Massachusetts General Laws

Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 211, § 4 (2026)

Removal of officers

✓ current as of July 2026

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

Section 4. A majority of the justices may, if in their judgment the public good so requires, remove from office a clerk of the courts or of their own court; and if sufficient cause is shown therefor and it appears that the public good so requires, may, upon a complaint, upon a summary hearing or otherwise, remove a clerk of the superior court in Suffolk county, or of a district court, a county commissioner, a county treasurer, sheriff, register of probate or district attorney, or the recorder of the land court.

Notes of Decisions

Cited in 20 cases, 1926–2019 · leading case: Campatelli v. Chief Just. of Trial Court, 11 N.E.3d 115 (Mass. 2014).

Sort: Relevance Newest Treatment

Campatelli v. Chief Just. of Trial Court, 11 N.E.3d 115 (Mass. 2014). · cites it 9× “Campatelli commenced this action in the county court to challenge her suspension by the three named court officials; her claim is that only the Justices of this court possess the authority to suspend her, pursuant to G. L. c. 211, § 4. We do not interpret c.”

State Bd. of Ret. v. Bulger, 843 N.E.2d 603 (Mass. 2006). · cites it 4× “7 We conclude that such an analysis is too broad, and it fails to recognize that the standards for a member’s removal from office and for a member’s forfeiture of a retirement allowance are different.”

McGonigle v. Governor, 634 N.E.2d 1388 (Mass. 1994). · cites it 8× “This letter also indicated that (1) appropriate action would be taken to replace the plaintiff “on at least a temporary basis”; and (2) the Governor and the Attorney General intended, pursuant to G. L. c. 211, § 4 (1992 ed.), to file a complaint seeking the plaintiff’s permanent…”

In re Powers, 987 N.E.2d 569 (Mass. 2013). · cites it 6× “3 *65 After a six-day hearing, a hearing officer found by clear and convincing evidence that Powers had committed the alleged violations of these canons of the code, and concluded that “the public good justifies his removal from office under G. L. c. 211, § 4.” The committee…”

Comm'r of Dep't of Emp. & Training v. Dugan, 428 Mass. 138 (Mass. 1998). · cites it 3× “From this, she concludes that the issue decided in Dugan I is not identical to the issue in the instant case and that the factual findings from Dugan I correspondingly have no preclusive effect here.”

First Just. of the Bristol Div. of the Juv. Court Dep't v. Clerk-magistrate of the Bristol Div. of the Juv. Court Dep't, 438 Mass. 387 (Mass. 2003). “321, 326 (1966), this court considered whether the public good required a clerk’s removal from office under authority conferred on this court by G. L. c. 211, § 4, and stated the following as to clerks: “The duties of a clerk of a court are performed, for the most part, under…”

In the Matter of Dugan, 623 N.E.2d 1104 (Mass. 1993). · cites it 3× “The committee adopted the hearing officer’s proposed findings of fact and, on August 25, 1993, recommended in a report to this court “that Janet Rowe Dugan be permanently removed from her position as Clerk-Magistrate” pursuant to G. L. c. 211, § 4 (1992 ed.). The committee…”

Town of Burlington v. Dist. Attorney for the N. Dist., 412 N.E.2d 331 (Mass. 1980). “For the power of the Justices of the Supreme Judicial Court to remove a district attorney on charges, see G. L. c. 211, § 4, and Attorney Gen. v. Tufts, 239 Mass.”

In re Antonelli, 711 N.E.2d 104 (Mass. 1999). · cites it 4× “We are concerned not with redressing employee grievances but rather with the public interest and our obligation under G. L. c. 211, § 4, to remove a register of probate “if sufficient cause is shown therefor and it appears that the public good so requires.”

Governor v. McGonigle, 418 Mass. 558 (Mass. 1994). · cites it 4× “On July 12, 1994, pursuant to our authority under G. L. c. 211, § 4 (1992 ed.), this court entered an order that temporarily suspended John P.”

In the Matter of Dugan, 635 N.E.2d 246 (Mass. 1994). · cites it 2× “On April 20, 1994, Dugan filed a motion for relief from judgment, alleging that the December 2, 1993, judgment was “void in that the Court acted without jurisdiction in that she had status as a judicial officer of the Commonwealth by reason of her authority” granted by various…”

Dupree v. Sch. Comm. of Boston, 446 N.E.2d 1099 (Mass. App. Ct. 1983). “458, 482 (1921) (removal of district attorney under G.L.c. 211, § 4); Opinion of the Justices, 308 Mass.”

Show all 20 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.