MASSACHUSETTS COURTHOUSES
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The Massachusetts court system consists of the Supreme Judicial Court (the state's highest appellate court), the Appeals Court (the appellate court for the Superior Court and other courts), the Superior Courts (county-wide courts providing jury trials and equitable relief), the District Courts (local courts often hearing smaller cases under $25,000), the Boston Municipal Court (the District Court for Boston), the Housing Court (a specialized court handling housing problems), the Juvenile Court (another specialized court hearing delinquency and children in need of services cases), the Land Court (which deals with actions to register title to land, et. al.), and the Probate and Family Court (which probates wills and handles divorces). A directory of these courthouses, including the street address, telephone numbers and driving directions for each location, is available at the Massachusetts Court System web site: The following Probate Courts have their own sites containing more detailed information, including some helpful forms: Selected portions of the Massachusetts Rules of Civil Procedure, Massachusetts Rules of Criminal Procedure, Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Rules, Massachusetts Rules of Appellate Procedure, Superior Court Rule 9A (motion practice) and the Small Claims Rules are available from the Trial Court Law Library web site. The Massachusetts Rules of Professional Conduct (governing attorney ethics) are on-line at the Board of Bar Overseers site, and some Advisory Opinions interpreting the Rules are also available on-line. Also, the Social Law Library has judicial assignments for the state Superior Courts, District Courts and Probate Courts. At the federal level, the U.S. Court of Appeals, the U.S. District Court and the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Massachusetts have their own sites. And there is also a site for the U.S. Supreme Court.
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