There are dozens of trial-level courts in Massachusetts and they all do things differently. In some cases, certain courts have practices that deviate from the letter of the law. Here’s just one example.
Bail may be set at a criminal defendant’s arraignment. This is usually done in district court. If the defendant is unhappy with the district court’s bail decision, he may have it reviewed by superior court. The statutory law clearly states that the defendant’s petition for a bail review hearing should be filed in district court. The district court clerk’s office is then required to transfer the petition, along will all other necessary documents, to the superior court for review.
When a petition for [bail] review is filed in the district court… the clerk of the district court…shall immediately notify by telephone the clerk of courts of the county to which the petition is to be transmitted…The clerk of the district court … shall forthwith transmit the petition for review… to the superior court for the county in which the district court is located. Emphasis added.
M.G.L. c. 276, § 58
I practice in Hampden County where, for reasons unknown, this procedure isn’t followed. Instead, defendants or their attorneys must personally file bail-review petitions with the superior court clerk.
Many Massachusetts courts have similar quirks and you must be aware of the fact that practice in a particular courthouse may not strictly adhere to what you read in this blog or even what you see in the state’s procedural rules and statutory laws.
If you find yourself in Boston Municipal Court (BMC), you must be aware of the slight but innumerable procedural rule variations that pervade criminal court. Unlike the bail-review example I just mentioned, the deviations in BMC criminal proceedings are written into the state’s procedural laws.