim of sentencing proceedings; oral or written statements
- § 279:5 — Sentence if no punishment is provided by statute
- § 279:57 — Death sentence; pronouncement or revocation of stay; warrant of conviction; execution of sentence; certified copy of record to governor
- § 279:58 — Death sentence confinement; psychiatric examination; transfer or failure to transfer to general prison population; appeal; hearing; annual record review; court order
- § 279:59 — Execution of death sentence; time constraints
- § 279:6 — Sentence to jail or house of correction
- § 279:60 — Means of execution of death sentence
- § 279:61 — Capital crime conviction; imposition of sentence; insane and pregnant persons
- § 279:62 — Delay in execution of death sentence; insanity or pregnancy of prisoner; psychiatric examination and written certification
- § 279:63 — Delay in execution of death sentence; consideration of pardon
- § 279:64 — Judicial stay of execution of death sentence; final determination of judicial questions
- § 279:65 — Witnesses; execution of death sentence
- § 279:66 — Execution of death sentence; post mortem examination
- § 279:67 — Warrant for execution of death sentence; return to clerk of court after execution
- § 279:68 — Special jury questions for first degree murder; presentence hearing upon conviction for consideration of death penalty; consideration by jury of aggravating and mitigating circumstances; determination by jury; sentence by court; validity of conviction
- § 279:69 — Aggravating and mitigating circumstances in death penalty cases
- § 279:6A — Special sentence of imprisonment; eligible offenders; revocation or rescission of special sentence; subsequent crimes
- § 279:6B — Consideration of defendant's status as primary caregiver of dependent child before imposing sentence
- § 279:7 — Sentence to jail or house of correction for non-payment of fine
- § 279:70 — Death penalty imposed; jury findings necessary
- § 279:71 — Review of death sentence; remand; reversal; affirmation
- § 279:8 — Commitments upon two or more sentences
- § 279:8A — Determination of time of taking effect of sentence; ''from and after'' sentence
- § 279:8B — Commission of crime while released on personal recognizance; consecutive sentence
- § 279:9 — Second sentence for non-payment of fine
- § 280:1 — Recovery of fines and forfeitures
- § 280:10 — Payment of witness fees; presentment of certificate
- § 280:11 — Certification of fines and forfeitures; payment to commonwealth
- § 280:12 — Escape of prisoner; liability of sheriff for fines or forfeitures of prisoner
- § 280:13 — Failure of sheriff to pay fines or forfeitures of escaped prisoner; remedy
- § 280:14 — Default in fine payment; commitment to jail or house of correction; payment to jailer or superintendent
- § 280:15 — Quarterly transfers to state treasurer of payments received by jailer or superintendent; account on oath
- § 280:16 — Payment by state treasurer of expenses or fees; time limit for demand; qualifications for payment to clerks of district court
- § 280:2 — Payment of certain fines and forfeitures; apportionment among beneficiaries
- § 280:3 — Proceedings to recover penalties; appointment of counsel
- § 280:4 — Criminal prosecutions; expenses paid by commonwealth; waiver of costs for indigent defendants
- § 280:5 — Appeal briefs in criminal cases; payment of costs