reglab/statecodes huggingface dataset:
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part III - Courts, Judicial Officers and Proceedings in Civil Cases › Title I - Courts and Judicial Officers › Chapter 212 - The Superior Court › Section 21 - Special Jury Sittings for Criminal Business

Section 21. The chief justice may, by written order to the sheriff, order a special jury for a sitting for criminal business to be held in any county at such time and place as may be appointed in such order. The sheriff shall give notice thereof as directed in the order therefor; but no person under recognizance to answer to an indictment or to a criminal complaint shall be held to appear at such special sitting or at any time and place other than the regular sittings of the court, unless duly notified by written summons from the clerk.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part III - Courts, Judicial Officers and Proceedings in Civil Cases › Title I - Courts and Judicial Officers › Chapter 212 - The Superior Court › Section 22 - Return Day in Criminal Cases

Section 22. Every Monday shall be a return day in the superior court department for the entry of suits upon recognizances and bonds in criminal cases held in the district court department. Such suits may be made returnable at the election of the district attorney at any such return day within three months after the date of the writ. Trials by jury of such suits shall take place at criminal sittings; and, for the purpose of docketing and recording such suits, they shall be deemed to be criminal cases, provided that the provisions of chapter two hundred and twenty-seven shall be applicable thereto as in other civil cases except that no bond shall be required as provided in section nine thereof. If any Monday is a legal holiday, such entry shall be made on the day following. This section shall not apply to appeals arising under sections fifty-two to sixty-three, inclusive, of chapter one hundred and nineteen.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part III - Courts, Judicial Officers and Proceedings in Civil Cases › Title I - Courts and Judicial Officers › Chapter 212 - The Superior Court › Section 24 - Precedence of Certain Prosecutions

Section 24. At a sitting of the court at which criminal business may be transacted, cases arising under chapters one hundred and nineteen, two hundred and forty-eight, one hundred and thirty-eight, one hundred and thirty-nine and two hundred and seventy-three shall have precedence in the order in which said chapters are herein named, next after the cases of persons who are actually confined in prison and awaiting trial; provided, that the court, on motion of the district attorney, may order that the trial of any specified case of crime shall take precedence over all other cases.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part III - Courts, Judicial Officers and Proceedings in Civil Cases › Title I - Courts and Judicial Officers › Chapter 212 - The Superior Court › Section 26 - Records; Custody

Section 26. The records of courts, including electronic records, which are transferred to the superior court shall remain in custody of the clerks, whether in physical or electronic form. In Suffolk county, the clerk of said court for civil business shall have the custody of said records in civil cases, and the clerk for criminal business shall have the custody of said records in criminal cases. Copies of said records may be certified by said clerks respectively. Judicial writs and processes which are founded upon such records shall issue under the seal, which may be electronically imprinted, of the superior court, in like manner and with the same effect as similar writs and processes founded upon its own records.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part III - Courts, Judicial Officers and Proceedings in Civil Cases › Title I - Courts and Judicial Officers › Chapter 212 - The Superior Court › Section 26a - Land Title Actions; Jury-Waived Civil Actions; Transfer to Land Court

Section 26A. The superior court may, upon the application of either party, order a jury-waived civil action where any right, title or interest in land is involved, including actions for specific performance of contracts, removed to the land court for trial and disposition. Upon the entry of such an order, the clerk of the court shall forthwith transmit all the papers in the case to the recorder of the land court who shall forthwith enter them on the land court docket, which court thereafter shall have jurisdiction of the action so removed.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part III - Courts, Judicial Officers and Proceedings in Civil Cases › Title I - Courts and Judicial Officers › Chapter 212 - The Superior Court › Section 29 - Speedy Trial of Persons Held in Default of Bail

Section 29. A prisoner held in jail for trial upon an indictment for an offence not punishable by death or by imprisonment for life, or so held upon an appeal, at any time except during a sitting of the superior court for criminal business in the county where he is held, may petition said court that he be brought before the court at a sitting thereof for civil business in that county in order that disposition may be made of his case. After due notice to the district attorney, and with his consent, the court may grant the petition, and the presiding justice may dispose of the case, as if he were holding a sitting of the court for criminal business, or he may continue the case to the next sitting of the court for criminal business. When a person who has a right to so petition is committed to jail, the keeper thereof shall notify him of such right, furnish him with a blank form for its exercise, and transmit it to the court, if signed by him. This section shall not apply in cases in which two or more persons are held on one complaint or indictment, unless all the defendants join in the petition.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part III - Courts, Judicial Officers and Proceedings in Civil Cases › Title I - Courts and Judicial Officers › Chapter 212 - The Superior Court › Section 30 - Labor Dispute Cases; Panel of Justices; Hearing; Review

Section 30. In any action or proceeding involving or arising under section twenty B, twenty C or twenty-four of chapter one hundred and forty-nine, or section six or six A of chapter two hundred and fourteen, the chief justice shall designate three associate justices to hear and determine the action or proceeding. The decision of said court shall be subject to review in accordance with the provision of subsection (6) of section six of chapter two hundred and fourteen.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part III - Courts, Judicial Officers and Proceedings in Civil Cases › Title I - Courts and Judicial Officers › Chapter 213 - Provisions Common to the Supreme Judicial and Superior Courts › Section 1 - Chief Justices; Vacancies

Section 1. In case of a vacancy in the office of chief justice of the supreme judicial or the superior court, or of his illness or absence, his duties shall be performed by the senior justice present and qualified to act.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part III - Courts, Judicial Officers and Proceedings in Civil Cases › Title I - Courts and Judicial Officers › Chapter 213 - Provisions Common to the Supreme Judicial and Superior Courts › Section 1a - Concurrent Jurisdiction; Exception

Section 1A. Unless otherwise specifically provided, the superior court shall have original jurisdiction, concurrently with the supreme judicial court, of all proceedings, cases and matters of which the supreme judicial court has jurisdiction, excepting those within the appellate jurisdiction of the full court, those provided for under section four of chapter two hundred and eleven, and those which cannot be transferred under section four A of said chapter.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part III - Courts, Judicial Officers and Proceedings in Civil Cases › Title I - Courts and Judicial Officers › Chapter 213 - Provisions Common to the Supreme Judicial and Superior Courts › Section 1b - Questions of Law; Reservation; Report to Appeals Court

Section 1B. Questions of law arising in any proceeding of which jurisdiction is vested in the superior court by section one A may be reserved and reported to the appeals court for the consideration of that court in the manner provided in section one hundred and eleven of chapter two hundred and thirty-one.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part III - Courts, Judicial Officers and Proceedings in Civil Cases › Title I - Courts and Judicial Officers › Chapter 213 - Provisions Common to the Supreme Judicial and Superior Courts › Section 2 - Process; Issuance in Other Counties

Section 2. If, in the opinion of a justice of either court, it is important that a writ or other process should be speedily issued in a cause pending in the court of which he is a justice, he may order it to be issued by the clerk of the courts in the county in which he is sitting; and such clerk shall transmit the order to the clerk of the courts of the county in which the cause is pending, to be filed and recorded with the other papers in the case.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part III - Courts, Judicial Officers and Proceedings in Civil Cases › Title I - Courts and Judicial Officers › Chapter 213 - Provisions Common to the Supreme Judicial and Superior Courts › Section 3 - Rules; Power to Make and Promulgate

Section 3. The courts shall, respectively, make and promulgate uniform codes of rules, consistent with law, for regulating the practice and conducting the business of such courts in cases not expressly provided for by law, for the following purposes:
First, Simplifying and shortening pleadings and procedure.
Second, Prescribing the terms upon which amendments will be allowed or unnecessary counts and statements stricken from the record; discouraging negligence and deceit; preventing delay; securing parties from being misled; placing the party not in fault as nearly as possible in the condition in which he would have been if no mistake had been made; distinguishing between form and substance; and substituting fixed and certain requirements for the discretion of the court.
Third, Conducting trials.
Fourth, Presenting distinctly the questions to be tried by the jury.
Fifth, Giving a party such notice of the evidence which is intended to be offered by the adverse party as will prevent surprise and enable him to prepare for trial.
Sixth, Prescribing such forms of verdicts as will place upon record the finding of the jury.
Seventh, The entry of judgment by the clerk under a general order in all cases ripe for judgment.
Eighth, Expediting the decision of causes and securing the speedy trial thereof.
Ninth, Remedying abuses and imperfections in practice and diminishing costs.
Tenth, Filing and hearing motions to set aside verdicts and notifying adverse parties thereof.
Tenth A, Making effective the declaratory procedure provided by chapter two hundred and thirty-one A.
Eleventh, The superior court may also make and promulgate such rules for the regulation of the printing, publication and distribution of trial lists and for notifying attorneys of trials in civil causes as the public convenience in the several counties requires.
The rules of the superior court, promulgated under the authority of this section, shall be subject to the approval of the supreme judicial court.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part III - Courts, Judicial Officers and Proceedings in Civil Cases › Title I - Courts and Judicial Officers › Chapter 213 - Provisions Common to the Supreme Judicial and Superior Courts › Section 3a - Rules; Printing and Disposition of Copies

Section 3A. Copies of the rules, as provided for in section three, shall be printed at the expense of the commonwealth from such sums as may be appropriated therefor and expended under the direction of the chief justices. There may be included such notes and annotations, if any, as shall be directed by vote of the justices. Copies of general revisions of the rules not otherwise disposed of may be sold to the general public at such price per copy as shall be fixed by vote of the justices, which price may be less than, but shall not exceed, the cost of printing, binding and paper. Copies intended for sale shall be transmitted, under the direction of the chief justice, to the several clerks of the courts and to each clerk of the supreme judicial and the superior court in Suffolk county, and shall be placed on sale by them at the price so fixed. Each such clerk shall in January in each year pay into the state treasury all sums received from the sale of such copies during the preceding year, and shall also in said month report in writing to the chief justice the number of such copies sold during the preceding year and the number remaining on hand at the end thereof.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part III - Courts, Judicial Officers and Proceedings in Civil Cases › Title I - Courts and Judicial Officers › Chapter 213 - Provisions Common to the Supreme Judicial and Superior Courts › Section 4 - Courts Always Open

Section 4. The courts shall always be open in every county and the business thereof, or of the justices thereof, may be transacted at any time; but such business shall not, except as provided in section six of chapter two hundred and twenty, be transacted on Saturday or Sunday or on a legal holiday unless it relates to an application which, in the opinion of the justice to whom it is made, is of pressing necessity; provided, that, if the convenience of the public so requires, either court shall be open for the transaction of business on such Saturdays, not legal holidays, and during such hours thereof, as the chief justice thereof may determine.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part III - Courts, Judicial Officers and Proceedings in Civil Cases › Title I - Courts and Judicial Officers › Chapter 213 - Provisions Common to the Supreme Judicial and Superior Courts › Section 5 - Transaction of Business in Any County

Section 5. The courts and the justices thereof, respectively, may in any county transact any business of such courts and direct the entry of any order, judgment or decree in an action, suit or proceeding pending in the same court in another county.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part III - Courts, Judicial Officers and Proceedings in Civil Cases › Title I - Courts and Judicial Officers › Chapter 213 - Provisions Common to the Supreme Judicial and Superior Courts › Section 6 - Duration of Sittings; Adjournments

Section 6. Regular sittings of the courts for the transaction of civil or criminal business shall commence on the day appointed therefor and end on the day preceding the day appointed for the commencement of the next regular sitting in such county for the transaction of the same kind of business. Such regular sittings may at any time be adjourned from time to time or without day, and such adjournment shall excuse the attendance during the adjournment of all persons required to attend at the sitting, unless expressly notified to attend, but shall not otherwise terminate the sitting.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part III - Courts, Judicial Officers and Proceedings in Civil Cases › Title I - Courts and Judicial Officers › Chapter 213 - Provisions Common to the Supreme Judicial and Superior Courts › Section 7 - Simultaneous Sessions

Section 7. Two or more simultaneous sessions of the court may be held in the same shire town or in different shire towns in the same county, if public convenience requires; and the business may be so divided as to secure its speedy and convenient disposal.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part III - Courts, Judicial Officers and Proceedings in Civil Cases › Title I - Courts and Judicial Officers › Chapter 213 - Provisions Common to the Supreme Judicial and Superior Courts › Section 9 - Attendance of Justices

Section 9. The justices of each court, except as otherwise provided, shall make such arrangements for the attendance of a justice at the several times and places appointed for holding their court as will be most convenient and as will insure the prompt performance of their duties.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part III - Courts, Judicial Officers and Proceedings in Civil Cases › Title I - Courts and Judicial Officers › Chapter 213 - Provisions Common to the Supreme Judicial and Superior Courts › Section 10 - Adjournment to Another Shire Town

Section 10. If public business requires, either court may adjourn an established sitting in one shire town to another in the same county. Persons, recognizances and processes required to appear at or to be returned to the established sitting shall appear at, be returnable to and have day in, the adjourned sitting.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part III - Courts, Judicial Officers and Proceedings in Civil Cases › Title I - Courts and Judicial Officers › Chapter 213 - Provisions Common to the Supreme Judicial and Superior Courts › Section 11 - Adjournment in Absence of Justice; Sheriff's Duty

Section 11. If no justice is present at the time and place appointed for holding a court at the beginning of a sitting or at an adjournment thereof, the sheriff of the county or any of his deputies may adjourn the court from day to day or from time to time, as circumstances require, or as ordered by any of the justices, and shall give notice of such adjournment by making public proclamation in the court house, and by a notice posted on the door of the court house or published in a newspaper.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part III - Courts, Judicial Officers and Proceedings in Civil Cases › Title I - Courts and Judicial Officers › Chapter 213 - Provisions Common to the Supreme Judicial and Superior Courts › Section 12 - Written Order to Sheriff to Adjourn; Absence of Justice

Section 12. In such case, any justice may by a written order require the sheriff or his deputy to adjourn the court without day or to the time expressed in the order; and the officer shall adjourn the court accordingly by public proclamation in the court house.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part III - Courts, Judicial Officers and Proceedings in Civil Cases › Title I - Courts and Judicial Officers › Chapter 214 - Equity Jurisdiction › Section 1 - General Equity Jurisdiction; Original and Concurrent

Section 1. The supreme judicial and superior courts shall have original and concurrent jurisdiction of all cases and matters of equity cognizable under the general principles of equity jurisprudence and, with reference thereto, shall be courts of general equity jurisdiction, except that the superior court shall have exclusive original jurisdiction of all actions in which injunctive relief is sought in any matter involving or growing out of a labor dispute as defined in section twenty C of chapter one hundred and forty-nine.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part III - Courts, Judicial Officers and Proceedings in Civil Cases › Title I - Courts and Judicial Officers › Chapter 214 - Equity Jurisdiction › Section 1a - Remedy in Damages No Bar to Suit for Specific Performance of Contract

Section 1A. The fact that the plaintiff has a remedy in damages shall not bar an action for specific performance of a contract, other than one for purely personal services, if the court finds that no other existing remedy, or the damages recoverable thereby is in fact the equivalent of the performance promised by the contract relied on by the plaintiff, and the court may order specific performance if it finds such remedy to be practicable. If performance is not ordered, damages may be determined in the proceeding, and if the defendant claims a jury on that issue, the issue shall be framed and referred for jury trial.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part III - Courts, Judicial Officers and Proceedings in Civil Cases › Title I - Courts and Judicial Officers › Chapter 214 - Equity Jurisdiction › Section 1c - Right to Freedom From Sexual Harassment

Section 1C. A person shall have the right to be free from sexual harassment, as defined in chapter one hundred and fifty-one B and one hundred and fifty-one C. The superior court shall have the jurisdiction to enforce this right and to award the damages and other relief provided in the third paragraph of section 9 of chapter 151B. Any such action shall be commenced in the superior court within the time allowed by said section 9 of said chapter 151B. No claim under this section that is also actionable under chapter 151B or chapter 151C shall be brought in superior court unless a complaint was timely filed with the Massachusetts commission against discrimination under said chapter 151B.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part III - Courts, Judicial Officers and Proceedings in Civil Cases › Title I - Courts and Judicial Officers › Chapter 214 - Equity Jurisdiction › Section 2 - Statutory Jurisdiction

Section 2. The supreme judicial court shall have original and exclusive jurisdiction of all civil actions in which equitable relief is sought cognizable under any statute and not within the jurisdiction conferred by section one, unless a different provision is made; and the superior court shall have like original and exclusive, or like original and concurrent, jurisdiction only if the statute so provides.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part III - Courts, Judicial Officers and Proceedings in Civil Cases › Title I - Courts and Judicial Officers › Chapter 214 - Equity Jurisdiction › Section 3a - Unauthorized Use of Name, Portrait or Picture of a Person; Injunctive Relief; Damages; Exceptions

Section 3A. Any person whose name, portrait or picture is used within the commonwealth for advertising purposes or for the purposes of trade without his written consent may bring a civil action in the superior court against the person so using his name, portrait or picture, to prevent and restrain the use thereof; and may recover damages for any injuries sustained by reason of such use. If the defendant shall have knowingly used such person's name, portrait or picture in such manner as is prohibited or unlawful, the court, in its discretion, may award the plaintiff treble the amount of the damages sustained by him. Nothing in this section shall be so construed as to prevent any person practicing the profession of photography from exhibiting in or about his or its establishment specimens of the work of such person or establishment, unless the exhibiting of any such specimen is continued after written notice objecting thereto has been given by the person portrayed; and nothing in this section shall be so construed as to prevent any person from using the name, portrait or picture of any manufacturer or dealer in connection with the goods, wares and merchandise manufactured, produced or dealt in by such manufacturer or dealer which such person has sold or disposed of with such name, portrait or picture used in connection therewith; or from using the name, portrait or picture of any author, composer or artist in connection with any literary, musical or artistic production of such author, composer or artist which such person has sold or disposed of with such name, portrait or picture used in connection therewith.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part III - Courts, Judicial Officers and Proceedings in Civil Cases › Title I - Courts and Judicial Officers › Chapter 214 - Equity Jurisdiction › Section 3b - Fair Information Practices of Public Holders; Violations of Chapter 66a; Remedies; Limitation

Section 3B. Any holder, as that term is defined in chapter sixty-six A, which violates any provision of said chapter sixty-six A, shall be liable to any individual who suffers any damage as a result of such violations, and the individual damaged may bring an action against such holder to recover any damages sustained. Notwithstanding any liability for actual damages as may be shown, such holder shall be liable for exemplary damages of not less than one hundred dollars for each violation together with such costs and reasonable attorney's fees as may be incurred in said action.
Any holder which violates or proposes to violate any of the provisions of chapter sixty-six A shall be subject to an action for injunction, declaratory judgment, or mandamus issued by any court of competent jurisdiction. The court may make such order or judgment as may be necessary to prevent any holder from employing practices which violate chapter sixty-six A. Actions for injunction or mandamus under this section may be prosecuted by an individual or by the attorney general in the name of the commonwealth upon his own complaint or upon the complaint of any individual.
An action to enforce any liability created under chapter sixty-six A, may be brought in any court of competent jurisdiction within three years from the date in which the liability arises; provided, however, that where a defendant had materially or willfully misused any personal data required to be disclosed to a data subject according to the provisions of chapter sixty-six A, and said personal data so misused is material to the establishment of the defendant's liability to the data subject, the action may be brought at any time within three years after such misuse is discovered.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part III - Courts, Judicial Officers and Proceedings in Civil Cases › Title I - Courts and Judicial Officers › Chapter 214 - Equity Jurisdiction › Section 6a - Jurisdictional Labor Disputes; Temporary Injunctive Relief; Arbitration; Definition

Section 6A. Notwithstanding any of the provisions of section six so far as they may be applicable, a temporary restraining order or preliminary injunction may be granted in any case in which the parties to a jurisdictional dispute, as hereinafter defined, have voluntarily submitted such dispute to arbitration, and one of such parties fails to abide by the arbitration procedure or to comply with the terms of the arbitration award and engages in or continues to engage in a strike, picketing, boycott or other concerted interference against an employer. The restraining order or preliminary injunction may be granted in favor of the party which abides by the procedure and complies with the award as well as in favor of the employer who is ready and willing to abide by the terms of such award.
The term ''jurisdictional dispute'' means a dispute between two or more labor organizations or groups or employees the object of which is to require that particular work be assigned to employees in a particular labor organization or in a particular trade, craft or class rather than to employees in another labor organization or in another trade, craft or class.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part III - Courts, Judicial Officers and Proceedings in Civil Cases › Title I - Courts and Judicial Officers › Chapter 214 - Equity Jurisdiction › Section 7 - Construction of Wills; Notice

Section 7. In actions for the construction of wills, or for instructions relative to wills the court may order notice of the action and of the time and place for hearing to be served on such number of the parties in interest representing all possible interests as the court shall direct, and to be published for three weeks successively in such newspaper as it directs. If it appears that any possible interest is not represented, further service may be ordered until all possible interests are represented before the court or until a guardian ad litem has been appointed. If all possible interests are represented by persons before the court, it shall be unnecessary to make other persons having similar interests parties defendant.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part III - Courts, Judicial Officers and Proceedings in Civil Cases › Title I - Courts and Judicial Officers › Chapter 214 - Equity Jurisdiction › Section 7b - Noise Pollution; Shooting Ranges; Exemption From Liability; Hours of Operation

Section 7B. Notwithstanding the provisions of any general or special law, rule or regulation to the contrary, no owner of a rifle, pistol, silhouette, skeet, trap, blackpowder, or other similar range shall be liable in any civil action or criminal prosecution in any matter relating to noise or noise pollution resulting from use of the range, provided said owner of the range was in compliance with any applicable noise control law, ordinance or by-laws in existence at the time of the construction of such range.
No owner shall be liable in any action for nuisance, and no court shall enjoin the use or operation of said range on the basis of noise or noise pollution, provided said owner was in compliance with any noise control law, ordinance or by-laws in existence at the time of the construction of the range.
The exemptions from liability and the immunities from prosecution provided in this section shall also extend to any owner who, in order to satisfy a requirement of law, regulation or by-law, relocates his range within the same parcel of land or a contiguous parcel of land, owned by him at the time that the commonwealth or its political subdivision commences enforcement of such a requirement or that the owner voluntarily complies with such a requirement. In order to maintain these exemptions from liability and immunities from prosecution, owners who relocate their ranges pursuant to the preceding sentence shall remain in compliance with the applicable noise control laws, ordinances or by-laws in existence at the time of the construction of the original range described in the first paragraph.
No standards in rules adopted by any state, city, or town agency for limiting levels of noise in terms of decibel level which may occur in the outdoor atmosphere shall apply to the ranges exempted from liability under the provisions of this section. Such ranges shall be prohibited from operating between the hours of ten o'clock post meridian and eight o'clock ante meridian unless otherwise allowed by the local governing body.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part III - Courts, Judicial Officers and Proceedings in Civil Cases › Title I - Courts and Judicial Officers › Chapter 214 - Equity Jurisdiction › Section 10 - Cases Pending in Another County; Hearing

Section 10. A justice of either court or the full court may, if necessary, hear and determine cases pending in a county other than that in which such justice or court is sitting, or any motion therein; but a motion shall not be so heard nor an order so made until reasonable notice thereof has been given to the adverse party or his counsel; and either party may transmit his reasons in writing for or against the application to the court or justice, who shall examine the same and proceed thereon as if the parties were present. All orders made on such hearings shall be transmitted to the clerk in the proper county, and be entered by him.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part III - Courts, Judicial Officers and Proceedings in Civil Cases › Title I - Courts and Judicial Officers › Chapter 214 - Equity Jurisdiction › Section 10b - Proceedings for Application of Cy Pres Doctrine to Failure of Charitable Gifts; Deviation; Notice; Parties

Section 10B. Upon a petition commenced after the death of the donor for the application cy pres to similar public charitable purposes of a gift for a public charitable purpose which has become impossible or impracticable of fulfillment, the court may exercise jurisdiction without requiring that the heirs or next of kin of the donor or others who would be entitled to take upon failure of any charitable gift be joined as parties. Upon any such petition notice shall be given to persons not joined as parties who would be entitled to take upon failure of any charitable gift, unless the provisions of section eight K of chapter twelve is applicable, or, if the provisions of said section are not applicable, unless, upon a petition commenced more than twenty years after the death of the donor, the court expressly finds that the donor by written instrument manifested a general intention to devote the property to public charitable purposes. Such notice, where required, shall be given by publication or otherwise, as the court shall determine to be practicable in the circumstances.
Upon a petition to permit reasonable deviation from any of the subordinate terms of a charitable gift of a donor who has died, the court may exercise jurisdiction without requiring that those who would be entitled to take upon failure of such gift be joined as parties or notified of the proceeding. Nothing in this section shall preclude the joinder as a party in any such petition of a person who would be entitled to take upon failure of any charitable gift. The provisions of section eight G of chapter twelve shall be applicable to all such petitions.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part III - Courts, Judicial Officers and Proceedings in Civil Cases › Title I - Courts and Judicial Officers › Chapter 214 - Equity Jurisdiction › Section 11 - Issues of Fact to Be Tried by Jury

Section 11. The supreme judicial court, upon request of a party to a civil action in which equitable relief is sought, may frame issues of fact to be tried by a jury and order the same to be tried in that court or in the superior court in the county in which such cause is pending, or upon the request of all parties in any other county.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part III - Courts, Judicial Officers and Proceedings in Civil Cases › Title I - Courts and Judicial Officers › Chapter 214 - Equity Jurisdiction › Section 12 - Summoning of Jury

Section 12. If there is no regular sitting of the supreme judicial court within three months after the framing of such issues, a justice thereof may order the clerk of the courts for the county in which the cause is pending to summon a jury to try such issues, and the proceedings at such trial shall be in all respects the same as in a trial at a regular sitting.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part III - Courts, Judicial Officers and Proceedings in Civil Cases › Title I - Courts and Judicial Officers › Chapter 214 - Equity Jurisdiction › Section 13 - Jury Issues in Superior Court

Section 13. The superior court, upon request of a party to a civil action in which equitable relief is sought pending therein, may frame issues of fact to be tried by a jury and order them to be tried in the county in which such cause is pending.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part III - Courts, Judicial Officers and Proceedings in Civil Cases › Title I - Courts and Judicial Officers › Chapter 214 - Equity Jurisdiction › Section 14 - Continuous Sitting of Courts in Boston

Section 14. A justice of the supreme judicial court and a justice of the superior court shall, at all convenient times, sit in Boston to hear and determine civil actions in which equitable relief is sought and motions therein arising in any county.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part III - Courts, Judicial Officers and Proceedings in Civil Cases › Title I - Courts and Judicial Officers › Chapter 214 - Equity Jurisdiction › Section 15 - Control of Action

Section 15. A justice of either court shall not dissolve an injunction issued by the other court, or by a justice thereof, or interpose in any action in which equitable relief is sought pending before the other court, except as provided in sections one hundred and fifteen, one hundred and seventeen, and one hundred and eighteen of chapter two hundred and thirty-one.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part III - Courts, Judicial Officers and Proceedings in Civil Cases › Title I - Courts and Judicial Officers › Chapter 214 - Equity Jurisdiction › Section 18 - Pending Actions; Taking Papers From Files

Section 18. The original papers in a civil action pending in either court may be taken from the files in any county by counsel of record of either party, for use before the court, upon leaving a memorandum and receipt on such files, containing a short description of the papers so taken.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part III - Courts, Judicial Officers and Proceedings in Civil Cases › Title I - Courts and Judicial Officers › Chapter 215 - Probate Courts › Section 1 - Divisions; Definitions; Courts of Record

Section 1. The probate and family court department established under section one of chapter two hundred and eleven B shall consist of divisions, one for each county, and wherever the words ''probate court'', ''court of insolvency'' or ''probate and insolvency court'' are used, or similar words importing the same, or wherever in this chapter the word ''court'' is used in that context, they shall refer to a division of the probate and family court department; and the words ''judge of probate'', ''judge of probate and insolvency'' or the word ''judge'', in context, shall mean an associate justice of the trial court appointed to a division of the probate and family court department; and the words ''register of probate'', ''register of probate and insolvency'' or the word ''register'', in context, shall mean the register of a division of the probate and family court department; and the words ''registry of probate'', ''registry of probate and insolvency'' or the word ''registry'', in context, shall mean the registry of said division.
Probate courts shall be courts of record, and the judge and the register of probate for each county shall be, respectively, the judge and the register of the division within the probate and family court department for that county.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part III - Courts, Judicial Officers and Proceedings in Civil Cases › Title I - Courts and Judicial Officers › Chapter 215 - Probate Courts › Section 2 - Superior Jurisdiction; Presumption

Section 2. Probate courts shall be courts of superior and general jurisdiction with reference to all cases and matters in which they have jurisdiction, and no order, judgment, decree, sentence, warrant, writ or process made, issued or pronounced by them need set out any adjudication or circumstances with greater particularity than would be required in other courts of superior and general jurisdiction, and the like presumption shall be made in favor of proceedings of the probate courts as would be made in favor of proceedings of other courts of superior and general jurisdiction.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part III - Courts, Judicial Officers and Proceedings in Civil Cases › Title I - Courts and Judicial Officers › Chapter 215 - Probate Courts › Section 3 - Courts and Their Jurisdictions; General Provisions

Section 3. Probate courts shall have jurisdiction of probate of wills, of granting administration on the estates of persons who at the time of their decease were inhabitants of or residents in their respective counties and of persons who die out of the commonwealth leaving estate to be administered within their respective counties; of the appointment of guardians and conservators; of all matters relative to the estates of such deceased persons and wards; of petitions for the adoption of children, and for change of names; of proceedings transferred to it under the provisions of section four A of chapter two hundred and eleven; and of such other matters as have been or may be placed within their jurisdiction. Whenever service of any notice, summons, citation, order or other process in any of the foregoing proceedings is ordered to be made by publication the names of the estates or parties to such proceedings shall be printed in bold type.
Probate courts have exclusive original jurisdiction of actions for divorce or for affirming or annulling marriage.
Probate courts shall have exclusive original jurisdiction of all actions concerning the execution and validity of health care proxies created under chapter 201D and caregiver authorization affidavits created under chapter 201F or disputes arising thereunder.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part III - Courts, Judicial Officers and Proceedings in Civil Cases › Title I - Courts and Judicial Officers › Chapter 215 - Probate Courts › Section 4 - Courts and Their Jurisdictions; Separate Estates of Married Women; Paternity, Custody and Support of Minors

Section 4. Probate courts shall have exclusive original jurisdiction of actions by married women relative to their separate estate, of actions relative to the care, custody, education and maintenance of minor children provided for by sections thirty and thirty-seven of chapter two hundred and nine, and of actions relative to paternity, support, and custody of minor children provided for in chapter two hundred and nine C and shall have jurisdiction concurrently with the district and Boston municipal court departments of actions relative to paternity or support as provided in chapter two hundred and nine C and actions for support as provided in section thirty-two F of chapter two hundred and nine and actions relative to paternity or support as provided in two hundred and nine D.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part III - Courts, Judicial Officers and Proceedings in Civil Cases › Title I - Courts and Judicial Officers › Chapter 215 - Probate Courts › Section 6a - Courts and Their Jurisdictions; Attachment by Injunction

Section 6A. In any proceeding before a probate court, an attachment may be made by injunction to reach shares of stock or other property which cannot be reached to be attached in a civil action in which money damages are sought, and the property so attached shall thereafter be subject to such order as justice and equity may require; and in relation to such probate proceedings said court shall have all the powers which the supreme judicial and superior courts have in relation to actions to reach and apply.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part III - Courts, Judicial Officers and Proceedings in Civil Cases › Title I - Courts and Judicial Officers › Chapter 215 - Probate Courts › Section 6c - Courts and Their Jurisdictions; Modification of Judgment as to Care and Custody of Minor Children; Temporary Orders

Section 6C. Upon a complaint, after a judgment pursuant to this chapter relative to the care and custody of minor children, filed by either parent or by a next friend on behalf of the children, after notice to both parents, the court may make a judgment modifying its earlier judgment as to the care and custody of said minor children provided that the court finds that a material and substantial change in the circumstances of the parties has occurred and that a modification is necessary in the best interests of the children.
During the pendency of such an action, upon motion of either party or of a next friend on behalf of the minor children of the parties and notice to the other party or parties, the court may make temporary orders relative to the care and custody of such children. Every order entered shall include specific findings of fact made by the court which clearly demonstrate the injury, harm or damage that might reasonably be expected to occur if relief pending a judgment of modification is not granted. An order entered pursuant to this section may only be entered without advance notice if the court finds that an emergency exists, the nature of which requires the court to act before the opposing party or parties can be heard in opposition. In all such cases, such order shall be for a period not to exceed five days and written notice of the issuance of any such order and the reasons therefor shall be given to the opposing party or parties together with notice of the date, time and place that a hearing on the continuation of such order will be held.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part III - Courts, Judicial Officers and Proceedings in Civil Cases › Title I - Courts and Judicial Officers › Chapter 215 - Probate Courts › Section 7 - Attachment of Jurisdiction; Control of Case

Section 7. If a case is within the jurisdiction of the probate courts of two or more counties, the court first taking cognizance thereof by the commencement of proceedings therein shall retain jurisdiction thereof, and shall exclude the jurisdiction of the probate courts of all other counties; and the administration, guardianship or conservatorship first granted shall extend to all the estate of the deceased or ward in the commonwealth.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part III - Courts, Judicial Officers and Proceedings in Civil Cases › Title I - Courts and Judicial Officers › Chapter 215 - Probate Courts › Section 8a - Courts and Their Jurisdictions; Change of Venue

Section 8A. If it appears before final judgment or decree in any proceeding pending in a probate court that said proceeding was begun in the wrong county, said court may order the proceeding with all papers relating thereto to be removed to the probate court for the proper county, and it shall thereupon be entered and pending in the last mentioned court as if originally commenced therein, and all prior proceedings otherwise regularly taken shall thereupon be valid.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part III - Courts, Judicial Officers and Proceedings in Civil Cases › Title I - Courts and Judicial Officers › Chapter 215 - Probate Courts › Section 9 - Persons Entitled to Appeal

Section 9. A person aggrieved by an order, judgment, decree or denial of a probate court made after this chapter takes effect, may, within thirty days after the entry thereof, appeal therefrom to the appeals court or, subject to the provisions of section ten of chapter two hundred and eleven A, to the full court of the supreme judicial court. Said courts shall have like powers and authority with respect thereto as upon an appeal in any civil action.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part III - Courts, Judicial Officers and Proceedings in Civil Cases › Title I - Courts and Judicial Officers › Chapter 215 - Probate Courts › Section 9a - Fiduciaries; Acts During Appeal Period

Section 9A. The acts of an executor, administrator, guardian, conservator or trustee performed after the entry of the decree appointing him in such capacity or authorizing or licensing him to sell, mortgage, or lease, real or personal property and prior to the expiration of the period allowed for an appeal therefrom shall be valid to the same extent as if said appeal period had expired without any appeal in all instances where there has been no appearance entered against such appointment, sale, mortgage or lease, prior to the entry of the decree or where such appearance has been entered and withdrawn prior to the entry of the decree, notwithstanding the fact that an appeal may have been taken in said period.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part III - Courts, Judicial Officers and Proceedings in Civil Cases › Title I - Courts and Judicial Officers › Chapter 215 - Probate Courts › Section 11 - Appeals; Report of Facts

Section 11. In cases not governed by the Massachusetts Rules of Civil Procedure or comparable rules for domestic relations matters, the judge by whom an order, judgment, decree or denial was made shall report the material facts found by him, on request of any party entitled to appeal therefrom made within ten days after such party has notice of such order, judgment, decree or denial; otherwise such report shall be in the discretion of the judge.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part III - Courts, Judicial Officers and Proceedings in Civil Cases › Title I - Courts and Judicial Officers › Chapter 215 - Probate Courts › Section 13 - Reservation and Report of Case to Appeals Court

Section 13. A judge of the probate court by whom a case or matter is heard for final determination may reserve and report the evidence and all questions of law therein for consideration of the appeals court, and thereupon like proceedings shall be had as upon appeal. And if, upon making an interlocutory judgment, decree or order, he is of opinion that it so affects the merits of the controversy that the matter ought, before further proceedings, to be determined by the appeals court, he may report the question for that purpose, and stay all further proceedings except such as are necessary to preserve the rights of the parties.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part III - Courts, Judicial Officers and Proceedings in Civil Cases › Title I - Courts and Judicial Officers › Chapter 215 - Probate Courts › Section 14 - Interlocutory Judgments and Decrees; Revision on Appeal From Final Judgments or Decrees

Section 14. Interlocutory judgments and decrees not appealed from shall be open to revision upon appeals from final judgments and decrees so far only as it appears to the appeals court or supreme judicial court that such final judgments and decrees are erroneously affected thereby.