Chapter 277

Section 1. The clerk of the courts for each county, except Suffolk, Middlesex, Essex, Hampden, Norfolk, Plymouth and Worcester shall, not less than twenty-eight days before the commencement of the first sitting of the superior court for criminal business in each year, issue writs…

Section 11. If the grand jury are dismissed before the court is adjourned without day, they may be summoned to attend again in the same sitting, at such time as the court orders.

Section 14. No member of the grand jury which has found an indictment shall serve upon the jury for the trial thereof.

Section 14A. Any person shall have the right to consult with counsel and to have counsel present at every step of any criminal proceeding at which such person is present, including the presentation of evidence, questioning, or examination before the grand jury; provided, however,…

Section 15. The grand jury shall, during its session, make daily return to the court of all cases wherein it has finally determined not to present an indictment against an accused person held in custody pending its action, and such person shall thereupon forthwith be discharged b…

Section 18. The circumstances of the act may be stated according to their legal effect, without a full description thereof.

Section 19. If the name of an accused person is unknown to the grand jury, he may be described by a fictitious name or by any other practicable description, with an allegation that his real name is unknown. An indictment of the defendant by a fictitious or erroneous name shall no…

Section 1A. Upon a written notice by the attorney general or any district attorney made to any justice of the superior court that public necessity requires further time by a grand jury to complete an investigation then in progress, the court may order such grand jury to continue …

Section 2. The clerk of the superior court for criminal business in Suffolk county shall, not less than twenty-eight days before the first Mondays of January and July, respectively, issue writs of venire facias for forty-five veniremen of whom thirty-nine shall be from Boston and…

Section 20. The time and place of the commission of the crime need not be alleged unless it is an essential element thereof. The allegation of time in the caption shall, unless otherwise stated, be considered as an allegation that the act was committed before the finding of the i…

Section 21. The means by which a crime is committed need not be alleged in the indictment unless an essential element of the crime.

Section 22. If an allegation relative to a written instrument consisting wholly or in part of writing, print or figures is necessary, it may describe such instrument by any name or designation by which it is usually known, or by the purport thereof, without setting out a copy or …

Section 23. If an allegation relative to any bullion, money, notes, bank notes, checks, drafts, bills of exchange, obligations or other securities for money of any country, state, county, city, town, bank, corporation, partnership or person is necessary, it may describe it as mon…

Section 24. The value or price of property need not be stated, unless an essential element of the crime. If the nature, degree or punishment of a crime depends upon the fact that the property exceeds or does not exceed a certain value, it may be described, as the case may be, of …

Section 25. If an indictment for a crime involving the commission or attempted commission of an injury to property describes the property with sufficient certainty in other respects to identify the act, it need not allege the name of the owner.

Section 26. If one element of the criminality of an act is its commission in a public place, and if such place is not more particularly defined in the statute, the act may be alleged generally to have been committed ''in a public place''.

Section 27. In an indictment for the larceny of an animal, or for any other crime in respect thereof, it may be described by the name by which it is commonly known, without stating its age or sex or whether it is alive or dead.

Section 28. If it is necessary to set forth the judicial proceedings in any case then or formerly pending in any court, civil or military, or any proceedings before a justice of the peace or any other magistrate, only the substance of said proceedings or such part thereof as shal…

Section 29. An allegation that the defendant committed the act charged shall be a sufficient allegation that he was criminally responsible therefor.

Section 2A. The clerk of the courts in any county, or in Suffolk county the clerk of the superior court for criminal business, shall, upon written request of the attorney general accompanied by a certificate that public necessity requires such action, signed by the chief justice …

Section 2B. The clerk of courts in Middlesex county shall, not less than seventy days before the first Monday of January and July, respectively, issue letters of venire to the jury commissioner for thirty-five prospective grand jurors from whom the court shall select twenty-three…

Section 2C. The clerk of the court for Hampden county shall, not less than twenty-eight days before the first Mondays of January and May, and the second Monday of September respectively, issue writs of venire facias for forty-five veniremen from whom the court shall select twenty…

Section 2D. The clerk of the court for Plymouth County shall, not less than twenty-eight days before the first Mondays of January and May, and the second Monday of September respectively, issue writs of venire facias for forty-five veniremen from whom the court shall select twent…

Section 2E. The clerk of the court for Worcester county shall, not less than twenty-eight days before the first Mondays of January and May, and the second Monday of September, respectively, issue writs of venire facias for fifty veniremen from whom the court shall select twenty-t…

Section 2F. The clerk of the court for Norfolk county shall, not less than twenty-eight days before the first Mondays of January and July respectively, issue writs of venire facias for fifty veniremen from whom the court shall select twenty-three grand jurors to serve in said cou…

Section 2G. The clerk of the court for Essex county shall, not less than twenty-eight days before the first Mondays of January and May, and the second Monday of September respectively, issue writs of venire facias for forty-five veniremen from whom the court shall select twenty-t…

Section 2H. The clerk of the court for Bristol county shall, not less than twenty-eight days before the first Mondays of January and July respectively, issue writs of venire facias for fifty veniremen from whom the court shall select twenty-three grand jurors to serve in said cou…

Section 3. Grand jurors shall be drawn, summoned and returned in the same manner as traverse jurors; and, if drawn at the same time with traverse jurors, the number of persons required whose names are first drawn shall be returned as grand jurors, and those whose names are afterw…

Section 30. If an intent to injure or defraud is an essential element of a crime, an intent to injure or defraud may be alleged generally, without naming the person, corporation or government intended to be injured or defrauded. Proof of an intent to injure or defraud any person …

Section 31. Different means or different intents by or with which a crime may be committed may be alleged in the same count in the alternative.

Section 32. An allegation that a crime was committed or that certain acts were done during a certain period of time next before the finding of the indictment shall be a sufficient allegation that the crime alleged was committed or that the acts alleged were done on divers days an…

Section 33. Presumptions and conclusions of law, matters of which judicial notice is taken and allegations not required to be proved need not be alleged. An indictment shall not be considered defective or insufficient because it omits to allege that the crime was committed, or th…

Section 34. An indictment shall not be dismissed or be considered defective or insufficient if it is sufficient to enable the defendant to understand the charge and to prepare his defense; nor shall it be considered defective or insufficient for lack of any description or informa…

Section 35. A defendant shall not be acquitted on the ground of variance between the allegations and proof if the essential elements of the crime are correctly stated, unless he is thereby prejudiced in his defence. He shall not be acquitted by reason of an immaterial misnomer of…

Section 36. The word ''oath'' as used in an indictment shall include an ''affirmation''.

Section 37. An excuse, exception or proviso not stated in the enacting clause of a statute creating a crime or stated only by reference to other provisions of the statute need not be negatived in the indictment unless necessary for a complete definition of the crime. If any statu…

Section 38. In a prosecution under any provision of chapter ninety-four C, for unlawfully manufacturing, dispensing or distributing a controlled substance in violation of any provision of said chapter, it shall be sufficient to allege that the defendant did unlawfully manufacture…

Section 39. The words used in an indictment may, except as otherwise provided in this section, be construed according to their usual acceptation in common language; but if certain words and phrases are defined by law, they shall be used according to their legal meaning. The follo…

Section 3A. On the day when veniremen are summoned pursuant to section one, section two, section two A, section two B, section two C, section two D, section two E or section two F to attend court for the formation of a grand jury, the clerk of courts in any county, or in Suffolk …

Section 4. If there is a deficiency of grand jurors, writs of venire facias may be issued to the constables of such towns as the court orders to return forthwith the further number of grand jurors required. In Middlesex county, letters of venire shall be issued to the jury commis…

Section 41. In an indictment for criminal dealing with personal property with intent to steal, an allegation that the defendant stole said property shall be sufficient; and such indictment may be supported by proof that the defendant committed larceny of the property, or embezzle…

Section 42. In prosecutions for buying, receiving or aiding in the concealment of stolen property known to have been stolen, it shall not be necessary to allege or prove that the person who stole the property has been convicted.

Section 43. In an indictment for perjury alleged to have been committed in a criminal case an allegation of the substance of the crime shall be sufficient; if alleged to have been committed in a civil case, an allegation of the nature of the controversy in general terms shall be …

Section 44. If, in an indictment for subornation of perjury or for attempting to incite or procure another person to commit perjury, it is alleged that perjury has been committed, an allegation of the perjury as provided in the preceding section and an allegation that the defenda…

Section 45. In an indictment under section thirty-five of chapter two hundred and seventy-two, an allegation that the defendant committed an unnatural and lascivious act with the person named or referred to in the indictment shall be sufficient.

Section 47. If a prisoner, under indictment for a capital crime, pleads guilty, upon being arraigned, the court shall award sentence against him; if he does not plead guilty, the court may assign him counsel and take all other measures preparatory to a trial, which shall, subject…

Section 47A. In a criminal case, any defense or objection based upon defects in the institution of the prosecution or in the complaint or indictment, other than a failure to show jurisdiction in the court or to charge an offense, shall only be raised prior to trial and only by a …

Section 5. The clerk of the court shall prepare an alphabetical list of the names of all persons returned as grand jurors, and, when they are to be impanelled, the first two persons named thereon shall be first called, and the following oath shall be administered to them: You, as…

Section 53. If a case is transferred for plea or trial and sentence pursuant to the Massachusetts Rules of Criminal Procedure, the district attorney for the county to which the case is transferred or the district attorney for the county from which the case is transferred shall ha…

Section 54. If a change of venue is ordered, the sheriff having custody of the prisoner shall forthwith deliver him to the sheriff of the county to which the venue has been changed, who shall receive and safely keep him as if the indictment had been found in such county.