Massachusetts General Laws

Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 127, § 20 (2026)

Reception center; classification of prisoners; approval

✓ current as of July 2026

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

Section 20. There shall be established by the commissioner, with the approval of the governor and council, a reception center for all male prisoners, except those sentenced to the Massachusetts Correctional Institution, Bridgewater. Any male convict who is sentenced to any correctional institution of the commonwealth, except the Massachusetts Correctional Institution, Bridgewater, shall be delivered by the sheriff or other officer authorized to execute sentence to said center for the purpose of proper classification of the prisoner. Classification of female prisoners shall be made at the Massachusetts Correctional Institution, Framingham, under the supervision of the deputy commissioner for classification and treatment.

The deputy commissioner for classification and treatment, under the general supervision of the commissioner, shall direct the professional staff assigned to said reception center, and shall be responsible for grading and classifying all prisoners sentenced to any of the correctional institutions of the commonwealth, and shall in addition have general charge of the reception center.

Notes of Decisions

Cited in 13 cases, 1981–2017 · leading case: DuPont v. Comm'r of Corr., 861 N.E.2d 744 (Mass. 2007).

Sort: Relevance Newest Treatment

DuPont v. Comm'r of Corr., 861 N.E.2d 744 (Mass. 2007). “See G. L. c. 127, § 20. However, the defendants’ reliance on Turner v.”

Martino v. Hogan, 643 N.E.2d 53 (Mass. App. Ct. 1994). “Could the regulations dealing with transfers and related procedures be fairly read as in themselves establishing a rule of personal liability of officials in case of breach? It is implausible to imagine that the Legislature, in granting the department authority to promulgate…”

Dougan v. Comm'r of Corr., 607 N.E.2d 763 (Mass. App. Ct. 1993). · cites it 2× “124, §§ 1(c), (/), (g), (q); G. L. c. 127, §§ 20, 49A, 97 & 97A. The regulations which the commissioner has promulgated to control the transfer of prisoners explain the classification process for all inmates.”

Sheriff of Middlesex Cnty. v. COMM. OF Corr., 421 N.E.2d 75 (Mass. 1981). “279, § 34, as directing that a person sentenced to a State correctional institution be delivered for proper classification to the reception center established pursuant to G. L. c. 127, § 20. Any direct placement of a prisoner in Billerica, they argue, is contrary to this…”

Dac Stoute v. Berman, 555 F. Supp. 507 (D. Mass. 1982). · cites it 2× “However, the court *510 must note that Mass.Gen.Laws ch. 127 §§ 20, 97 provides that “the classification of prisoner is vested in the sole discretion of the Commissioner of Corrections.”

Lyman v. Comm'r of Corr., 704 N.E.2d 1195 (Mass. App. Ct. 1999). “In 1988, pursuant to G. L. c. 127, § 20, an initial classification hearing took place.”

Devaney v. Hall, 509 F. Supp. 497 (D. Mass. 1981). “G.L. c. 127, § 20 governing classification, limit the discretion of prison officials to transfer inmates to the DSU under Mass.”

Ulatowski v. Ponte, 524 F. Supp. 1112 (D. Mass. 1981). “I find no basis in the state law governing inmate’s classification, M.G.L. c. 127, § 20, and 103 CMR 420 .00, et seq.”

Abrahams v. Comm'r of Corr., 786 N.E.2d 1249 (Mass. App. Ct. 2003). · cites it 2× “See G. L. c. 127, § 20; 103 Code Mass. Regs. § 420.”

Dale v. Comm'r of Corr., 457 N.E.2d 652 (Mass. App. Ct. 1983). “” Under the amendment newly sentenced prisoners would be removed to the reception center established under G. L. c. 127, § 20, rather than to State prison.”

McLaughlin v. Fair, 125 F.R.D. 22 (D. Mass. 1989). “The Court stated, Massachusetts law, [M.G.L. c. 127, § 20, § 97], conferred no right on the prisoner to remain in the prison to which he was initially assigned .”

Jane J. v. Commonwealth (Mass. App. Ct. 2017). · cites it 2× “664, § 1 ("The department [of correction] shall maintain at the Massachusetts Correctional Institution, Framingham, a separate awaiting trial unit for females" on bail); G. L. c. 127, § 20 (establishing separate reception centers for male and female "prisoners" [emphasis…”

Show all 13 citing cases →

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.