Massachusetts General Laws

Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 276, § 25 (2026)

Summons fixing time for trial; service

✓ current as of July 2026

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Section 25. A summons shall require the defendant to appear before the court at a stated time and place on the return day and shall be served by an officer authorized to serve criminal process by giving to the defendant in hand or by leaving at his dwelling house or last and usual place of abode with some person of suitable age and discretion then residing therein an attested copy not less than twenty-four hours before the return day, or by mailing an attested copy to the defendant's last known address.

Notes of Decisions

Cited in 3 cases, 1982–2017 · leading case: Commonwealth v. Sanborn, 77 N.E.3d 274 (Mass. 2017).

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Commonwealth v. Sanborn, 77 N.E.3d 274 (Mass. 2017). · cites it 2× “See G. L. c. 276, § 25 (service of criminal summons may be made by in-person delivery, by leaving summons at the defendant's last known address with person of suitable age, or by mail to last known address); Mass.”

Commonwealth v. Lobo, 432 N.E.2d 496 (Mass. 1982). “G. L. c. 276, §§ 25, 26. Question (5). Perhaps the most important practical issue presented in this report concerns the authority of a judge of a primary court to impose a pendente lite order under § 12 when the defendant elects to exercise his right to a trial de nova on the…”

Greenberg v. Commonwealth, 814 N.E.2d 729 (Mass. 2004). “123, § 35, and G. L. c. 276, § 25, were not met in this case, and that the expert’s affidavit supporting the commitment petition was wholly insufficient.”

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