The following chart shows the structure of the Massachusetts court system:
The Trial Court Law Libraries website contains cases decided by the Supreme Judicial Court (1761-1772, 1804-present) and Appeals Court (1972-present) as well as limited trial court materials:
Westlaw's collection includes SJC decisions (1804-present) and Appeals Court decisions (1972-present). It also contains limited trial court orders (1993-present) as well as selected orders from the Land Court (1988-present), Appellate Division of the Boston Municipal Court (1990-present), and Superior Court (1982-present).
Lexis' collection includes SJC decisions (1768-present) Appeals Court decisions (1973-present), as well as limited Trial Court materials.
The Social Law Library's collection includes SJC decisions (1900-present), Appeals Court decisions (1972-present), as well as limited coverage of Superior Court decisions (1978-present), appellate division decisions of the Massachusetts District Court and the Boston Municipal Court (2003-present), Business Litigation Session of Superior Court (2000-present), Housing Court (1987-present) and Land Court (1978-present).
Case related materials including briefs, pleadings, motions, jury instructions, jury verdicts and settlements, and expert witness materials are available on both Lexis and Westlaw.
