Courts and their jurisdictions
The criminal justice system is administered by both the individual state courts and the federal courts.
Federal Government
U.S. Supreme Court
Supreme Court is the final arbiter of questions of Federal law or the U.S. Constitution. Regarded as the “court of last resort.” The court is comprised of a Chief Justice and any such number of associate justices fixed by Congress. Today, there are eight associate justices. The Court often resolves disputes between conflicting opinions of the various Circuit Courts of Appeals. The Court interprets neither state constitutions nor state laws, unless the state constitutions or state laws conflict with the U.S. Constitution or with federal Law.
U.S. Court of Appeals
First instance appellate courts for appeals from trials and/or decisions of inferior Federal courts, including the federal district courts. There are thirteen federal judicial circuits. Although these courts can have several or more justices, normally three justices sit on a given appeal.
U.S. District Court
Trial court for the federal system. Each state has one or more federal judicial districts, and in each such district there is a district court. The district courts have jurisdiction over both civil and criminal matters. These courts exercise federal jurisdiction over cases involving federal laws or offenses and actions between citizens of different states.
Commonwealth of Massachusetts
Supreme Judicial Court
The Court is the final arbiter of questions of Massachusetts State law or the Massachusetts Declaration of Rights. The Court will also interpret federal constitutional law. The Court is staffed by a Chief Justice and six associate justices. Although most appeals are first heard and decided by the Appeals Court (see below), the “SJC” can exercise its discretion and assume jurisdiction over any appeal pending in the appeals court. The SJC also exercises exclusive jurisdiction over all appeals from defendants convicted of first degree murder.
Appeals Court
Hears and decides appeals from the District and Superior Courts, as well as other courts, such as the probate and housing courts. Has no jurisdiction over appeals from convictions for first degree murder.
Superior Court
This trial court is a court of original and general jurisdiction. It has jurisdiction over all crimes committed in Massachusetts. For the Superior Court to take jurisdiction over the prosecution of a crime, the District Attorney’s Office must first persuade the grand jury to hand down a criminal indictment against the defendant. Superior Court juries are made up of twelve jurors.
District Court
This trial court has jurisdiction, concurrently with the Superior Court, over misdemeanors, felonies that are punishable by imprisonment in the state prison for not more than five years, and violations of bylaws, orders, ordinances, rules and regulations promulgated by cities, towns, and public officers. Unlike the Superior Court in which the District Attorney’s Office prosecutes indictments, prosecutors in District Court pursue criminal complaints issued by the clerk’s office. Criminal defendants – who have not yet been indicted – may be first arraigned in District Court on a complaint for a crime over which the District Court actually has no final jurisdiction. If and when an indictment is returned by a grand jury, the defendant will be re-arraigned in Superior Court. The District Attorney will likely nolle pros (drop) the charges against the defendant once he is arraigned in Superior Court. District Court juries are limited to six jurors.
