Massachusetts General Laws

Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 218, § 4 (2026)

District court jurisdiction; seals

✓ current as of July 2026

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Section 4. District courts shall be courts of record. They shall be courts of superior and general jurisdiction with reference to all cases and matters in which they have jurisdiction, and no order, decree, judgment, sentence, warrant, writ or process made, issued or pronounced by them need set out any adjudication or circumstances with greater particularity than would be required in other courts of superior and general jurisdiction, and the like presumption shall be made in favor of proceedings of such courts as would be made in favor of proceedings of other courts of superior and general jurisdiction. Each district court shall have a seal, which shall be in the custody of its clerk, and shall be affixed to all processes issued by such court requiring a seal.

Notes of Decisions

Cited in 9 cases, 1923–2009 · leading case: Police Comm'r v. Mun. Court of Dorchester Dist., 374 N.E.2d 272 (Mass. 1978).

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Police Comm'r v. Mun. Court of Dorchester Dist., 374 N.E.2d 272 (Mass. 1978). “…of superior and general jurisdiction with reference to all cases and matters in which they have jurisdiction . . . .” G. L. c. 218, § 4. See G. L. c. 218, §§ 19-20 (civil), §§ 26-37 (criminal). That the District Courts are not courts of general equity jurisdiction, see G. L.…”

Telman v. Brink, 74 Mass. App. Ct. 845 (Mass. App. Ct. 2009). “In sum, the District Court, a court of “superior and general jurisdiction,” G. L. c. 218, § 4, has the inherent power to “punish those who obstruct or degrade the administration of justice.”

Commonwealth v. Leach, 246 Mass. 464 (Mass. 1923). “G. L. c. 218, § 4. In this particular, judges of district courts stand on the same footing as judges of the Superior Court.”

Rosen v. United States Rubber Co., 65 A.L.R. 1299 (Mass. 1929). “G. L. c. 218, § 4. Every presumption is indulged in favor of the regularity of its proceedings.”

Nevins v. Tinker, 429 N.E.2d 332 (Mass. 1981). “The real quarrel the defendant has is not that the judge exceeded his authority by “interpreting” the will, but that the judge did not interpret it in the fashion the defendant desires.”

Finer v. Commonwealth, 146 N.E. 23 (Mass. 1925). “” G. L. c. 218, § 4. Therefore, the statement in Commonwealth v.”

Commonwealth v. Duggan, 154 N.E. 67 (Mass. 1926). “The complaint received in the District Court and action of the District Court thereon can be shown only by the record of the District Court.”

D'Entremont v. Melchionna, 1987 Mass. App. Div. 179 (Mass. Dist. Ct., App. Div. 1987). “G.L. c.218, §4; Police Comm 'r of Boston v.”

Moriarty v. Mottola, 8 Mass. App. Dec. 45 (Mass. Dist. Ct., App. Div. 1954). “Under the provisions of G. L. c. 218, §4, the Municipal Court of the City of Boston is a court of superior and general jurisdiction.”

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.