LibGuides: Criminal Law Research Guide: Massachusetts Secondary Sources

Overview

This is not a comprehensive list but rather covers some of the major Massachusetts secondary sources on criminal law, criminal procedure, and evidence. To find additional resources, you can browse the Criminal Law practice areas on Lexis, Westlaw, or MCLE OnlinePass, or you can search the library catalog for your keywords.

Massachusetts Continuing Legal Education (MCLE)

MCLE is the Massachusetts legal community's premier provider of hands-on educational programs and reference materials. Their materials are created by and geared toward practitioners, so may be of particular use to our students in the criminal clinics.

MCLE titles are available through Lexis, Westlaw, and through MCLE's own online platform, MCLE OnlinePass. They tend to be easiest to use on Lexis and the MCLE platform.

Massachusetts Superior Court Criminal Practice Manual (MCLE)
Practical and comprehensive treatment of criminal practice in the Superior Court, with each chapter co-written by a prosecutor and defense attorney. Arranged from charging and arraignment to closing argument and post-trial events. Some chapters, such as Substantive Motion Practice, include exhibits of form documents.
Massachusetts District Court Criminal Defense Manual (MCLE)
Check coverage info ("i" icon) for date of last update. Written by criminal defense attorneys; includes relationship-building with the client, developing a theory of the case, arraignment and bail, pretrial and discovery, substantive motion practice, interlocutory appeals, experts, trial advocacy, and more.
Crime and Consequence: The Collateral Effects of Criminal Conduct (MCLE)
A judgment or admission of guilt, admission to facts sufficient to warrant a finding of guilt, or sometimes the mere fact of a criminal charge may have a devastating impact on a defendant's employment, home, transportation, education, family, or citizenship. This title provides practical pointers for avoiding or minimizing the many consequences of criminal conduct and conviction.
Trying OUI and Other Motor Vehicle Offenses in Massachusetts (MCLE)
Covers common criminal motor vehicle offenses, the initial stages of a case, client meetings and first steps, evidentiary issues, the basics of the prosecutor's and defendant's cases, jury instructions, sanctions and penalties, and posttrial relief, as well as resources on the accuracy of the latest technology in breath testing.

For additional MCLE resources on criminal practice:

Browse a full list of MCLE titles on Lexis
Be sure to check the "i" icon for information on when each title was last updated. Most titles are updated every couple of years, but some are a bit old and will require extra care when using, as the underlying law may have changed significantly.

MCLE OnlinePass
Provides unlimited access to all available online content from MCLE, including practice manuals, ebooks, and on-demand webcasts. Search by keyword, or use the Practice Portals entry point to browse their criminal law materials.

Selected Secondary Sources on Massachusetts Criminal Law & Practice

Criminal Practice & Procedure (Massachusetts Practice Series)
Comprehensive treatment of all aspects of criminal practice in Massachusetts, with much of the text organized as an analysis of the Massachusetts Rules of Criminal Procedure. Also includes chapters on jurisdiction, arrest law, search and seizure, interrogation, eyewitness procedure, and bail.
Suppression Matters Under Massachusetts Law
One of the most respected Massachusetts sources on the Commonwealth's constitutional and common law protections for criminal defendants. Includes detailed discussions of suppression of evidence, statements and identifications.
The Massachusetts Criminal Law: A Prosecutor's Guide
Click on Contents in upper-left to access the table of contents. Covers the major statutes and case law in Massachusetts criminal procedure (including search & seizure) and substantive crimes (e.g., larceny, battery, motor vehicle offenses). Updated regularly with new citations.
Massachusetts Proof of Cases (Criminal)
The criminal part of this set includes an overview of criminal law and then a deeper dive into individual offenses, with a focus on the elements of each crime. Proof of Cases also includes a section on evidence.
LexisNexis Practice Guide: Massachusetts Criminal Law
Covers the entire process of a criminal trial in Massachusetts, from the initial representation of a client through sentencing and post-sentencing procedures. Includes more than 45 checklists defining the essentials of common tasks.
Criminal Law (Massachusetts Practice Series)
Survey of the substantive criminal law in Massachusetts, including classification of crimes; intent, motive, and scienter; crimes against persons and property; motor vehicle offenses; defenses; and lesser-included offenses.
Massachusetts Practice Series - search or browse the whole series
The list above includes some of the criminally-focused titles in the Massachusetts Practice Series. To see additional titles or to search the whole set for your keywords, use this link.

Massachusetts Jury Instructions

Massachusetts judges have broad discretion when instructing a jury; they can use the models below, craft their own instructions, or create a blend. Attorneys also will sometimes submit their own proposed instructions. For researchers, model instructions can be a helpful secondary source, as they lay out elements of crimes (with citations to statutes and cases), explain burdens of proof, and more.

Massachusetts Superior Court Criminal Practice Jury Instructions (MCLE)
Created by a committee of Superior Court judges to provide legally accurate and easily understandable guidance for jurors, judges, and practitioners. Helpful for understanding the elements of crimes, burdens of proof, etc. Remember to update your research, as new cases or statutory amendments have occurred since the last update.
Superior Court Model Jury Instructions
Model Jury Instructions that have been drafted by a committee of Superior Court judges. Scroll down for the criminal instructions, which are sometimes more up-to-date than the MCLE publication listed here for Superior Court jury instructions, though that set is more expansive.
Criminal Model Jury Instructions for Use in the District Court
Drafted by the Committee on Criminal Proceedings, with updates to instructions as needed since. Date of last revision is provided on this free site; later issued cases or statutory changes could affect the validity of the instructions, so update your research.
Criminal Model Jury Instructions for Use in the District Court (MCLE)
Lexis version of the free instructions provided on the court website. More easily searchable, but it might be slightly less current, as new revisions or instructions can be added to the free site more quickly, so be sure to check there for updated instructions.

Massachusetts Evidence

Massachusetts Guide to Evidence
Prepared annually by the Supreme Judicial Court’s Advisory Committee on Massachusetts Evidence Law. The Guide organizes and states the law of evidence applied in proceedings in the courts of the Commonwealth, as set forth in the Federal and State Constitutions, General Laws, common law, and rules of court.
Handbook of Massachusetts Evidence (Brodin and Avery)
Updated annually, this is practical guide to Massachusetts evidentiary law provides clear explanations of settled law and expert advice on more complicated problems.
Massachusetts Evidence: A Courtroom Reference (MCLE)
From judges and seasoned practitioners, tips and commentary on every aspect of trial evidence, including how to introduce and exclude evidence; methods for establishing facts without formal proof; when evidence constitutes a "statement" under the hearsay rule; using hearsay exceptions; how to use documents as evidence; how to attack a witness's credibility, and more.