From Charge to Appeal

Complaint or indictment: which court, and why it matters

Massachusetts criminal cases begin one of two ways. A complaint starts a case in the District Court. An indictment, returned by a grand jury, brings it to the Superior Court.

The dividing line is exposure. Under G.L. c. 263, § 4, a person charged with an offense punishable by imprisonment in state prison has the right to be prosecuted by indictment, except where the offense falls within the concurrent jurisdiction of the District and Superior Courts and the District Court retains it. In practice, the Commonwealth's choice about where to bring a case is itself a decision about what sentence is on the table, and it is made early.

That choice shapes everything downstream: the size of the jury, the sentencing range, and whether a grand jury sees the case at all.

Discovery: what the Commonwealth must hand over

Massachusetts has unusually broad automatic discovery. Under Mass. R. Crim. P. 14(a)(1)(A), the Commonwealth must disclose the following without anyone filing a motion:

• Written or recorded statements, and the substance of any oral statements, made by the defendant or a co-defendant.
• Grand jury minutes and the statements of anyone who testified before the grand jury.
• Any facts of an exculpatory nature.
• Names, addresses and dates of birth of intended non–law enforcement witnesses, and the names and business addresses of prospective law enforcement witnesses.
• Intended expert opinion evidence — identity, CV, publications and reports.
• Material and relevant police reports, photographs, tangible objects, intended exhibits, and reports of physical examinations or scientific tests.
• A summary of identification procedures and all statements made by or in the presence of an identifying witness.
• All promises, rewards or inducements made to witnesses the Commonwealth intends to call.

That last item is worth pausing on. What a witness was given — a plea deal, a reduced charge, a dropped case — is discoverable, and it is frequently the most useful thing in the file. Discovery is reciprocal: once the Commonwealth discloses, the defense must disclose its own expert evidence, exhibits and witness information it intends to offer at trial.

Motions to suppress, and why Massachusetts is different

A motion to suppress asks the court to exclude evidence obtained unlawfully. Under Mass. R. Crim. P. 13, the motion must be supported by an affidavit detailing all facts relied on, signed by someone with personal knowledge. A memorandum of law is required — except, notably, for evidence seized during a warrantless search. Non-discovery pretrial motions must generally be filed before a trial date is assigned or within twenty-one days after, and both sides have a right to a hearing.

One correction worth making, because it circulates: Rule 13(c) governs motions to dismiss, not motions to suppress. Copy citing 13(c) for suppression is miscited.

The speedy trial clock

Mass. R. Crim. P. 36 sets a twelve-month standard for bringing a defendant to trial, and the remedy has teeth: a defendant not brought to trial within the limits is entitled, on motion, to dismissal of the charges.

The complication is that large categories of time do not count. Periods excluded under Rule 36(b)(2) include delay from other proceedings involving the defendant, the unavailability of the defendant or an essential witness, competency proceedings, delay from joinder with a co-defendant, continuances a judge grants on stated findings that the ends of justice outweigh a speedy trial, and time around plea agreements.

The practical consequence is that a defendant who agrees to every continuance and never presses the case will usually find that very little time has actually run. Rule 36 rewards a case that is pushed, not one that drifts.

Trial

Jury size depends on the court. G.L. c. 218, § 27A provides for trial by a jury of six in the District Court, with each defendant limited to two peremptory challenges. In the Superior Court the jury is reduced to twelve before the case is submitted, under Mass. R. Crim. P. 20(d)(2). Peremptory challenges scale with exposure: twelve for each defendant on an indictment for a crime punishable by life, four in other twelve-person cases, two in a six-person case.

Where a trial is likely to be protracted the judge may impanel up to sixteen jurors, and additional jurors are impanelled as a matter of course — at least two in twelve-person cases and at least one in six-person cases.

The arithmetic is worth noticing. Twelve peremptory challenges in a life case against four in an ordinary felony is not a detail; it changes what jury selection can accomplish.

Appeals

A notice of appeal in a criminal case must be filed within thirty days of the judgment, appealable order, the Commonwealth's notice of appeal, or the imposition of sentence — whichever comes last. Mass. R. App. P. 4(b)(1). A timely post-trial motion tolls that period, so that the clock runs thirty days from the order disposing of the motion.

Criminal appeals from both the District Court and the Superior Court are heard by the Appeals Court, which holds appellate jurisdiction concurrent with the Supreme Judicial Court under G.L. c. 211A, § 10 — with one exception. Convictions for first-degree murder are carved out and go directly to the SJC, under the plenary review described on the homicide page.

After the Appeals Court decides, a party has twenty-one days to apply for further appellate review by the SJC. Mass. R. App. P. 27.1. The application must rest on substantial reasons affecting the public interest or the interests of justice, and it is granted only if three justices vote for it. It is discretionary and rarely allowed — not a second appeal as of right.

Common questions

Sources

Every legal statement on this page traces to one of the following. Massachusetts law changes; where a point is contested or recently decided, that is noted in the text above.

• Mass. R. Crim. P. 14 — Pretrial discovery
• Mass. R. Crim. P. 13 — Pretrial motions
• Mass. R. Crim. P. 20 — Trial jurors
• Mass. R. Crim. P. 36 — Case management (speedy trial)
• Mass. R. App. P. 4 — Appeal, when taken
• Mass. R. App. P. 27.1 — Further appellate review
• G.L. c. 218, § 27A — District Court jury trials
• G.L. c. 263, § 4 — Right to prosecution by indictment
• G.L. c. 211A, § 10 — Appeals Court jurisdiction
• Massachusetts Attorney General, Digital Evidence Guide (art. 14 discussion)

Written by Michael G. Cashman, Esq., 31 years in Massachusetts criminal courtrooms as both a defense attorney and a prosecutor. Full background and credentials. Last reviewed 2026-09-18.

This page is general information about Massachusetts law. It is not legal advice, it does not create an attorney-client relationship, and no outcome is promised or implied. Every case turns on its own facts.