Massachusetts Genealogy Guide: Difference between revisions

This is the history of the court system. It is broken up into historical periods and then a discussion of special courts, records, legal definitions, and bibliography. Realize that except for the upper courts, all records and actions were on the county level. To find detailed information regarding a particular county's courts, see that county page from the [[Massachusetts Genealogy Guide#Massachusetts_Counties|links provided above]].  

The Massachusetts Constitution of 1780 created a separation of powers and allowed that the other branches may require an opinion from the Supreme Judicial Court on questions of law. This was one of the few instances where advisory jurisdiction was given in the country and is found nowhere at the federal level. The highest courts from other states needing to rule on a Massachusetts state law that had not been previous rendered could send the question to the court for their ruling. Judges for the Supreme Judicial Court were allowed to hold their office as long as they “behaved themselves” and all current appointments prior to the Constitution were continued thus keeping the legal authority of this court from its establishment as the Superior Court of Judicature in 1692, but renaming it as the '''Supreme Judicial Court (1780-present)'''. Its jurisdiction was codified in 1782 as taking cases by appeal, writ of error, capital offenses, and “every Crime whatsoever that is against the public good” [St.1782, c.9].<br><br>Divorce was moved from under the Governor and Council to the Supreme Judicial Court in 1785 [St.1785, c.69]. The court continued as a circuit court, sitting in various counties by mandate of the legislature. To this point, all records were recorded and maintained by the clerk in Boston (Suffolk County). Starting in 1797, the records were recorded in the county the court sat by the clerk of that county’s Court of Common Pleas (being made a clerk of the Supreme Judicial Court for that county when the court was in session there). The exception to that rule was that Suffolk County recorded the sessions held in Nantucket County; Barnstable County recorded the sessions held in Dukes County; and Lincoln County recorded the sessions for Lincoln, Hancock, and Washington counties. [St.1796, c.95]<br><br>There were two sessions of the court. One heard capital offenses, appeals from probate, and all issues in law that were tried by three or more judges (the number of judges varied over the years between four and seven) and the other heard all other actions (i.e. cases not being appealed by a lower court) and was tried by a single judge that was subject to review by the whole court. This was also the year that the ''Reports of Supreme Judicial Court'' started publishing annually [St.1804, c.105]. This practice of taking actions not on appeal was called ''nisi prius'' (Latin for “unless first”), meaning it became the court of original jurisdiction. A second trial on the facts on appeal to this court was abolished in 1817. The legislature clarified the jurisdiction between the Supreme Judicial Court and the then statewide Court of Common Pleas in 1840 [St.1840, c.87] that remained in effect until the reorganization of the court system in 1859.<br><br>The changes in 1859 did not affect this court as the streamlining generally reshaped the lower courts. Over time, the Supreme Judicial Court’s focus was narrowed (see Menand’s book, pages 39 to 41, cited in the references). Divorce was removed to a lower court in 1887 [St.1887, c.332]. An '''Appeals Court (1972-present)''' was added with the Supreme Judicial Court to help with the backlog of cases and covers all the state, but normally sits in Boston [St.1972, c.740]. The Supreme Judicial Court is the superintendent over all inferior courts and maintains full authority over all court records.<br>  

The middle tier courts continued to function as before the Constitution. Specific jurisdictions shifted back and forth between the two middle-tier courts. Boston and Suffolk County developed a separate court system in this tier. In 1799, the '''Municipal Court of the Town of Boston (1799-1859)''' had been given authority over all criminal cases in Boston [St.1799, c.81] and renamed the '''Municipal Court of the City of Boston''' in 1822 [St.1822, c.13]. The '''Boston Court of Common Pleas (1813-1820)''' was created to handle all civil case that would have gone to the Suffolk County Court of Common Pleas in 1813 [St.1813, c.173]. After Maine separated from the Commonwealth in 1820, the Circuit Court of Common Pleas and the Boston Court of Common Pleas was replaced by a '''Court of Common Pleas for the Commonwealth (1820-1859)''' that heard both civil and criminal cases [St.1820, c.79]. The Court of General Sessions was phased out and by 1827 ceased to exist in all counties. A '''Superior Court for Suffolk County (1855-1859)''' was established in 1855 to handle all civil cases in that county [St.1855, c.449].<br><br>This entire system was reorganized in 1859 and born out of this was the new '''Superior Court (1859-present)''' that combined the powers of all the previous courts into one. The court sat four, instead of two, times to accommodate both the criminal and civil case load. There were tweaks to this system along the way. The major changes were bringing general equity jurisdiction to the court in 1883 [St.1883, c.223], having Middlesex and Suffolk counties keep a separate docket for this in 1892 [St.1892, c.439 – though changed with uniform civil procedures in 1974], and the court having exclusive original jurisdiction over capital crimes in 1891 [St.1891, c.379]. See Menand’s book, pages 53 to 57, for further details on jurisdiction changes and description of the '''Appellate Division (1943-present)''' and the court reorganization in 1978.<br><br>The lowest court as discussed above was the '''Justice of the Peace'''. The powers established in 1687 were continually eroded away and now they only have the authority to perform marriages, acknowledgements (i.e. notary), administer certain oaths, take depositions, and call meetings of various proprietor groups and corporations. These were technically court records though the justice sat in their own dwelling, the records often passed off as personal papers that are commonly found in historical societies and university libraries. The '''Boston Police Court (1821-1866)''' was established as the first police court in the Commonwealth with the authority of the Court of Commons Pleas for the Commonwealth in Suffolk County [St.1821, c.79 and St.1822, c.109]. More such police courts were created starting in 1831 with separate parameters for each of them. In every instance, the police court exclusively assumed most of the powers from the Justice of the Peace. Criminal cases were removed from the justices in 1856 [St.1856, c.138] and civil cases in 1877 [St.1877, c.211].<br><br>The court reorganization of 1859 standardized the work and function of the police courts. The District Court concept started in Berkshire County with the District Court of Central Berkshire that had jurisdiction over Pittsfield and seven adjacent towns with the powers of a police court centralized over a larger area [St. 1869, c. 416]. The rest of Berkshire County was divided into two more districts in the following year and this style of the lowest court spread across the Commonwealth. By 1921, the remaining thirteen police courts were renamed and the establishment of the '''District Court (1921-present)''' was solidified and uniform across the entire Commonwealth [G.L.1921, c.218]. These courts had jurisdiction over crimes punishable by jail sentences up to five years and some felony crimes up to ten years, and some juvenile matters where Juvenile Courts did not exist. They shared responsibility over probate matters involving children. The court sat for small claims and civil actions where the plaintiff did not wish to have a jury trial. An '''Appellate Division (1922-present)''' was added for civil actions.<br>  

This type of court case has always been present and the records reach back unbroken to the settlement of the two colonies, but it was first the County Court and then the Governor and Council who handled probate cases. The Constitution of 1780 mentioned probate judges, but the legislature codified the scope as the probate of wills, administration of estates, and appointment of guardians for minor and “distracted persons” [St.1783, c.46]. It is a court of equity, not common law, and provides remedies. Because of legislation, the probate courts have added jurisdiction over adoption (1851), divorce (1887/1922), change of name (1854), and domestic relations. Marriage was never based in common law in Massachusetts and was performed by magistrates. As such, it has always been a civil contract. The Royal Charter allowed for marriages to be performed by justices of the peace or by a settled minister in 1692 [P.L.1692-3, c.25], but it remained a contract. All issues relating to marriage are handled by the probate court, such as women’s petitions for separate estates, annulment, and affirmation of marriages. The names of this court have evolved from '''Probate Court (1783-1858)''' and that had an '''Insolvency Court (1856-1858)'''. These two combined to be called the '''Probate and Insolvency (1858-1978)'''. The court reorganization in 1978 renamed it to '''Probate and Family Court (1978-present)'''.<br>