Massachusetts Statutes

Section 20. A jailer or officer who, through negligence, suffers a prisoner in his custody upon conviction or upon a charge of crime to escape, or wilfully refuses to receive into his custody a prisoner lawfully directed to be committed thereto upon conviction, upon a charge of c…

Section 21. An officer or person who, being employed in the state prison, suffers a convict under sentence of solitary imprisonment to be at large or out of the cell assigned to him, or suffers any convict confined in the prison to be at large out of the prison, or to be visited,…

Section 21A. An officer or other person who is employed by or contracts with any penal or correctional institution in the commonwealth, and who, in the course of such employment or contract or as a result thereof, engages in sexual relations with an inmate confined therein, withi…

Section 22. An officer who wilfully delays service of a warrant of arrest or a search warrant committed to him for service shall be punished by a fine of not more than fifty dollars.

Section 23. An officer who, being authorized to serve process, wilfully and corruptly refuses to execute a lawful process directed to him and requiring him to apprehend or confine a person convicted of or charged with crime, or wilfully and corruptly omits or delays to execute su…

Section 24. Whoever, being required in the name of the commonwealth by a sheriff, deputy sheriff, constable, police officer or watchman, neglects or refuses to assist him in the execution of his office in a criminal case, in the preservation of the peace or in the apprehension or…

Section 25. Whoever, being required by a justice of the peace, upon view of a breach of the peace or of any other offence proper for his cognizance, to apprehend the offender, refuses or neglects to obey such justice, shall be punished as provided in the preceding section; and no…

Section 26. Whoever gives, sells or delivers alcoholic beverages, as defined in section one of chapter one hundred and thirty-eight, to a person confined in any correctional institution or other place of confinement, or to a person in the custody of a sheriff, constable, police o…

Section 27. Whoever gives, sells or delivers any alcoholic beverages, as defined in section one of chapter one hundred and thirty-eight, to any patient or inmate of any public institution, or to any patient or inmate under the control of any such institution, except under the dir…

Section 28. Whoever gives or delivers to a prisoner in any correctional institution, or in any jail or house of correction, any drug or article whatever, or has in his possession within the precincts of any prison herein named with intent to give or deliver to any prisoner any su…

Section 29. A sheriff, jailer, superintendent of a house of correction or officer of a correctional institution who, under any pretence, gives, sells or delivers or knowingly permits to be given, sold or delivered to a prisoner in his custody any alcoholic beverages, as defined i…

Section 3. Whoever attempts to incite or procure another person to commit perjury, although no perjury is committed, shall be punished by imprisonment in the state prison for not more than five years or in jail for not more than one year.

Section 30. Whoever wilfully disturbs any correctional institution of the commonwealth, the Lyman school, industrial school for boys, industrial school for girls, or a jail or house of correction, or in any manner seeks to attract the attention of, or without the permission of th…

Section 31. Whoever delivers or procures to be delivered, or has in his possession with intent to deliver, to an inmate confined in any penal institution, or whoever deposits or conceals in or about the institution, or the dependencies thereof, or upon any land appurtenant theret…

Section 32. Whoever opens a signal box connected with a police signal system for the purpose of giving, or causing to be given, a false alarm, or interferes in any way with such box by breaking, cutting, injuring or defacing the same; or whoever, without authority, opens, tampers…

Section 32A. Whoever willfully obstructs, interferes with or hinders a fire fighter in the lawful performance of his duty, or whoever willfully obstructs, interferes with or hinders a fire fighting force in the lawful performance of its duty, shall be punished by a fine of not le…

Section 32B. (a) A person commits the crime of resisting arrest if he knowingly prevents or attempts to prevent a police officer, acting under color of his official authority, from effecting an arrest of the actor or another, by: (1) using or threatening to use physical force or …

Section 33. Whoever falsely assumes or pretends to be a justice of the peace, notary public, sheriff, deputy sheriff, medical examiner, associate medical examiner, constable, police officer, probation officer, or examiner, investigator or other officer appointed by the registrar …

Section 33A. Whoever engages in or conducts a lead paint inspection without being licensed to do so, or holds himself out to the public as a licensed lead paint inspector and is not so licensed, shall be punished by a fine of not more than five thousand dollars or imprisonment in…

Section 34. Whoever disguises himself with intent to obstruct the due execution of the law, or to intimidate, hinder or interrupt an officer or other person in the lawful performance of his duty, or in the exercise of his rights under the constitution or laws of the commonwealth,…

Section 34A. Whoever knowingly and willfully furnishes a false name, Social Security number, date of birth, home address, mailing address or phone number, or other information as may be requested for the purposes of establishing the person's identity, to a law enforcement officer…

Section 35. Whoever, without being duly authorized thereto, prints, stamps, engraves or affixes, or causes to be printed, stamped, engraved or affixed to any paper or other article a representation of the seal of a town in the commonwealth, with intent to give to such paper or ar…

Section 36. Whoever, having knowledge of the commission of a felony, takes money, or a gratuity or reward, or an engagement therefor, upon an agreement or understanding, express or implied, to compound or conceal such felony, or not to prosecute therefor, or not to give evidence …

Section 39. Whoever knowingly makes a false written statement on a form bearing notice that false statements made therein are punishable under the penalty of perjury, to a police officer, police department or the registry of motor vehicles alleging the theft or conversion of a mo…

Section 4. If it appears to a court of record that a party or a witness who has been legally sworn and examined, or has made an affidavit, in any proceeding in a court or course of justice has so testified as to create a reasonable presumption that he has committed perjury therei…

Section 40. Whoever knows that another person is a victim of aggravated rape, rape, murder, manslaughter or armed robbery and is at the scene of said crime shall, to the extent that said person can do so without danger or peril to himself or others, report said crime to an approp…

Section 5. If perjury is reasonably presumed, as aforesaid, papers, books or documents which have been produced and are considered necessary to be used on a prosecution for such perjury may by order of the court be detained from the person who produces them so long as may be nece…

Section 6. Except as provided in sections forty-eight and forty-nine of chapter one hundred and fifty-five, whoever shall wilfully make false report to the department of public utilities, the department of telecommunications and cable, the department of highways, the department o…

Section 6A. Whoever, being an officer or employee of the commonwealth or of any political subdivision thereof or of any authority created by the general court, in the course of his official duties executes, files or publishes any false written report, minutes or statement, knowin…

Section 6B. Any process server who returns to the court a writ or other official instrument of process on which he has willfully falsified either the fact that service has been made, or the fact that a particular kind of service has been made, shall be punished by a fine of not m…

Section 8B. Any appointing authority or appointing officer, both as defined in chapter thirty-one, who, by himself or by some other person acting on his behalf, compels, or induces by the use of threats or other form of coercion, any person on an eligible list, as defined in chap…

Section 9A. No person shall sell, offer for sale, or accept payment for, tickets or admissions to, nor solicit or accept contributions for, a testimonial dinner or function, or any affair, by whatever name it may be called, having a purpose similar to that of a testimonial dinner…

Section 1. In this chapter the following words, unless a different meaning is required by the context or is specifically prescribed, shall have the following meanings:— (a) ''Compensation'', any money, thing of value or economic benefit conferred on or received by any person in r…

Section 10. The state ethics commission shall issue opinions interpreting the requirements of this chapter in accordance with clause (g) of section three of chapter two hundred and sixty-eight B.

Section 11. (a) No county employee shall, otherwise than as provided for the proper discharge of official duties, directly or indirectly receive or request compensation from anyone other than a county or a county agency in relation to any particular matter in which a county agenc…

Section 12. (a) A former county employee who knowingly acts as agent or attorney for or receives compensation directly or indirectly from anyone other than a county or a county agency in connection with any particular matter in which the county or a county agency of the same coun…

Section 13. (a) Except as permitted by paragraph (b), a county employee who participates as such an employee in a particular matter in which to his knowledge he, his immediate family or partner, a business organization which he is serving as officer, director, trustee, partner or…

Section 14. A county employee who has a financial interest, directly or indirectly, in a contract made by a county agency of the same county, in which the county or a county agency is an interested party of which financial interest he has knowledge or has reason to know, shall be…

Section 15. (a) In addition to any other remedies provided by law, a violation of section 2, 3, 8, or sections 11 to 14, inclusive, or section 23 which has substantially influenced the action taken by any county agency in any particular matter, shall be grounds for avoiding, resc…

Section 15A. No member of a county commission or board shall be eligible for appointment or election by the members of such commission or board to any office or position under the supervision of such commission or board. No former member of such commission or board shall be so el…

Section 17. (a) No municipal employee shall, otherwise than as provided by law for the proper discharge of official duties, directly or indirectly receive or request compensation from anyone other than the city or town or municipal agency in relation to any particular matter in w…

Section 18. (a) A former municipal employee who knowingly acts as agent or attorney for or receives compensation, directly or indirectly from anyone other than the same city or town in connection with any particular matter in which the city or town is a party or has a direct and …

Section 19. (a) Except as permitted by paragraph (b), a municipal employee who participates as such an employee in a particular matter in which to his knowledge he, his immediate family or partner, a business organization in which he is serving as officer, director, trustee, part…

Section 2. (a) Whoever, directly or indirectly, corruptly gives, offers or promises anything of value to any state, county or municipal employee, or to any person who has been selected to be such an employee, or to any member of the judiciary, or who offers or promises any such e…

Section 20. (a) A municipal employee who has a financial interest, directly or indirectly, in a contract made by a municipal agency of the same city or town, in which the city or town is an interested party of which financial interest he has knowledge or has reason to know, shall…

Section 21. (a) In addition to any other remedies provided by law, a finding by the commission pursuant to an adjudicatory proceeding that there has been any violation of sections 2, 3, 8, 17 to 20, inclusive, or section 23, which has substantially influenced the action taken by …