Massachusetts General Laws

Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 263, § 4 (2026)

Prosecution of crimes; manner

✓ current as of July 2026

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Section 4. No person shall be held to answer in any court for an alleged crime, except upon an indictment by a grand jury or upon a complaint before a district court, the housing court of the city of Boston, the western division of the housing court department, the northeastern division of the housing court department, the southeastern division of the housing court department, the housing court of the county of Worcester or in proceedings before a court-martial.

A defendant charged with an offense punishable by imprisonment in state prison shall have the right to be proceeded against by indictment except when the offense charged is within the concurrent jurisdiction of the district and superior courts and the district court retains jurisdiction.

No juvenile shall be sentenced to any punishment as is provided by law for the offense by a juvenile court or a juvenile session of a district court, as the case may be, unless he has been proceeded against by indictment or has waived indictment pursuant to section four A of chapter two hundred and sixty-three, except as otherwise provided in section seventy-two A of chapter one hundred and nineteen. The clerk of the superior court in which an indictment of such juvenile is returned shall promptly remit the indictment to the clerk of the juvenile court or the juvenile session of the district court, as the case may be, in which such indictment is to be tried.

Notes of Decisions

Cited in 26 cases (4 in the last 5 years), 1959–2025 · leading case: Commonwealth v. Walczak, 979 N.E.2d 732 (Mass. 2012).

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Commonwealth v. Walczak, 979 N.E.2d 732 (Mass. 2012). · cites it 2× “I conclude that where, as here, the prosecutor seeks an indictment for murder despite evidence of mitigating circumstances that is so substantial that concealing it would impair the integrity of the grand jury, the prosecutor is required to give the grand jury legal instruction…”

Commonwealth v. Melendez, 551 N.E.2d 514 (Mass. 1990). · cites it 2× “The existence of these complaints would indicate to the clerk magistrate examining this affidavit at least the following: If each Ortiz was arrested on an arrest warrant, a judicial officer would have found probable cause before any arrest warrant issued, thereby authenticating…”

CHARLES C. v. Commonwealth, 612 N.E.2d 229 (Mass. 1993). · cites it 2× “488, § 9, to enlarge the commitment power of the Juvenile Court and the juvenile sessions of the District Court to conform with § 72, and it also amended G. L. c. 263, § 4 (1990 ed.), by St. 1991, c.”

Commonwealth v. Russ R., 744 N.E.2d 39 (Mass. 2001). “G. L. c. 263, § 4. A youthful offender is a person who committed an offense, while between the ages of fourteen and seventeen years, which would be punishable by imprisonment in the State prison and “(a) has previously been committed to the department of youth services, or (b)…”

Commonwealth v. Dixon, 938 N.E.2d 878 (Mass. 2010). “See G. L. c. 263, § 4. Before rendering an indictment, a grand jury must hear sufficient evidence to establish both the identity of the accused and probable cause to arrest him.”

Commonwealth v. Fernandes, 130 N.E.3d 696 (Mass. 2019). “12 of Massachusetts Declaration of Rights, crimes punishable by term in State prison require grand jury indictment); G. L. c. 263, § 4. The plurality, of course, is correct that the grand jury determine only probable cause, leaving it to the petit jury to determine whether the…”

Katz v. Commonwealth, 399 N.E.2d 1055 (Mass. 1979). “G. L. c. 263, § 4; Mass. R. Crim. P. 44 (a) (criminal contempt in District and Superior Courts).”

Commonwealth v. Spann, 418 N.E.2d 328 (Mass. 1981). “G. L. c. 263, § 4. When the motion to dismiss was heard in the Superior Court on the day trial commenced, former defense counsel, who had handled the case in the District Court, was not available to testify.”

Commonwealth v. Perella, 982 N.E.2d 526 (Mass. 2013). “See G. L. c. 263, § 4; Mass. R. Crim. P. 3 (a).”

Commonwealth v. Geagan, 159 N.E.2d 870 (Mass. 1959). “” 1 See now G. L. c. 263, § 4 (as amended through St.”

Commonwealth v. Perry P., 641 N.E.2d 1313 (Mass. 1994). · cites it 2× “488, § 3, which in the last sentence of the fifth paragraph states that “[i]n all cases brought pursuant to the provisions of this paragraph [where murder in the first or second degree is alleged against the juvenile], the child shall have the right to an indictment proceeding…”

Ariel A. v. Commonwealth, 649 N.E.2d 735 (Mass. 1995). “488, § 3; G. L. c. 263, § 4, as amended by St. 1991, c.”

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