reglab/statecodes huggingface dataset:
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part III - Courts, Judicial Officers and Proceedings in Civil Cases › Title IV - Certain Writs and Proceedings in Special Cases › Chapter 246 - Trustee Process › Section 81 - Action Against Several Defaulting Trustees; Liability for Costs

Section 81. If several trustees are liable in an action brought under section forty-five and the plaintiff fails to join all of the trustees in one action, he shall recover no more costs than if he had so joined them, and the court may apportion the costs among all the trustees liable therefor.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part III - Courts, Judicial Officers and Proceedings in Civil Cases › Title IV - Certain Writs and Proceedings in Special Cases › Chapter 246 - Trustee Process › Section 83 - Costs Where Damages Less Than Ten Dollars

Section 83. If the damages recovered in an action brought under trustee process do not exceed ten dollars, exclusive of all costs in any former action, the plaintiff shall recover no costs.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part III - Courts, Judicial Officers and Proceedings in Civil Cases › Title IV - Certain Writs and Proceedings in Special Cases › Chapter 247 - Replevin › Section 1 - Distrained or Impounded Beasts

Section 1. A person whose beasts have been distrained or impounded in order to recover a penalty or forfeiture supposed to have been incurred by their going at large or to obtain satisfaction for damages alleged to have been done by them may cause them to be replevied.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part III - Courts, Judicial Officers and Proceedings in Civil Cases › Title IV - Certain Writs and Proceedings in Special Cases › Chapter 247 - Replevin › Section 2 - Bond

Section 2. Before the officer serving the writ delivers the beasts to the plaintiff, he shall take from the plaintiff or a person in his behalf a bond payable to the defendant in a sum equal to double the value of the beasts, with sufficient sureties, conditioned to prosecute the replevin to final judgment and to pay such damages and costs as the defendant shall recover and to return the beasts if such shall be the final judgment.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part III - Courts, Judicial Officers and Proceedings in Civil Cases › Title IV - Certain Writs and Proceedings in Special Cases › Chapter 247 - Replevin › Section 3 - Amount of Bond; Appraisal of Property

Section 3. The writ shall require that the bond be given for double the value of the beasts but shall not express the amount for which it shall be given. If the parties do not agree as to the value of the beasts, it shall be ascertained by three disinterested appraisers, who shall be appointed and sworn by the officer, and the penalty of the bond shall be double the value ascertained by such appraisers or by a majority of them.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part III - Courts, Judicial Officers and Proceedings in Civil Cases › Title IV - Certain Writs and Proceedings in Special Cases › Chapter 247 - Replevin › Section 4 - Return of Writ

Section 4. The officer shall return such bond with the writ to the court to which the writ is returnable, for the use of the defendant; and he shall include in his return, endorsed on the writ, a certificate of the appointment of the appraisers, of the appraisal and of the expenses thereof.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part III - Courts, Judicial Officers and Proceedings in Civil Cases › Title IV - Certain Writs and Proceedings in Special Cases › Chapter 247 - Replevin › Section 5 - Judgment for Defendant

Section 5. If the court finds that the beasts were lawfully taken or distrained, the defendant shall have judgment for the amount found to be due from the plaintiff for the penalty or forfeiture or for the damages for which the beasts were impounded, with the legal fees, costs, charges and expenses incurred by reason of the distress, and with the costs of the action of replevin; or, instead thereof, the court may render a judgment for a return of the beasts, to be held by the defendant irrepleviable by the plaintiff, and for the damages for the taking of the beasts by the replevin and for the defendant's costs. If so returned, the beasts shall be held and disposed of as if they had not been replevied.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part III - Courts, Judicial Officers and Proceedings in Civil Cases › Title IV - Certain Writs and Proceedings in Special Cases › Chapter 247 - Replevin › Section 7 - Goods Unlawfully Taken, Detained or Attached

Section 7. If goods exceeding twenty dollars in value are unlawfully taken or detained from the owner or person entitled to their possession, or if goods of that value, which have been attached on mesne process or taken on execution, are claimed by a person other than the defendant in the action in which they have been so attached or taken, the owner or such other person may cause them to be replevied.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part III - Courts, Judicial Officers and Proceedings in Civil Cases › Title IV - Certain Writs and Proceedings in Special Cases › Chapter 247 - Replevin › Section 8 - Bond; Amount; Appraisal of Goods

Section 8. Except as otherwise provided in section thirty-seven of chapter two hundred and fifty-five, before the officer serving the writ delivers the goods to the plaintiff, he shall take from the plaintiff or a person in his behalf a bond payable to the defendant in a sum equal to double the value of the goods, with sufficient sureties, conditioned to prosecute the replevin to final judgment and to pay such damages and costs as the defendant shall recover and to return the goods if such shall be the final judgment. The officer shall appraise the goods and return the writ in the manner provided in sections three and four; but if the writ is returnable to the superior court, the bond shall be left with the clerk of the court for the use of the defendant.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part III - Courts, Judicial Officers and Proceedings in Civil Cases › Title IV - Certain Writs and Proceedings in Special Cases › Chapter 247 - Replevin › Section 9 - Judgment for Defendant

Section 9. If the court finds that the defendant is entitled to a return of the goods, judgment shall be rendered therefor and for the damages caused by the taking by the replevin and for costs.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part III - Courts, Judicial Officers and Proceedings in Civil Cases › Title IV - Certain Writs and Proceedings in Special Cases › Chapter 247 - Replevin › Section 10 - Damages; Assessment; Rate

Section 10. If the goods when replevied had been taken on execution, or if they had been attached and judgment is afterward rendered for the attaching creditor, and if in either case the service of the execution is delayed by reason of the replevin, the damages to be assessed for the defendant upon a judgment for a return shall be at the rate of not less than twelve per cent a year on the value of the goods for the time during which the service of the execution was so delayed.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part III - Courts, Judicial Officers and Proceedings in Civil Cases › Title IV - Certain Writs and Proceedings in Special Cases › Chapter 247 - Replevin › Section 11 - Money Recovered by Officer After Replevin of Goods Attached, etc.; Disposition

Section 11. Money recovered by an officer in an action of replevin for goods attached or taken on execution by him or recovered by him in an action upon the replevin bond shall be applied as follows:
First, To pay the lawful fees and charges of the officer and the reasonable expenses of the action of replevin and of the action on the bond, so far as such expenses are not reimbursed by the costs recovered.
Second, To pay to the creditor at whose suit the goods were attached or taken on execution the amount recovered by him in that action, or so much thereof as remains unpaid, with interest thereon at the rate of twelve per cent a year for the time during which the money has been withheld from him, or the service of his execution has been delayed by reason of the replevin.
If the attaching creditor in such case does not recover judgment in the action in which the attachment was made, or if a balance remains of the money so recovered by the officer after paying what is due to the creditor, such money shall be applied in the same manner as the surplus, if any, of the proceeds of sale would and ought to have been applied had the goods been sold on execution.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part III - Courts, Judicial Officers and Proceedings in Civil Cases › Title IV - Certain Writs and Proceedings in Special Cases › Chapter 247 - Replevin › Section 12 - Application of Amounts Received by Creditor

Section 12. All amounts received by such creditor from the proceeds of the sale of goods attached or taken on execution and afterward returned, or received by him for the value of goods not returned, or recovered from the officer for the insufficiency of the sureties on the bond, shall be applied to the discharge of the judgment recovered by the creditor; and all amounts received as interest or damages for the delay of his execution shall be applied, one half to the sole use of the creditor, and the other half in discharge of the judgment.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part III - Courts, Judicial Officers and Proceedings in Civil Cases › Title IV - Certain Writs and Proceedings in Special Cases › Chapter 247 - Replevin › Section 14 - Sureties on Bond; Approval

Section 14. Sureties on a replevin bond may be approved in writing by the officer who serves the writ or by the defendant or by a justice of a district court or by a master in chancery, and, if approved otherwise than by the officer, he shall not be responsible for their sufficiency.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part III - Courts, Judicial Officers and Proceedings in Civil Cases › Title IV - Certain Writs and Proceedings in Special Cases › Chapter 247 - Replevin › Section 15 - Approval of Sureties; Proceedings

Section 15. If such sureties are to be approved by a justice of a district court or by a master in chancery, the officer who serves the writ shall give written notice to the defendant or to the person from whose custody the property has been taken, stating the time and place of hearing thereon and the names and residences of the proposed sureties, allowing not less than one hour before the time appointed for the hearing and at the rate of one hour additional for each mile of travel.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part III - Courts, Judicial Officers and Proceedings in Civil Cases › Title IV - Certain Writs and Proceedings in Special Cases › Chapter 247 - Replevin › Section 16 - Fees of Master

Section 16. The fee of the master for the hearing and decision shall be as prescribed in section twenty-three of chapter two hundred and sixty-two; and, if the bond is approved, such fee shall be taxed in the plaintiff's costs, if he prevails in the action.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part III - Courts, Judicial Officers and Proceedings in Civil Cases › Title IV - Certain Writs and Proceedings in Special Cases › Chapter 247 - Replevin › Section 17 - Defects in Bond; Dismissal of Action

Section 17. An action of replevin shall not be dismissed by reason of a defect in the form or substance of the bond taken therein, if the court is satisfied that such bond was intended in good faith as a compliance with the law requiring a bond to be taken before service of the writ and if the plaintiff, within such time and upon such terms as the court orders, files a new bond such as is required by law, approved by the court or in the manner provided in section fourteen.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part III - Courts, Judicial Officers and Proceedings in Civil Cases › Title IV - Certain Writs and Proceedings in Special Cases › Chapter 247 - Replevin › Section 18 - Actions Against Sureties; Serving and Entering Writ; Limitations

Section 18. An action shall not be maintained against a surety on a replevin bond, unless the writ is served on him within one year after the final judgment in the action of replevin. If the writ of replevin is not entered, an action on the bond shall not be maintained against a surety unless it is entered within one year after the return day of the writ of replevin.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part III - Courts, Judicial Officers and Proceedings in Civil Cases › Title IV - Certain Writs and Proceedings in Special Cases › Chapter 247 - Replevin › Section 19 - Damages; Assessment

Section 19. Damages in replevin shall be assessed by the jury by which the cause is tried, if there is a trial by jury; otherwise, by the court or by a jury impanelled therefor.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part III - Courts, Judicial Officers and Proceedings in Civil Cases › Title IV - Certain Writs and Proceedings in Special Cases › Chapter 247 - Replevin › Section 20 - Judgment for Return of Goods Attached

Section 20. If the goods replevied had been attached, they shall, upon a judgment for a return, be held liable to the attachment until final judgment in the action in which they were attached, and for thirty days thereafter, so that they may be taken on execution. If such final judgment is rendered before the return of the goods, or if the goods when replevied were seized and held on execution, they shall be held subject to the same attachment or seizure for thirty days after the return, in order that the execution may be served thereon, or the service thereof completed, in like manner as it might have been if the goods had not been replevied.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part III - Courts, Judicial Officers and Proceedings in Civil Cases › Title IV - Certain Writs and Proceedings in Special Cases › Chapter 247 - Replevin › Section 22 - Effect of Foregoing Provisions

Section 22. The foregoing provisions shall not preclude the defendant from his remedy on the replevin bond, nor, except as provided in section fourteen, from his remedy against the officer for the insufficiency of the sureties on the bond, to recover the value of the goods and the loss or damage caused by the replevin, although he has endeavored to recover the same by the writ of return as before provided.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part III - Courts, Judicial Officers and Proceedings in Civil Cases › Title IV - Certain Writs and Proceedings in Special Cases › Chapter 248 - Habeas Corpus and Personal Liberty › Section 1 - Persons Entitled to Writ; Exceptions

Section 1. Whoever is imprisoned or restrained of his liberty may, as of right and of course, prosecute a writ of habeas corpus, according to this chapter, to obtain release from such imprisonment or restraint, if it proves to be unlawful, unless—
First, He has been committed for treason or felony, or on suspicion thereof, or as accessory before the fact to a felony, and the cause has been plainly expressed in the warrant of commitment.
Second, He has been convicted or is in execution upon legal process, civil or criminal.
Third, He has been committed on mesne process in a civil action in which he was liable to arrest and imprisonment, unless excessive and unreasonable bail was required.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part III - Courts, Judicial Officers and Proceedings in Civil Cases › Title IV - Certain Writs and Proceedings in Special Cases › Chapter 248 - Habeas Corpus and Personal Liberty › Section 2 - By Whom Issued

Section 2. The writ may be issued, irrespective of the county in which the person is imprisoned or restrained, by the supreme judicial or the superior court, by a probate or a district court or by a judge of any of said courts.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part III - Courts, Judicial Officers and Proceedings in Civil Cases › Title IV - Certain Writs and Proceedings in Special Cases › Chapter 248 - Habeas Corpus and Personal Liberty › Section 3 - Petition for Writ; Contents; Annexed Papers

Section 3. The petition for the writ shall be in writing, signed and sworn to by the person for whose release it is intended, or by a person in his behalf, and shall state by whom and where the person is imprisoned or restrained, the name of the prisoner and of the person detaining him, if their names are known, or a description of them, if their names are not known, and the cause or pretence of such imprisonment or restraint, according to the knowledge and belief of the petitioner.
If the imprisonment or restraint is by virtue of a warrant or other process, a copy thereof shall be annexed, unless it appears that such copy has been demanded and refused or that, for a sufficient reason, a demand therefor could not be made.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part III - Courts, Judicial Officers and Proceedings in Civil Cases › Title IV - Certain Writs and Proceedings in Special Cases › Chapter 248 - Habeas Corpus and Personal Liberty › Section 4 - Issuance of Writ; Return

Section 4. The court or magistrate to whom the petition is presented shall, without delay, issue a writ of habeas corpus, substantially in the form heretofore established and used in the commonwealth, and returnable forthwith to the supreme judicial court, or a justice thereof, at such place as shall be designated in the writ.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part III - Courts, Judicial Officers and Proceedings in Civil Cases › Title IV - Certain Writs and Proceedings in Special Cases › Chapter 248 - Habeas Corpus and Personal Liberty › Section 5 - Form of Writ

Section 5. If the imprisonment or restraint is not by a sheriff, deputy sheriff or jailer, the writ shall be in the following form:
Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
(Seal.)
To the sheriffs of our several counties and to their respective deputies
,
Greeting.
We command you that the body of   , of
, by   , of   ,
imprisoned and restrained of his liberty, as it is said, you take and
have before   a justice of our supreme judicial court at   immediately after the receipt of this writ, to do and receive what our said justice shall then and there consider concerning him in this behalf; and summon said   then and there to appear before our said justice to show the cause of the taking and detaining of said   ; and have you there this writ with your doings thereon.
Witness at this day
of   in the year   .
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part III - Courts, Judicial Officers and Proceedings in Civil Cases › Title IV - Certain Writs and Proceedings in Special Cases › Chapter 248 - Habeas Corpus and Personal Liberty › Section 6 - Signature of Magistrate or Clerk; Service

Section 6. If the writ is issued by the court when sitting for the transaction of business, it shall be signed, by hand or electronically, by the clerk, otherwise by the magistrate issuing it, and may be served in any county by any sheriff or deputy sheriff.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part III - Courts, Judicial Officers and Proceedings in Civil Cases › Title IV - Certain Writs and Proceedings in Special Cases › Chapter 248 - Habeas Corpus and Personal Liberty › Section 7 - Designation of Custodian of Prisoner

Section 7. The person who has the custody of the prisoner may be designated by his office or by his own name, or, if they are unknown or uncertain, he may be described by a fictitious name and the person upon whom the writ is served shall be held to be the person intended.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part III - Courts, Judicial Officers and Proceedings in Civil Cases › Title IV - Certain Writs and Proceedings in Special Cases › Chapter 248 - Habeas Corpus and Personal Liberty › Section 9 - Expense of Transporting Prisoner; Advance Payment

Section 9. If the person restrained is confined in jail or is in the custody of a civil officer, the court or magistrate granting the writ shall certify thereon the amount to be paid for the expense of transporting him from the place of imprisonment, and the officer shall not be bound to obey the writ unless that amount is paid or tendered to him.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part III - Courts, Judicial Officers and Proceedings in Civil Cases › Title IV - Certain Writs and Proceedings in Special Cases › Chapter 248 - Habeas Corpus and Personal Liberty › Section 10 - Return of Writ

Section 10. Any person to whom the writ is directed shall receive it, and, upon payment or tender of the charges demandable for its execution, shall make due return thereof within five days after receiving it.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part III - Courts, Judicial Officers and Proceedings in Civil Cases › Title IV - Certain Writs and Proceedings in Special Cases › Chapter 248 - Habeas Corpus and Personal Liberty › Section 11 - Contents of Return

Section 11. The person in whose custody the prisoner is found shall state in writing, plainly and unequivocally, to the court or justice before whom the writ is returnable—
First, Whether the prisoner is in his custody or power or under his restraint.
Second, If the prisoner is in his custody or power or under his restraint, his specific authority for and the true and whole cause of such imprisonment or restraint, with a copy of the writ, warrant or other process, if any, upon which the prisoner is detained.
Third, If the prisoner has been in his custody or power or under his restraint, and has been transferred to that of another, particularly to whom, when, why and by what authority such transfer was made.
The statement shall be signed by him and, unless he is a sworn public officer and makes the statement in his official capacity, shall be sworn to by him.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part III - Courts, Judicial Officers and Proceedings in Civil Cases › Title IV - Certain Writs and Proceedings in Special Cases › Chapter 248 - Habeas Corpus and Personal Liberty › Section 12 - Production of Prisoner

Section 12. The person who makes the statement shall at the same time produce the prisoner, if in his custody or power or under his restraint, according to the command of the writ, unless prevented by the illness or infirmity of the prisoner.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part III - Courts, Judicial Officers and Proceedings in Civil Cases › Title IV - Certain Writs and Proceedings in Special Cases › Chapter 248 - Habeas Corpus and Personal Liberty › Section 13 - Illness Preventing Production of Prisoner

Section 13. If by reason of the illness or infirmity of the prisoner he cannot without danger be taken to the place appointed for the return of the writ, that fact shall be stated in the statement and, if proved, the judge may proceed to the place where the prisoner is confined and there make his examination; or he may postpone the examination or may make such other order in the case as law and justice require.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part III - Courts, Judicial Officers and Proceedings in Civil Cases › Title IV - Certain Writs and Proceedings in Special Cases › Chapter 248 - Habeas Corpus and Personal Liberty › Section 14 - Return Before Justice of Court

Section 14. If the court to which the writ is returnable is not sitting for the transaction of business when the writ is returned, the return shall be made before a justice thereof. If the writ is returned before a justice when the court is sitting for the transaction of business, he may adjourn the case into the court, to be there heard and determined.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part III - Courts, Judicial Officers and Proceedings in Civil Cases › Title IV - Certain Writs and Proceedings in Special Cases › Chapter 248 - Habeas Corpus and Personal Liberty › Section 15 - Causes of Imprisonment; Examination

Section 15. After the writ has been returned, the prisoner may deny any of the facts set forth in the statement and may allege any other material facts; and the court or justice shall examine summarily and without delay the causes of the imprisonment or restraint, hear the evidence produced by any persons interested or authorized to appear and dispose of the prisoner as law and justice require, and may adjourn the examination from time to time.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part III - Courts, Judicial Officers and Proceedings in Civil Cases › Title IV - Certain Writs and Proceedings in Special Cases › Chapter 248 - Habeas Corpus and Personal Liberty › Section 16 - Notice to Persons Interested in Continuing Imprisonment

Section 16. If it appears from the return of the writ or otherwise that the prisoner is detained on a process under which another person has an interest in continuing his imprisonment or restraint, he shall not be discharged until notice has been given to such other person or his attorney, if within the commonwealth. If such person or his attorney is not within the commonwealth the court may order notice to be given to him.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part III - Courts, Judicial Officers and Proceedings in Civil Cases › Title IV - Certain Writs and Proceedings in Special Cases › Chapter 248 - Habeas Corpus and Personal Liberty › Section 17 - Notice; Prisoners Held for Crimes

Section 17. If it appears from the return of the writ or otherwise that the prisoner is imprisoned on a criminal accusation, he shall not be discharged until notice has been given to the attorney general or other attorney for the commonwealth.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part III - Courts, Judicial Officers and Proceedings in Civil Cases › Title IV - Certain Writs and Proceedings in Special Cases › Chapter 248 - Habeas Corpus and Personal Liberty › Section 18 - Custody of Prisoner Pending Examination

Section 18. Until judgment is given, the court or justice may remand the prisoner, bail him to appear from day to day, commit him to the sheriff of the county, or place him under such other care and custody as the circumstances of the case require.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part III - Courts, Judicial Officers and Proceedings in Civil Cases › Title IV - Certain Writs and Proceedings in Special Cases › Chapter 248 - Habeas Corpus and Personal Liberty › Section 19 - Bail

Section 19. If the prisoner is detained for a cause or crime for which he is bailable, he shall be admitted to bail if sufficient bail is offered; and if not, he shall be remanded with an order of the court or justice expressing the amount in which he shall be held to bail and the court at which he shall be required to appear; and any magistrate authorized to admit to bail may, at any time before the sitting of said court, bail the prisoner pursuant to such order.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part III - Courts, Judicial Officers and Proceedings in Civil Cases › Title IV - Certain Writs and Proceedings in Special Cases › Chapter 248 - Habeas Corpus and Personal Liberty › Section 20 - Prisoners Committed in Civil Actions for Want of Bail; Bail

Section 20. If the prisoner has been committed on mesne process in a civil action for want of bail, and it appears that the amount for which bail was required is excessive and unreasonable, the court or justice shall decide how much bail is reasonable, and shall order that on giving such bail the prisoner shall be discharged.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part III - Courts, Judicial Officers and Proceedings in Civil Cases › Title IV - Certain Writs and Proceedings in Special Cases › Chapter 248 - Habeas Corpus and Personal Liberty › Section 21 - Prisoners Committed on Criminal Charges; Bail

Section 21. If a person is committed to jail on a criminal accusation for want of bail, a justice of the superior court or of a district court or a trial justice may issue a writ of habeas corpus and cause the prisoner to be brought before him, when it is necessary for the purpose of admitting him to bail pursuant to chapter two hundred and seventy-six.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part III - Courts, Judicial Officers and Proceedings in Civil Cases › Title IV - Certain Writs and Proceedings in Special Cases › Chapter 248 - Habeas Corpus and Personal Liberty › Section 22 - Remanding Prisoner

Section 22. If the prisoner is lawfully imprisoned or restrained and is not entitled to be admitted to bail, he shall be remanded to the person from whose custody he was taken or any other person or officer authorized by law to detain him.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part III - Courts, Judicial Officers and Proceedings in Civil Cases › Title IV - Certain Writs and Proceedings in Special Cases › Chapter 248 - Habeas Corpus and Personal Liberty › Section 24 - Imprisonment After Discharge

Section 24. No person who has been discharged upon a habeas corpus shall be again imprisoned or restrained for the same cause, unless indicted therefor, convicted thereof, or committed for want of bail by a court of record having jurisdiction of the cause; or unless, after a discharge for defect of proof or for some material defect in the commitment in a criminal case, he is again arrested on sufficient proof and committed by legal process.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part III - Courts, Judicial Officers and Proceedings in Civil Cases › Title IV - Certain Writs and Proceedings in Special Cases › Chapter 248 - Habeas Corpus and Personal Liberty › Section 25 - Scope of Chapter

Section 25. This chapter shall not affect the power of the supreme judicial court, or the superior court, or a justice thereof, to issue a writ of habeas corpus in its discretion, and thereupon grant bail to a person for whatever cause he has been committed or restrained, or to discharge him as law and justice require. The court shall have no power to issue a writ of habeas corpus, at its discretion for—a person who has been committed by the governor and council, the senate, or the house of representatives in the manner and for the causes mentioned in the constitution, or a person who is imprisoned or restrained of his liberty pursuant to a criminal conviction.
This chapter shall not affect the power of any court or magistrate to issue a writ of habeas corpus, when necessary to bring before it a prisoner for trial in a pending criminal case; or to bring a prisoner to be examined as a witness in a suit or proceeding, civil or criminal, pending before the court, if the personal attendance and examination of the witness is necessary for the attainment of justice.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part III - Courts, Judicial Officers and Proceedings in Civil Cases › Title IV - Certain Writs and Proceedings in Special Cases › Chapter 248 - Habeas Corpus and Personal Liberty › Section 26 - Refusal of Officer to Deliver Copy of Warrant; Penalty

Section 26. An officer who refuses or neglects for six hours to deliver a printed copy of the warrant contained in the warrant management system or process by which he detains a prisoner to any person who demands such copy and tenders the fees therefor shall forfeit two hundred dollars to such prisoner.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part III - Courts, Judicial Officers and Proceedings in Civil Cases › Title IV - Certain Writs and Proceedings in Special Cases › Chapter 248 - Habeas Corpus and Personal Liberty › Section 27 - Refusal to Obey Writ; Attachment

Section 27. If a person to whom a writ of habeas corpus is directed refuses to receive it, or neglects to execute it according to the provisions of this chapter and no sufficient excuse is shown therefor, the court or justice before whom the writ was returnable shall forthwith by process of attachment, as for a contempt, compel obedience to the writ, and punish the person guilty of the contempt.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part III - Courts, Judicial Officers and Proceedings in Civil Cases › Title IV - Certain Writs and Proceedings in Special Cases › Chapter 248 - Habeas Corpus and Personal Liberty › Section 28 - Attachment; Executing Officers

Section 28. If such attachment is issued against a sheriff or his deputy, it may be directed to a special sheriff or to some other person designated therein, who shall have full power to execute it; and if the sheriff or his deputy is to be committed upon such process, he may be committed to the jail of any county other than his own.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part III - Courts, Judicial Officers and Proceedings in Civil Cases › Title IV - Certain Writs and Proceedings in Special Cases › Chapter 248 - Habeas Corpus and Personal Liberty › Section 29 - Refusal to Obey Writ; Precept Commanding Production of Prisoner

Section 29. Upon the refusal or neglect of the person to whom the writ of habeas corpus is directed to receive and execute it, the court or justice may issue a precept to any officer or other person designated therein, commanding him to bring the prisoner forthwith before such court or justice, who shall thereupon discharge, bail or remand the prisoner as if he had been brought in upon the writ of habeas corpus.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part III - Courts, Judicial Officers and Proceedings in Civil Cases › Title IV - Certain Writs and Proceedings in Special Cases › Chapter 248 - Habeas Corpus and Personal Liberty › Section 30 - Refusal to Obey Writ; Penalty

Section 30. Whoever refuses or neglects to receive and execute a writ of habeas corpus shall forfeit four hundred dollars to the party aggrieved thereby.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part III - Courts, Judicial Officers and Proceedings in Civil Cases › Title IV - Certain Writs and Proceedings in Special Cases › Chapter 248 - Habeas Corpus and Personal Liberty › Section 31 - Resistance or Disobedience of Writ; Attachment

Section 31. Whoever resists the service of the writ of habeas corpus, or disobeys it when served, shall be liable to attachment as for a contempt of the court or justice before whom the writ is returnable.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part III - Courts, Judicial Officers and Proceedings in Civil Cases › Title IV - Certain Writs and Proceedings in Special Cases › Chapter 248 - Habeas Corpus and Personal Liberty › Section 32 - Removing or Concealing Prisoner; Penalty

Section 32. Whoever, having in his custody or power a person entitled to a writ of habeas corpus, transfers him to the custody, or places him under the power or control, of another person, conceals him or changes the place of his confinement, with intent to evade the service of such writ or to avoid the effect thereof, whether the writ has been issued or not, shall forfeit four hundred dollars to the party aggrieved thereby.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part III - Courts, Judicial Officers and Proceedings in Civil Cases › Title IV - Certain Writs and Proceedings in Special Cases › Chapter 248 - Habeas Corpus and Personal Liberty › Section 33 - Recovery of Penalties; Effect on Actions by Aggrieved Parties

Section 33. The recovery of any penalty imposed by the foregoing provisions of this chapter shall not bar an action at common law for false imprisonment, or for a false return to the writ of habeas corpus, or for any other injury or damage sustained by the aggrieved party.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part III - Courts, Judicial Officers and Proceedings in Civil Cases › Title IV - Certain Writs and Proceedings in Special Cases › Chapter 248 - Habeas Corpus and Personal Liberty › Section 34 - Persons in Custody of United States Marshal

Section 34. This chapter shall not authorize the taking of a person by writ of habeas corpus out of the custody of the United States marshal, or his deputy, who holds him by legal and sufficient process issued by any court or magistrate of competent jurisdiction; but this section shall not affect the authority of the supreme judicial court or of its justices, in accordance with the provisions of the constitution of the United States and of the commonwealth, to investigate and determine the validity and legal effect of any process which may be relied on to defeat the writ, or any other matter properly arising.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part III - Courts, Judicial Officers and Proceedings in Civil Cases › Title IV - Certain Writs and Proceedings in Special Cases › Chapter 248 - Habeas Corpus and Personal Liberty › Section 35 - Personal Liberty; How Secured

Section 35. No person shall be deprived of his liberty or held in custody by any person or in any place against his will or, if he is a minor, against the will of his parents, guardian or other person entitled to his custody, except by due process of law; but this section shall not apply to persons who have been legally convicted of crime and are serving sentence therefor.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part III - Courts, Judicial Officers and Proceedings in Civil Cases › Title IV - Certain Writs and Proceedings in Special Cases › Chapter 248 - Habeas Corpus and Personal Liberty › Section 36 - Petition to Obtain Personal Liberty

Section 36. Whoever has reason to believe that another person is deprived of his liberty or held in custody in violation of the preceding section may file a petition, on the oath of the petitioner, in the probate court for the county where such person is believed to be detained, stating his name, age and general description, where, when and under what circumstances he was deprived of his liberty, where he is believed to be detained, the name of the person so depriving him of his liberty, if known, the name of his supposed custodian and any other material facts and circumstances.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part III - Courts, Judicial Officers and Proceedings in Civil Cases › Title IV - Certain Writs and Proceedings in Special Cases › Chapter 248 - Habeas Corpus and Personal Liberty › Section 37 - Notice to Custodians, Etc.

Section 37. Upon the filing of such petition, the court shall cause notice to be served upon all the supposed custodians or persons alleged to be detaining or holding in custody said person, as stated in said petition, or as otherwise known, ordering them to appear before said court at a time and place named therein, to be examined as said court shall order; and may cause said person to be brought before it for examination as to his desire to be released and as to any other relevant matters.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part III - Courts, Judicial Officers and Proceedings in Civil Cases › Title IV - Certain Writs and Proceedings in Special Cases › Chapter 248 - Habeas Corpus and Personal Liberty › Section 38 - Examination of Witnesses

Section 38. The court may examine the witnesses separately and may permit the petitioner, parent, guardian or other person entitled to the custody of a person deprived of his liberty, in person or by counsel, to examine publicly his alleged custodian as to the condition of such person and the place where he is detained or held in custody; and may also examine separately and apart, or publicly, such person, and may make orders for his release or permitting correspondence or personal interviews between him and his friends or relatives, and may modify its orders upon notice to the parties.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part III - Courts, Judicial Officers and Proceedings in Civil Cases › Title IV - Certain Writs and Proceedings in Special Cases › Chapter 248 - Habeas Corpus and Personal Liberty › Section 39 - Conducting Examinations; Assistance From District Attorneys

Section 39. The probate court may request the district attorney for the district where it is held to attend the examination under the preceding section, and to conduct or assist in conducting the examination. If the court is unable to obtain satisfactory information, or to satisfactorily determine the questions involved or to furnish proper relief, it shall notify the district attorney, who may institute proceedings under sections one to thirty-four, inclusive, or such other proceedings as the case may require. The provisions of said sections shall apply to all proceedings under the four preceding sections so far as appropriate.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part III - Courts, Judicial Officers and Proceedings in Civil Cases › Title IV - Certain Writs and Proceedings in Special Cases › Chapter 248 - Habeas Corpus and Personal Liberty › Section 40 - Payment of Fees

Section 40. The fees for the service of process and notices and for summoning witnesses shall, upon the approval of the court or district attorney, be paid by the commonwealth if the petitioner is not able to pay them.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part III - Courts, Judicial Officers and Proceedings in Civil Cases › Title IV - Certain Writs and Proceedings in Special Cases › Chapter 249 - Audita Querela, Certiorari, Mandamus and Quo Warranto › Section 4 - Action in the Nature of Certiorari; Limitation; Joinder of Party Defendant; Injunction; Judgment

Section 4. A civil action in the nature of certiorari to correct errors in proceedings which are not according to the course of the common law, which proceedings are not otherwise reviewable by motion or by appeal, may be brought in the supreme judicial or superior court or, if the matter involves any right, title or interest in land, or arises under or involves the subdivision control law, the zoning act or municipal zoning, or subdivision ordinances, by–laws or regulations, in the land court or, if the matter involves fence viewers, in the district court. Such action shall be commenced within sixty days next after the proceeding complained of. Where such an action is brought against a body or officer exercising judicial or quasi-judicial functions to prevent the body or officer from proceeding in favor of another party, or is brought with relation to proceedings already taken, such other party may be joined as a party defendant by the plaintiff or on motion of the defendant body or officer or by application to intervene. Such other party may file a separate answer or adopt the pleadings of the body or officer. The court may at any time after the commencement of the action issue an injunction and order the record of the proceedings complained of brought before it. The court may enter judgment quashing or affirming such proceedings or such other judgment as justice may require.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part III - Courts, Judicial Officers and Proceedings in Civil Cases › Title IV - Certain Writs and Proceedings in Special Cases › Chapter 249 - Audita Querela, Certiorari, Mandamus and Quo Warranto › Section 4a - Service Upon Board, Commission or Voluntary Association

Section 4A. If a defendant in an action authorized by section four is a board or commission or voluntary association having a chairman or other presiding officer, secretary or clerk, by whatever official title he is called, service upon one of such persons shall be sufficient, otherwise service shall be made upon a majority of the members of a board or commission, or, as to a voluntary association on such of its members as will fairly insure the adequate representation of all.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part III - Courts, Judicial Officers and Proceedings in Civil Cases › Title IV - Certain Writs and Proceedings in Special Cases › Chapter 249 - Audita Querela, Certiorari, Mandamus and Quo Warranto › Section 5 - Action in the Nature of Mandamus

Section 5. A civil action to obtain relief formerly available by writ of mandamus may be brought in the supreme judicial or superior court or, if the matter involves any right, title or interest in land, or arises under or involves the subdivision control law, the zoning act, or municipal zoning, or subdivision ordinances, by–laws or regulations, in the land court.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part III - Courts, Judicial Officers and Proceedings in Civil Cases › Title IV - Certain Writs and Proceedings in Special Cases › Chapter 249 - Audita Querela, Certiorari, Mandamus and Quo Warranto › Section 6 - Action in the Nature of Quo Warranto

Section 6. A person whose private right or interest has been injured or put in hazard by the exercise of a franchise or privilege not conferred by law, by a private corporation or by persons claiming to be a private corporation, whether he is a member of such corporation or not, may bring a civil action in the nature of a quo warranto in the supreme judicial or superior court in the county where the defendant has its principal place of business seeking an injunction against such exercise. A copy of the complaint shall be served on the attorney general.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part III - Courts, Judicial Officers and Proceedings in Civil Cases › Title IV - Certain Writs and Proceedings in Special Cases › Chapter 249 - Audita Querela, Certiorari, Mandamus and Quo Warranto › Section 8 - Judgment; Costs

Section 8. If the court finds that the defendant has not exercised a franchise or privilege not conferred by law, he shall recover costs. If the attorney general does not intervene, and the court finds that the respondent has exercised a franchise or privilege not conferred by law, judgment of forfeiture shall not be entered, but judgment shall be entered that the corporation, or the persons claiming to be such, be perpetually excluded from the exercise of such franchise or privilege, and that the directors, managers, or agents, guilty of the usurpation, pay the costs of the complainant.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part III - Courts, Judicial Officers and Proceedings in Civil Cases › Title IV - Certain Writs and Proceedings in Special Cases › Chapter 249 - Audita Querela, Certiorari, Mandamus and Quo Warranto › Section 9 - Jurisdiction of Actions Against Persons Holding or Claiming Public Office

Section 9. The supreme judicial and superior courts shall have like jurisdiction of civil actions brought by the attorney general against a person holding or claiming the right to hold an office or employment, the salary or compensation of which is payable by the commonwealth, a county, city or town.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part III - Courts, Judicial Officers and Proceedings in Civil Cases › Title IV - Certain Writs and Proceedings in Special Cases › Chapter 250 - Writs of Error, Vacating Judgment, Writs of Review › Section 13 - Convictions; Effect of Age on Validity

Section 13. Upon a proceeding to reverse or avoid a conviction of crime or to obtain the discharge of a person who is held in custody thereunder, the fact that the person was under the age of 18 at the time of the conviction shall not affect the validity of the conviction nor entitle the person to be discharged.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part III - Courts, Judicial Officers and Proceedings in Civil Cases › Title IV - Certain Writs and Proceedings in Special Cases › Chapter 251 - Uniform Arbitration Act for Commercial Disputes › Section 1 - Validity of Agreements; Non-Applicability to Collective Bargaining Agreements

Section 1. A written agreement to submit any existing controversy to arbitration or a provision in a written contract to submit to arbitration any controversy thereafter arising between the parties shall be valid, enforceable and irrevocable, save upon such grounds as exist at law or in equity for the revocation of any contract. The provisions of this chapter shall not apply to collective bargaining agreements to arbitrate, which are subject to the provisions of chapter one hundred and fifty C, except as provided by the provisions of chapter one hundred and fifty-two.