Massachusetts has a three-tier court system and a two-tier appellate system. The highest court of Massachusetts is the Supreme Judicial Court, which was established by the Massachusetts Constitution of 1780. Lower courts are established by the legislature. These lower courts are the Appeals Court, an intermediate appellate court, and the Trial Court. The Trial Court has seven departments, including the Boston Municipal Court, District Court, Housing Court, Juvenile Court, Land Court, Probate and Family Court, and Superior Court.
Sources: The Massachusetts Constitution, General Laws of Massachusetts, the Massachusetts Rules of Civil Procedure, Rules of Criminal Procedure, Rules of Appellate Procedure, and the Rules of the Supreme Judicial Court.
Massachusetts Rules of Civil Procedure are available in print, in subscription databases such as Westlaw, LexisNexis and Bloomberg, and on internet websites free of charge.
Massachusetts Rules of Civil Procedure freely available at:
The above databases contain many cases from MA courts regarding civil procedure. Below are some print materials, including court reporters, that you might find useful as you research issues on MA civil procedure law.
Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly: (also available on Westlaw)
Also look at Continuing Legal Education materials, published by Massachusetts Continuing Legal Education (MCLE) (also available on Westlaw), Massachusetts Bar Association, and the Boston Bar Association.
The following Law Reviews and Law Journals will be useful to find articles on cutting-edge issues relating to Massachusetts procedural rules : Northeastern University Law Journal, Boston College Law Review, Boston University Law Review, Harvard Law Review, New England Law Review, Suffolk University Law Review, and Western New England Law Review. You can search for specific issues, topics, or browse using the above databases. In addition, the following publications contain Massachusetts-specific information.