2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part III - Courts, Judicial Officers and Proceedings in Civil Cases › Title I - Courts and Judicial Officers › Chapter 218 - District Courts › Section 57 - Juvenile Courts; Divisions; Territorial Jurisdiction; Appeals

Section 57. The juvenile court department established under section one of chapter two hundred and eleven B as of July first, nineteen hundred and ninety-three shall be composed of divisions, in each of the judicial districts hereinafter enumerated, which shall continue to have and exercise jurisdiction over the following cities, towns and territory, in the following counties, respectively:
Suffolk County
held at the Dorchester division of the Boston municipal court department, within the same territorial limits as are prescribed for the criminal jurisdiction of the Dorchester division of the Boston municipal court, as the chief justice of the juvenile court department may determine.
held at the West Roxbury division of the Boston municipal court, within the same territorial limits as are prescribed for the criminal jurisdiction of the West Roxbury division of the Boston municipal court department, as the chief justice of the juvenile court department may determine.
held at Boston, within the same territorial limits as are prescribed for the criminal jurisdiction of the central division of the Boston municipal court department, the Roxbury division of the Boston municipal court department, as the chief justice of the juvenile court department may determine, the Brighton division of the Boston municipal court department, the Charlestown division of the Boston municipal court department, the East Boston division of the Boston municipal court department, the Chelsea division of the district court department; and the South Boston division of the Boston municipal court department, as the chief justice of the juvenile court department may determine.
Barnstable County and Town of Plymouth
held at Orleans, within the same territorial limits as are prescribed for the criminal jurisdiction of the Orleans division of the district court department, as the chief justice of the juvenile court department may determine.
held at Barnstable, within the same territorial limits as are prescribed for the criminal jurisdiction of the Barnstable and Falmouth divisions of the district court department, as the chief justice of the juvenile court department may determine.
held at Plymouth, within the same territorial limits as are prescribed for the criminal jurisdiction of the Plymouth division of the district court department, as the chief justice of the juvenile court department may determine.
held at Nantucket, within the same territorial limits as are prescribed for the criminal jurisdiction of the Nantucket division of the district court department, and at Edgartown, within the same territorial limits as are prescribed for the criminal jurisdiction of the Edgartown division of the district court department, as the chief justice of the juvenile court department may determine.
Plymouth County
held at Brockton, within the same territorial limits as are prescribed for the criminal jurisdiction of the Brockton division of the district court department, as the chief justice of the juvenile court department may determine.
held at Hingham, within the same territorial limits as are prescribed for the criminal jurisdiction of the Hingham division of the district court department, as the chief justice of the juvenile court department may determine.
held at Wareham, within the same territorial limits as are prescribed for the criminal jurisdiction of the Wareham division of the district court department, as the chief justice of the juvenile court department may determine.
Norfolk County
held at Quincy, within the same territorial limits as are prescribed for the criminal jurisdiction of the Quincy and Stoughton divisions of the district court department, as the chief justice of the juvenile court department may determine.
held at Dedham, within the same territorial limits as are prescribed for the criminal jurisdiction of the Dedham and Wrentham divisions of the district court department, as the chief justice of the juvenile court department may determine.
held at Brookline, within the same territorial limits as are prescribed for the criminal jurisdiction of the Brookline division of the district court department, as the chief justice of the juvenile court department may determine.
Middlesex County
held at Cambridge, within the same territorial limits as are prescribed for the criminal jurisdiction of the Cambridge, Somerville and Malden divisions of the district court department, as the chief justice of the juvenile court department may determine.
held at Framingham, within the same territorial limits as are prescribed for the criminal jurisdiction of the Framingham, Natick, and Marlboro divisions of the district court department, as the chief justice of the juvenile court department may determine.
held at Lowell, within the same territorial limits as are prescribed for the criminal jurisdiction of the Lowell and Ayer divisions of the district court department, as the chief justice of the juvenile court department may determine.
held at Woburn, within the same territorial limits as are prescribed for the criminal jurisdiction of the Woburn division of the district court department as the chief justice of the juvenile court department may determine.
held at Waltham, within the same territorial limits as are prescribed for the criminal jurisdiction of the Waltham, Newton and Concord divisions of the district court department, as the chief justice of the juvenile court department may determine.
Essex County
held at Lynn, within the same territorial limits as are prescribed for the criminal jurisdiction of the Lynn division of the district court department, as the chief justice of the juvenile court department may determine.
held at Salem, within the same territorial limits as are prescribed for the criminal jurisdiction of the Salem and Peabody divisions of the district court department, as the chief justice of the juvenile court department may determine.
held at Newburyport, within the same territorial limits as are prescribed for the criminal jurisdiction of the Newburyport, Ipswich and Gloucester divisions of the district court department, as the chief justice of the juvenile court department may determine.
held at Lawrence, within the same territorial limits as are prescribed for the criminal jurisdiction of the Lawrence and Haverhill divisions of the district court department, as the chief justice of the juvenile court department may determine.
Worcester County
held at Fitchburg, within the same territorial limits as are prescribed for the criminal jurisdiction of the Fitchburg, Leominster, Gardner, and Winchendon divisions of the district court department; provided, however, that sessions of the Fitchburg division of the juvenile court may be held in the Leominster, Gardner, or Winchendon divisions of the district court department, as the chief justice of the juvenile court department may determine; and, provided further, that each session so held shall have the same jurisdiction as herein prescribed for the Fitchburg division.
held at Dudley, within the same territorial limits as are prescribed for the criminal jurisdiction of the Dudley division of the district court department, as the chief justice of the juvenile court department may determine.
held at Milford, within the same territorial limits as are prescribed for the criminal jurisdiction of the Uxbridge and Milford divisions of the district court department, as the chief justice of the juvenile court department may determine.
held at Worcester, within the same territorial limits as are prescribed for the criminal jurisdiction of the Worcester, Clinton, Westboro and Spencer divisions of the district court department, as the chief justice of the juvenile court department may determine.
Franklin and Hampshire Counties
held at Northampton, within the same territorial limits as are prescribed for the criminal jurisdiction of the Northampton division of the district court department, as the chief justice of the juvenile court department may determine.
held at Greenfield, within the same territorial limits as are prescribed for the criminal jurisdiction of the Greenfield division of the district court department, as the chief justice of the juvenile court department may determine.
held at Orange, within the same territorial limits as are prescribed for the criminal jurisdiction of the Orange division of the district court department, as the chief justice of the juvenile court department may determine.
held at Ware, within the same territorial limits as are prescribed for the criminal jurisdiction of the Ware division of the district court department, as the chief justice of the juvenile court department may determine.
Berkshire County
held at Pittsfield, within the same territorial limits as are prescribed for the criminal jurisdiction of the Pittsfield division of the district court department, as the chief justice of the juvenile court department may determine.
held at North Adams and Adams, within the same territorial limits as are prescribed for the criminal jurisdiction of the Northern Berkshire division of the district court department, as the chief justice of the juvenile court department may determine.
held at Great Barrington, within the same territorial limits as are prescribed for the criminal jurisdiction of the Southern Berkshire division of the district court department, as the chief justice of the juvenile court department may determine.
Hampden County
held at Holyoke, within the same territorial limits as are prescribed for the criminal jurisdiction of the Holyoke and Westfield divisions of the district court department, as the chief justice of the juvenile court department may determine.
held at Springfield, within the same territorial limits as are prescribed for the criminal jurisdiction of the Springfield, Palmer and Chicopee divisions of the district court department, as the chief justice of the juvenile court department may determine.
Bristol County
held at New Bedford, Taunton, Fall River and Attleboro, within the same territorial limits as are prescribed for the criminal jurisdiction of all the Bristol county divisions of the district court department, as the chief justice of the juvenile court department may determine.
Appeals provided under section thirty-nine I of chapter one hundred and nineteen, when taken from a court of the Suffolk county division of the juvenile court department, shall be to the appeals session of the Boston court of the Suffolk county division of the juvenile court department, and such appeals from the courts of the Bristol county division of the juvenile court department shall be to the juvenile appeals session in said division. Appeals from courts of the Worcester county division of the juvenile court department shall be taken to the appeals sessions of the Worcester court of the Worcester county division of the juvenile court department. Appeals in cases heard in the courts of the Barnstable county and town of Plymouth division of the juvenile court department shall be heard in the jury of six session held at the Barnstable division of the district court department or in the juvenile appeals session of the Bristol county division of the juvenile court department, as determined by the chief justice of the juvenile court department. Appeals in cases heard in the courts of the Plymouth county division of the juvenile court department shall be heard in the jury of six session held in the Wareham division of the district court department. Appeals in cases heard in the courts of the Norfolk county division of the juvenile court department shall be heard in the jury of six session held in the Dedham division of the district court department. Appeals in cases heard in the courts of the Middlesex county division of the juvenile court department shall be heard in the jury of six sessions held in the Cambridge, Framingham and Lowell divisions of the district court department, as determined by the chief justice of the juvenile court department. Appeals in cases heard in the courts of the Essex county division of the juvenile court department shall be heard in the jury of six session held in the Peabody division of the district court department. Appeals in cases heard in the courts of the Franklin and Hampden counties division of the juvenile court department shall be heard in the juvenile appeals session of the Springfield court of said division. Appeals in cases heard in the courts of the Berkshire and Hampshire counties division of the juvenile court department shall be heard in the jury of six sessions held in the Northampton and Pittsfield divisions of the district court department, as determined by the chief justice of the juvenile court department.
Whenever the words ''juvenile court'' or ''court'', when the context indicates a juvenile court, are used in this chapter, they shall refer to a division of the juvenile court department. And when the context indicates personnel appointed to a division of the juvenile court department, the word ''justice'' shall mean an associate justice of the trial court appointed to a division of the juvenile court department; and the words ''clerk'' or ''clerk of court'' shall mean the clerk of said division; and the words ''assistant clerk'', ''deputy assistant clerk'', ''temporary clerk'', or ''temporary assistant clerk'' shall mean, respectively, an assistant clerk, a deputy assistant clerk, temporary clerk or temporary assistant clerk of said division.