Mass. Gen. Laws » Part IV Title II Chapter 276
Massachusetts General Laws

Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 276, § 1 (2026)

Complaint for issuance of search warrant; warrant for designated property or articles; search incident to arrest; documentary evidence subject to privilege

✓ current as of July 2026
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Section 1. A court or justice authorized to issue warrants in criminal cases may, upon complaint on oath that the complainant believes that any of the property or articles hereinafter named are concealed in a house, place, vessel or vehicle or in the possession of a person anywhere within the commonwealth and territorial waters thereof, if satisfied that there is probable cause for such belief, issue a warrant identifying the property and naming or describing the person or place to be searched and commanding the person seeking such warrant to search for the following property or articles:

First, property or articles stolen, embezzled or obtained by false pretenses, or otherwise obtained in the commission of a crime;

Second, property or articles which are intended for use, or which are or have been used, as a means or instrumentality of committing a crime, including, but not in limitation of the foregoing, any property or article worn, carried or otherwise used, changed or marked in the preparation for or perpetration of or concealment of a crime;

Third, property or articles the possession or control of which is unlawful, or which are possessed or controlled for an unlawful purpose; except property subject to search and seizure under sections forty-two through fifty-six, inclusive, of chapter one hundred and thirty-eight;

Fourth, the dead body of a human being.

Fifth, the body of a living person for whom a current arrest warrant is outstanding.

A search conducted incident to an arrest may be made only for the purposes of seizing fruits, instrumentalities, contraband and other evidence of the crime for which the arrest has been made, in order to prevent its destruction or concealment; and removing any weapons that the arrestee might use to resist arrest or effect his escape. Property seized as a result of a search in violation of the provisions of this paragraph shall not be admissible in evidence in criminal proceedings.

The word ''property'', as used in this section shall include books, papers, documents, records and any other tangible objects.

Nothing in this section shall be construed to abrogate, impair or limit powers of search and seizure granted under other provisions of the General Laws or under the common law.

Notwithstanding the foregoing provisions of this section, no search and seizure without a warrant shall be conducted, and no search warrant shall issue for any documentary evidence in the possession of a lawyer, psychotherapist, or a clergyman, including an accredited Christian Science practitioner, who is known or may reasonably be assumed to have a relationship with any other person which relationship is the subject of a testimonial privilege, unless, in addition to the other requirements of this section, a justice is satisfied that there is probable cause to believe that the documentary evidence will be destroyed, secreted, or lost in the event a search warrant does not issue. Nothing in this paragraph shall impair or affect the ability, pursuant to otherwise applicable law, to search or seize without a warrant or to issue a warrant for the search or seizure of any documentary evidence where there is probable cause to believe that the lawyer, psychotherapist, or clergyman in possession of such documentary evidence has committed, is committing, or is about to commit a crime. For purposes of this paragraph, ''documentary evidence'' includes, but is not limited to, writings, documents, blueprints, drawings, photographs, computer printouts, microfilms, X-rays, files, diagrams, ledgers, books, tapes, audio and video recordings, films or papers of any type or description.

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 173 cases (12 in the last 5 years), 1962–2026 · leading case: In the Matter of a Grand Jury Investigation, 22 N.E.3d 927 (Mass. 2015).
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In the Matter of a Grand Jury Investigation, 22 N.E.3d 927 (Mass. 2015). · cites it 44× “" The judge thus confronted a situation in which the Fisher rule and G. L. c. 276, § 1, appeared, in combination, to place the telephone beyond the reach of law enforcement.”
In the Matter of Lavigne, 641 N.E.2d 1328 (Mass. 1994). · cites it 14× “Lavigne argues that the judge was without authority under G.L.c. 276, § 1 (1992 ed.), to issue the warrant in question.”
Commonwealth v. Upton, 476 N.E.2d 548 (Mass. 1985). · cites it 4× “This court even stated in one opinion that "[t]he purpose of the Legislature [in enacting G.L.c. 276, §§ 1, 2, 2A, 2B, and 2C] was to incorporate as statutory requirements for affidavits those features which the court held in the Aguilar case to be constitutional requirements.”
Commonwealth v. Connolly, 913 N.E.2d 356 (Mass. 2009). · cites it 4× “Despite the fact that G. L. c. 276, § 1, which provides authority to issue search warrants, contains no specific provision authorizing installation of GPS devices or monitoring of data from such devices, 16 the defendant asserts that the tracking warrant here was issued pursuant…”
Commonwealth v. Soares, 424 N.E.2d 221 (Mass. 1981). · cites it 7× “2 He argues that the first search was pursuant to an “anticipatory” warrant, invalid under G. L. c. 276, § 1, and that because probable cause for the second warrant was derived entirely from observations made during the first search, it too was fatally defective.”
Commonwealth v. Blevines, 782 N.E.2d 491 (Mass. 2003). · cites it 5× “We conclude that the search and seizure of the keys was permissible under G. L. c. 276, § 1, but that their use as investigatory tools was improper, and that this impropriety tainted the discovery of the cocaine.”
Commonwealth v. PORTER P., 923 N.E.2d 36 (Mass. 2010). · cites it 4× “The juvenile argues that the warrantless search of his room at the shelter and the seizure of his firearm violated the Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution; art.”
Commonwealth v. Pellegrini, 539 N.E.2d 514 (Mass. 1989). · cites it 8× “Similarly, G.L.c. 276, § 1, commands an authorized court or justice to "issue a warrant" if satisfied that there is probable cause to do so (emphasis added).”
Commonwealth v. White, 12 N.E.3d 348 (Mass. 2014). · cites it 7× “” The panel ruled that it was proper for him to open the container when he shook it and heard sounds more consistent with pills than with thin strips, and that he had reasonable grounds to seize the pills in accordance with G. L. c. 276, § 1, “as evidence plausibly related to”…”
Commonwealth v. Toole, 448 N.E.2d 1264 (Mass. 1983). · cites it 5× “The defendant’s challenge to the search of the cab and to the seizure of the gun is based on a claimed violation of *161 G. L. c. 276, § 1. By a 1974 amendment to G.”
Commonwealth v. Dessources, 905 N.E.2d 586 (Mass. App. Ct. 2009). · cites it 10× “at 329 (G. L. c. 276, § 1, clearly permits search for and visual examination of concealed objects that might be amenable to use as weapon); Commonwealth v.”
Commonwealth v. D'Amour, 704 N.E.2d 1166 (Mass. 1999). · cites it 4× “14 4 of the Massachusetts Declaration of Rights and G. L. c. 276, § 1, which, according to the defendant, nowhere authorizes a search for “mere evidence.”
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