Massachusetts Legal Research - Finding and Citing Materials from the Trial Courts
Massachusetts Trial Courts
Massachusetts trial court decisions do not have an official reporter. Several
of the trial courts have unofficial reporters and/or online sources where the
decisions are reprinted (see below). If you cannot find a decision reprinted
in an online source or print publication, one way to locate a trial court decision
is to see whether the case was later appealed to the Appeals Court or Supreme
Judicial Court. If so, it may be possible to find the trial court's decision
in the records and briefs of the higher court.
Another method is to consult the Massachusetts
Lawyers Weekly (Law Reserve, Law Micro, or Massachusetts
Lawyers Weekly archives), which publishes summaries of selected trial court
cases. The full text of some opinions may be ordered from Massachusetts Lawyers
Weekly. Twice a year, Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly publishes an index, including
a table of cases, for the cases it makes available, but the trial court itself
may be the only source for an official publication. Please see the following
guide
for information about access to Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly online.
Massachusetts Superior Court
Select Superior Court decisions (1993 to present) appear in print in the Massachusetts
Law Reporter. Decisions appear online on Westlaw
from 1993-present, and on Lexis from 1986-present in the Massachusetts
Superior Court Cases database. The Social
Law Library database also provides an online edition of Massachusetts Superior
Court decisions. Citations to the Massachusetts Law Reporter
are governed by Bluebook Rule see e.g., 5 Mass. Law Rptr 27.
Massachusetts Land Court
The Land Court Reporter publishes unofficial versions of the decisions of the land court from 1993 to present. It is published in looseleaf format and each volume contains a table of cases reported as well as a subject index. Lexis provides Land Court decisions from 1996 to 2003 in its database. The Social Law Library database also provides an online edition of Massachusetts Land Court decisions (1978 - date).
Massachusetts Housing Court
The Social Law Library database provides an online edition of Massachusetts
Housing Court decisions from roughly 1989 (depending on the county) to date.
Appellate Division
The Appellate Division publishes Decisions of the Appellate Division of the Massachusetts District Court, and since 1992, decisions of the Boston Municipal Court. Select Appellate Division decisions (1942-1978) appear in print in the Massachusetts Appellate Decisions and in the Reports of the Massachusetts Appellate Division (1980-date). Decisions appear online on Westlaw in the MA-CS database (1990-date). Citations to the Appellate Division Reporter are governed by Bluebook Rule e.g., 1998 Mass. App. Div. 30.