Massachusetts General Laws
Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 119, § 53 (2026)
Delinquent children; liberal construction; nature of proceedings
✓ current as of July 2026
Find cases:
SyfertCases citing this section
MAmalegislature.gov (official)
JustiaChapter on Justia
CornellLII Search
CasesGoogle Scholar
Section 53. Sections fifty-two to sixty-three, inclusive, shall be liberally construed so that the care, custody and discipline of the children brought before the court shall approximate as nearly as possible that which they should receive from their parents, and that, as far as practicable, they shall be treated, not as criminals, but as children in need of aid, encouragement and guidance. Proceedings against children under said sections shall not be deemed criminal proceedings.
Notes of Decisions
Cited in 68
cases (11 in the last 5 years), 1959–2026 · leading case: Commonwealth v. Mogelinski, 1 N.E.3d 237 (Mass. 2013).
Commonwealth v. Mogelinski, 1 N.E.3d 237 (Mass. 2013). “8 Finally, we note that G. L. c. 119, § 53, directing courts to construe liberally certain provisions relating to the juvenile justice system, does not supply a basis for reaching an alternative conclusion.”
Wallace W. v. Commonwealth, 128 N.E.3d 581 (Mass. 2019). “" G. L. c. 119, § 53. Thus, we have repeatedly recognized that the juvenile justice system "is primarily rehabilitative, cognizant of the inherent differences between juvenile and adult offenders, and geared toward the correction and redemption to society of delinquent children"…”
Commonwealth v. Samuel S., a Juv., 69 N.E.3d 573 (Mass. 2017). “Independent of the rule of lenity, we have said that interpreting an ambiguous statute against a juvenile would conflict with the statutory command of G. L. c. 119, § 53. See Hanson H., 464 Mass.”
Commonwealth v. Connor C., 738 N.E.2d 731 (Mass. 2000). “See G. L. c. 119, § 53. Rather, it rests its argument on a more narrow statutory analysis that construing the term “convicted” to include a delinquency “adjudication,” harmonizes G.”
Commonwealth v. Walczak, 979 N.E.2d 732 (Mass. 2012). “” G. L. c. 119, § 53. In other words, “[tjhis is not a punitive scheme strictly akin to the adult criminal justice system.”
Chardin v. Police Comm'r, 989 N.E.2d 392 (Mass. 2013). “” Significantly, G. L. c. 119, § 53, was firmly in place when the Legislature enacted G.”
Commonwealth v. Hanson H., 985 N.E.2d 1181 (Mass. 2013). “We also conclude that, where the Legislature has established the statutory principle that, “as far as practicable, [juveniles] shall be treated, not as criminals, but as children in need of aid, encouragement and guidance,” G. L. c. 119, § 53, we will not interpret a statute…”
Commonwealth v. Gavin G., 772 N.E.2d 1067 (Mass. 2002). “” Police Comm’r, supra at 666, quoting G. L. c. 119, § 53. To that end, a Juvenile Court judge is guided by the best interests of the child, and “has very broad discretion .”
Commonwealth v. Ogden O., 864 N.E.2d 13 (Mass. 2007). “640, 666 (1978), quoting G. L. c. 119, § 53. See Metcalf v. Commonwealth, 338 Mass.”
Commonwealth v. Magnus M., 961 N.E.2d 581 (Mass. 2012). “When interpreting any provision governing juvenile delinquency proceedings, we are guided by the two legislative pronouncements housed within G. L. c. 119, § 53. See Metcalf v. Commonwealth, 338 Mass.”
Lazlo L. v. Commonwealth, 122 N.E.3d 532 (Mass. 2019). “10 The juveniles are correct that that our statutes governing the adjudication **330 of children "shall be liberally construed so that the care, custody and discipline of the children brought before the court shall approximate as nearly as possible that which they should receive…”
Commonwealth v. Anderson, 963 N.E.2d 704 (Mass. 2012). “G. L. c. 119, § 53. See Commonwealth v. Connor C.”
Annotations are extracted automatically from the opinions in the
Syfert caselaw corpus and ranked by authority, recency, and
treatment. Dots show Syfertize treatment of the citing case itself.