Mass. Gen. Laws » Part IV Title II Chapter 278
Massachusetts General Laws

Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 278, § 10 (2026)

Night time; definition

✓ current as of July 2026
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Section 10. If a crime is alleged to have been committed in the night time, night time shall be deemed the time between one hour after sunset on one day and one hour before sunrise on the next day; and the time of sunset and sunrise shall be ascertained according to mean time in the place where the crime was committed.

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 10 cases (1 in the last 5 years), 1969–2024 · leading case: Commonwealth v. Grimshaw, 595 N.E.2d 302 (Mass. 1992).
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Commonwealth v. Grimshaw, 595 N.E.2d 302 (Mass. 1992). · cites it 2× “Williams, supra, and that definition continues today in the form of G. L. c. 278, § 10 (1990 ed.). 2 See Sodekson v.”
Commonwealth v. Bennett, 674 N.E.2d 237 (Mass. 1997). “” G. L. c. 278, § 10 (1994 ed.). The medical examiner elaborated on the “12-12-12 rule” at trial: “[D]uring the first [twelve] hours after death, rigor will begin to form; and it develops over those [twelve] hours.”
Commonwealth v. Kingsbury, 385 N.E.2d 1020 (Mass. App. Ct. 1979). “By statute, G. L. c. 278, § 10, "night time” is defined as "the time between one hour after sunset on one day and one hour before sunrise on the next day.”
Commonwealth v. Garcia, 501 N.E.2d 527 (Mass. App. Ct. 1986). “7 The motion judge relied on the provisions of G. L. c. 278, § 10, in reaching his conclusion that the search in this case was made in the nighttime.”
Commonwealth v. Swahn, 368 N.E.2d 813 (Mass. App. Ct. 1977). “At the close of the Commonwealth’s case the defendant, who was tried alone, moved for a directed verdict, urging (among other things) that the evidence was insufficient to warrant a finding that any offence had been committed during the nighttime within the meaning of G. L. c.…”
Commonwealth v. Quish, 249 N.E.2d 597 (Mass. 1969). “Nothing turns on G. L. c. 278, § 10. At the trial there was evidence that the goods were the product of three different breaks.”
Commonwealth v. Turner, 546 N.E.2d 182 (Mass. App. Ct. 1989). “1 By G. L. c. 278, § 10, “night time” is defined as “the time between one hour after sunset on one day and one hour before sunrise on the next day .”
Commonwealth v. Groden, 533 N.E.2d 1027 (Mass. App. Ct. 1989). “856, 856 (1977), G. L. c. 278, § 10, which punished the unlawful carrying of a firearm, had been amended after the plaintiff’s first offense to impose a lengthened sentence upon conviction of a second'offense.”
Commonwealth v. William Berry. (Mass. App. Ct. 2024). · cites it 2× “278, § 10, "night time" is defined as "the time between one hour after sunset on one day and one hour before sunrise on the next day.”
Commonwealth v. Bergstrom, 406 N.E.2d 1056 (Mass. App. Ct. 1980). “on the day in question, after it had *839 “ [grown] from light to dusk”) to conclude that the offense had been committed during the “night time,” as defined in G. L. c. 278, § 10, and by the judge in his charge.”
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