The District Court of Massachusetts is dedicated to the administration of justice in a fair, impartial and timely manner in accordance with the rule of law. In fulfilling this role, the District Court provides the communities it serves with an environment that is safe, accessible and respectful to all. The District Court conducts its business with integrity, competence and a commitment to excellence in order to promote public trust and confidence in the judicial system.
Massachusetts District Court Records are now available to the common mass through the medium of Internet. Records ranging from criminal to civil, housing to mental health, and other types of cases can be obtained at a mere click. One gets to access various important information regarding the law and order system maintained in the District too. One can know that District Court criminal jurisdiction extends to all felonies punishable by a sentence up to five years, and many other specific felonies with greater potential penalties; all misdemeanors; and all violations of city and town ordinances and by-laws. In felonies not within District Court final jurisdiction, the District Court conducts probable cause hearings to determine if a defendant should be bound over to the Superior Court. District Court magistrates conduct hearings to issue criminal complaints and arrest warrants, and to determine whether there is probable cause to detain persons arrested without a warrant. Both judges and magistrates issue criminal and administrative search warrants.
Civil records deal with any matter in which the likelihood of recovery does not exceed $25,000. The District Court also tries small claims involving up to $2,000 (initially tried to a magistrate, with a defense right of appeal either to a judge or to a jury). Fifteen of its judges serve on the Appellate Division, an appellate tribunal with published opinions that is organized in three geographical districts, and sits in three-judge panels, to review questions of law that arise in civil cases.
Going by the Massachusetts District Court records , one gets to know that the District Court's civil jurisdiction also includes many specialized proceedings: inquests; summary process (evictions); supplementary process i.e. enforcement of money judgments; abuse prevention restraining orders; mental health matters (including involuntary civil commitments and medication orders, and supervision of criminal defendants committed for mental observation or because incompetent to stand trial or after an insanity acquittal); appeals from certain administrative agencies (involving, for example, firearms licenses or unemployment compensation); civil motor vehicle infractions (tried initially to a magistrate, with right of appeal to a judge); equitable injunctions (exercising specialized equity jurisdiction in all counties, plus general equity jurisdiction in small claims, summary process and civil money damage actions); and other miscellaneous civil matters.
Access Massachusetts Court Records
The Internet has made finding of Massachusetts district court records much easier such that the days of winnowing through a dusty legal library or town hall registry are over. Being able to find vital information on state district court cases or federal district court cases in Massachusetts or search for hearing proceedings online has cut down considerably on the amount of time professionals spend on legal research.
In May of 2003 the Justices of the Supreme Judicial Court issued an official policy statement regarding electronic access to Massachusetts court records. Public opinion regarding privacy issues and security prompted the court to create specific guidelines in order to ensure that privacy of certain case participants when court records of Massachusetts are retrieved from online sources.
With regards to any Massachusetts court records involving civil or criminal cases, the majority of basic case information is provided through online sources. But some information are kept confidential for privacy purpose.
