Mass. Gen. Laws » Part IV Title I Chapter 272
Massachusetts General Laws

Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 272, § 63 (2026)

Tramps; begging or riding freight trains as prima facie evidence

✓ current as of July 2026
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Section 63. Whoever, not being under seventeen, or a person asking charity within his own town, roves about from place to place begging, or living without labor or visible means of support, shall be deemed a tramp. An act of begging or soliciting alms, whether of money, food, lodging or clothing, by a person having no residence in the town within which the act is committed, or the riding upon a freight train of a railroad, whether within or without any car or part thereof, without a permit from the proper officers or employees of such railroad or train, shall be prima facie evidence that such person is a tramp.

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 2 cases, 1967–2019 · leading case: Scione v. Commonwealth Commonwealth v. Barnes, 114 N.E.3d 74 (Mass. 2019).
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Scione v. Commonwealth Commonwealth v. Barnes, 114 N.E.3d 74 (Mass. 2019). · cites it 2× “272, § 66, in part, G. L. c. 272, § 63, in part, and G. L. c.”
Alegata v. Commonwealth, 231 N.E.2d 201 (Mass. 1967). · cites it 2× “The complaint was drawn under G. L. c. 272, § 63, which reads in relevant part: “Whoever, not being under seventeen, a blind person or a person asking charity within his own town, roves about from place to place begging, or living without labor or visible means of support, shall…”
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