Massachusetts General Laws

Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 126, § 16 (2026)

Custody and control of jails and houses of correction; jailer; assistants; bond

✓ current as of July 2026

Find cases: SyfertCases citing this section MAmalegislature.gov (official) JustiaChapter on Justia CornellLII Search CasesGoogle Scholar

Section 16. The sheriff shall have custody and control of the jails in his county, and, except in Suffolk county, of the houses of correction therein, and of all prisoners committed thereto, and shall keep the same himself or by his deputy as jailer, superintendent or keeper, and shall be responsible for them. The jailer, superintendent or keeper shall appoint subordinate assistants, employees and officers and shall be responsible for them. In Suffolk county the penal institutions commissioner shall appoint a superintendent of the house of correction, who shall hold office at the pleasure of said commissioner. A sheriff, who acts as jailer, superintendent or keeper, or a jailer, superintendent or keeper appointed by the sheriff, before entering upon the performance of his duties as such, and thereafter, at intervals of not more than one year, so long as he continues so to act or to hold such office, as the case may be, shall give to the state treasurer a bond, with such sureties as the superior court shall order and approve, conditioned faithfully to perform his duties.

Notes of Decisions

Cited in 10 cases (1 in the last 5 years), 1925–2021 · leading case: Baron v. Suffolk Cnty. Sheriff's Dep't, 402 F.3d 225 (1st Cir. 2005).

Sort: Relevance Newest Treatment

Baron v. Suffolk Cnty. Sheriff's Dep't, 402 F.3d 225 (1st Cir. 2005). · cites it 2× “See Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 126, § 16 ; 15 cf. Jeffes, 208 F.”

Souza v. Sheriff of Bristol Cnty., 455 Mass. 573 (Mass. 2010). · cites it 4× “See G. L. c. 126, § 16 11 ; G. L. c. 37, § 1; G.”

Est. of Patricia E. Gilmore, Joseph P. Gilmore v. John J. Buckley, 787 F.2d 714 (1st Cir. 1986). “Mass.Gen.Laws ch. 126, § 16 (1984), provides in part.”

Commonwealth v. Brown, 305 N.E.2d 830 (Mass. 1973). “9 He may attach significance to the report and recommendation of an official charged with custody of prisoners placed on trial (see the sheriff’s duties under G. L. c. 126, § 16), but he may not pass his responsibility to that official.”

Sheriff of Middlesex Cnty. v. COMM. OF Corr., 421 N.E.2d 75 (Mass. 1981). “See G. L. c. 126, § 16. The county commissioners have certain statutory duties concerning Billerica.”

Attorney Gen. v. Sheriff of Worcester Cnty., 413 N.E.2d 722 (Mass. 1980). “G. L. c. 126, § 16. We therefore think it appropriate to declare that duty.”

Commonwealth v. Ladetto, 230 N.E.2d 914 (Mass. 1967). “The assigned errors are the denial of the defendant’s motions that the shackles be removed from the defendant and his brother and the admission of records of prior convictions to impeach the credibility of the defendant. There was no error.”

Pearson v. Hodgson (D. Mass. 2020). “” Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 126, § 16 . Souza challenged the authority of an elected sheriff in this role.”

Fernandes v. Bouley (D. Mass. 2021). “Under Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 126, § 16 , Hodgson is responsible for “the custody and control of all prisoners committed to correctional facilities run by” BCSO and for “the creation of policies governing the facility and proper training and supervision of his staff and subordinates.”

McDade v. Dep't of Institutions, 252 Mass. 184 (Mass. 1925). “The penal institutions commissioner of Boston is given authority to appoint a master, G. L. c. 126, § 16, to remove summarily officers using intoxicating liquors, G.”

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.