Massachusetts District CourtJudiciary

The Massachusetts District Court (District Court Department of the Massachusetts Trial Court) is the largest trial court department in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, operating across 62 community-based court divisions. Its broad judicial mandate encompasses civil lawsuits up to $50,000, small claims, summary process evictions, mental health commitments, and criminal jurisdiction over misdemeanors and felonies punishable by up to five years in state prison. While local police and municipal district courts trace their lineage to the 19th century, the statewide District Court Department was formally established in 1978 under Chapter 478 of the Acts of 1978 (the Court Reorganization Act), which unified disparate county and municipal trial courts into a consolidated state court system.