Improper Storage of a Firearm in Massachusetts: G.L. c. 140, § 131L

A gun owner whose gun is found unlocked, outside a locked container, and out of the owner’s reach is charged with improper storage of a firearm under G.L. c. 140, § 131L. Most people charged with improper storage hold a valid license to carry or firearm identification card. The police usually find the gun while serving a 209A restraining order (abuse prevention order), answering a domestic call, or checking on a resident. The police also find guns while investigating a burglary in which a gun was stolen, or while searching a car after a traffic stop.

Improper storage of a firearm that is not a large capacity firearm or a machine gun is punishable by a fine of $1,000 to $7,500, up to one and one half years in a house of correction, or both.

A defendant convicted of improperly storing a large capacity firearm, a semiautomatic weapon, or a machine gun can be punished by a fine of $2,000 to $15,000, one and one half to twelve years in state prison, or both. After a conviction, the defendant cannot hold a license to carry. The defendant must then transfer the seized guns to a licensed dealer or another licensed person.

This page explains what the statute requires, when a firearm is carried by or under the control of its owner, and what counts as a locked container. This page also covers the rules for a gun left in a car, the two penalty tiers and the court that hears each tier, the defenses, and how a conviction affects the license, the guns, and the record. Attorney Joe Serpa has practiced Massachusetts criminal defense since 1995. Attorney Serpa defends improper storage charges in the Boston Municipal Court and the District Courts of Greater Boston.

The Storage Requirement

Section 131L(a) requires a gun owner to lock up any firearm that the owner is not carrying or controlling. The owner must keep the firearm in a locked container, or must put a tamper-resistant lock or other safety device on the firearm so that no one else can fire the firearm. The statute makes it unlawful “to store or keep any firearm in any place unless such firearm is secured in a locked container or equipped with a tamper-resistant mechanical lock or other safety device, properly engaged so as to render such firearm inoperable by any person other than the owner or other lawfully authorized user.” The owner must keep a stun gun in a locked container accessible only to the owner or an authorized user.

The statute does not apply to a gun that the owner carries or controls. A firearm “shall not be deemed stored or kept if carried by or under the control of the owner or other lawfully authorized user.” G.L. c. 140, § 131L(a). The requirement applies to every owner, licensed or not. A license to carry permits the owner to carry the gun. A license does not permit the owner to leave the gun unsecured in a drawer, a closet, or a car.

Since October 2, 2024, the word “firearm” in the statute covers rifles, shotguns, and stun guns as well as handguns. In St. 2024, c. 135, the Legislature rewrote the definition of a firearm in G.L. c. 140, § 121. The Legislature also removed the storage statute’s separate references to rifles and shotguns. The statute does not apply to a firearm with a matchlock, flintlock, percussion cap, or similar ignition system made in or before 1899. The statute also does not apply to a replica of a firearm with a matchlock, flintlock, percussion cap, or similar ignition system, if the replica does not use conventional fixed ammunition. G.L. c. 140, § 131L(f).

The Elements

To convict a defendant of improper storage, the Commonwealth must prove three elements beyond a reasonable doubt. First, the item was a firearm as G.L. c. 140, § 121 defines “firearm.” Second, the defendant knowingly kept or stored the firearm. Third, the firearm was unsecured. District Court Instruction 7.630 (rev. Nov. 2021) lists the same three elements.

A firearm is unsecured when a person who is not authorized by law can get to the firearm. A firearm is secured when it is in a locked container or has an engaged tamper-resistant lock or other safety device. The lock or device must make the firearm impossible to fire for anyone other than the owner or an authorized user. A firearm that the defendant carried, or that was under the defendant’s immediate control, was not kept or stored at all.

The model instruction was written before the October 2, 2024 amendments. The instruction still defines a firearm by the length of the barrel, as the statute did before October 2, 2024. For offenses on or after October 2, 2024, § 121 defines a firearm as a stun gun, pistol, revolver, rifle, shotgun, or other listed weapon that “is designed to or may readily be converted to expel a shot or bullet.” The firm’s page on carrying a firearm without a license explains the current definition and the earlier definition.

For an offense committed before October 2, 2024, the Commonwealth must prove that the gun could fire. The Appeals Court reversed a storage conviction because the only proof that the gun could fire was a ballistics certificate that the judge admitted without the analyst’s testimony. Commonwealth v. Hollister, 75 Mass. App. Ct. 729, 730 (2009).

A BB gun is not a firearm. The Supreme Judicial Court has written that, if a court treated a BB gun as a firearm, the owner of a BB gun could face the storage statute’s criminal penalties. Commonwealth v. Garrett, 473 Mass. 257, 264 (2015).

Carried or Under the Control of the Owner

The statute does not apply to a gun that the owner carries or keeps within immediate reach. “The gun owner’s obligation to secure the firearm in accordance with the statute arises only when the firearm is stored or otherwise outside the owner’s immediate control.” Commonwealth v. Runyan, 456 Mass. 230, 236 (2010).

Carrying means actual physical possession of the gun. A firearm is under the owner’s control “only when that person has it sufficiently nearby to prevent immediately its unauthorized use.” Commonwealth v. Patterson, 79 Mass. App. Ct. 316, 319 (2011). The jury considers where the firearm was, how far the firearm was from the owner, and whether the owner could get to the firearm at once. Patterson, 79 Mass. App. Ct. at 320.

For § 131L, a gun is under the owner’s control only if the gun is close enough for the owner to stop anyone else from using the gun at once. A gun across the room is not under the owner’s control, even if the owner knows about the gun and could go get the gun. Commonwealth v. Cantelli, 83 Mass. App. Ct. 156, 171-172 (2013). In Cantelli, a licensed owner answered his door wearing a holstered pistol while other loaded guns lay unsecured around a cluttered apartment. The jury found the defendant not guilty on the gun directly behind him. The jury found the defendant guilty on a rifle against the far bedroom wall and a pistol on the bedroom floor. The Appeals Court upheld the convictions on the rifle and the bedroom pistol because neither gun was within the defendant’s immediate reach. Cantelli, 83 Mass. App. Ct. at 172.

In Patterson, an off-duty police officer was downstairs while his unloaded revolver sat in a jacket pocket in an upstairs closet, with children in the house. The Appeals Court upheld the officer’s conviction. Patterson, 79 Mass. App. Ct. at 317, 320. A gun in a locked car is stored as soon as the owner walks away from the car. Commonwealth v. Reyes, 464 Mass. 245, 258 (2013).

In a 2026 decision, the Appeals Court upheld a conviction where the gun was in a backpack on the passenger floor during a traffic stop. An officer stood between the driver and the car. Commonwealth v. Vardamis-Henry, No. 23-P-820 (Mass. App. Ct. July 9, 2026) (unpublished). The Appeals Court has also described § 131L as a statute “primarily concerned with storing firearms.” The statute does not require an owner to keep a rifle at hand when answering the door. Commonwealth v. Howard, No. 24-P-1128 (Mass. App. Ct. Nov. 13, 2025).

What Counts as a Locked Container or a Safety Device

Since October 2, 2024, § 121 defines “secured in a locked container” as “secured in a container that is capable of being unlocked only by means of a key, combination or similar means, including in an unoccupied motor vehicle, a locked trunk not accessible from the passenger compartment, a locked console or locked glovebox.”

The statutory definition of a locked container uses the standard that the Supreme Judicial Court set in Reyes. The court wrote that “any qualifying container must be capable of being unlocked only by means of a key, combination, or other similar means.” Reyes, 464 Mass. at 252. Safes, weapon boxes, locked cabinets, gun cases, lock boxes, and locked vehicle trunks all qualify. Reyes, 464 Mass. at 253.

The lock must prevent easy access to the gun. “Even a door locked with a key is not secure if the key is hanging next to the lock.” Commonwealth v. Parzick, 64 Mass. App. Ct. 846, 850 (2005). In Parzick, rifles sat in a bedroom closet behind a door with a knob lock that a lodger opened with a bobby pin. The lodger’s son stole the rifles. The Appeals Court held that the statute requires containers locked “in a way that will deter all but the most persistent from gaining access.” Parzick, 64 Mass. App. Ct. at 850.

A locked room can be a locked container, but a person cannot lock the front door and treat the whole house as a locked container. Reyes, 464 Mass. at 254 n.14. The owner does not have to hide a locked box that holds the gun. The Appeals Court held that a pistol in a locked manufacturer’s case, with a cable lock through the pistol, inside a cooler in the backyard, was properly secured. Commonwealth v. Lojko, 77 Mass. App. Ct. 82, 85 (2010).

A trigger lock or cable lock satisfies the statute if the lock is engaged and makes the gun impossible for anyone else to fire. Reyes, 464 Mass. at 251. A holster is not a lock, but the Commonwealth must still prove that no lock was in place. In a 2024 decision, the Appeals Court ordered a judgment of not guilty where a holstered pistol lay on a table, the holster covered the trigger, and no witness testified about a lock. Commonwealth v. Rufo, No. 24-P-229 (Mass. App. Ct. Oct. 11, 2024) (unpublished).

A Firearm Left in a Car

A locked car is not a locked container. “The Legislature did not consider a locked motor vehicle itself to be a secure container for the storage of firearms.” Reyes, 464 Mass. at 255. In Reyes, a correctional officer left his loaded pistol in the glove box of his locked car outside the jail because the gun lockers inside were full. The Supreme Judicial Court held that the officer had stored the gun once the officer walked away from the car and that the locked car did not secure the gun. The jury had to decide whether the glove box was locked. Reyes, 464 Mass. at 255-256, 258.

Since October 2, 2024, the definition of a locked container in § 121 has included, for an unoccupied vehicle, a locked trunk that cannot be opened from the passenger compartment, a locked console, or a locked glove box. The Executive Office of Public Safety and Security gives gun owners the same advice about locked trunks, consoles, and glove boxes under the 2024 law.

A separate statute governs a gun in a car while the owner is in the car. G.L. c. 140, § 131C(a) requires a person carrying a loaded firearm in a vehicle to keep the firearm under their direct control. A violation of § 131C(a) is punishable by a fine of $500. Section 131C(b) requires that a large capacity rifle or shotgun in a vehicle be unloaded and secured in a locked container. A violation of § 131C(b) is punishable by a fine of $500 to $5,000.

The licensing authority must revoke the license to carry or the firearm identification card of a defendant convicted under § 131C. The licensing authority may not issue a new license for one year. G.L. c. 140, § 131C(d). An unloaded rifle or shotgun carried on a public way must be enclosed in a case. G.L. c. 269, § 12D(b).

Knowledge and Ownership

The Commonwealth must prove that the defendant knowingly kept or stored the firearm. A person who did not know the gun was in the house has a defense. The statute punishes the owner of the gun, not only the person in possession of the gun. In Commonwealth v. Lovering, 89 Mass. App. Ct. 76, 79 (2016), the defendant had been out of his apartment for a month under an abuse prevention order when his wife found his unsecured pistol while dusting. The Appeals Court held that the Commonwealth did not have to prove possession, because “the gun storage statute … imposes liability on owners of firearms.”

A person ordered out of the home by a 209A restraining order still owns every gun left behind. The order requires the person to surrender the guns to the police. The firm’s post on firearms after a domestic violence charge explains the surrender order.

The statute does not say that the Commonwealth must prove the defendant knew the gun was unsecured. No appellate court has decided whether the Commonwealth must prove that the defendant knew the gun was unsecured. The Supreme Judicial Court requires proof that a defendant charged with possessing a large capacity firearm under G.L. c. 269, § 10(m) knew the firearm was large capacity. Commonwealth v. Cassidy, 479 Mass. 527 (2018). No appellate court has decided whether, under the large capacity tier of § 131L(b), the Commonwealth must prove that the defendant knew the firearm was large capacity. Defense counsel should ask the judge to instruct the jury that the Commonwealth must prove that the defendant knew the gun was unsecured and, under the large capacity tier, that the defendant knew the firearm was large capacity.

Penalties, the Two Tiers, and the Court

The lower tier applies to improper storage of a firearm that is not a large capacity firearm or a machine gun. A defendant convicted under the lower tier can be punished by a fine of $1,000 to $7,500, up to one and one half years in a house of correction, or both. G.L. c. 140, § 131L(b).

The lower-tier offense is a misdemeanor. The District Court hears a lower-tier charge. A judge may continue the case without a finding, place the defendant on probation, or order pretrial probation. The firm’s page on continuances without a finding and pretrial probation explains how a continuance without a finding and pretrial probation work.

The higher tier applies to improper storage of a large capacity firearm, a semiautomatic weapon, or a machine gun. A defendant convicted under the higher tier can be punished by a fine of $2,000 to $15,000, one and one half to twelve years in state prison, or both. G.L. c. 140, § 131L(b). The higher-tier offense is a felony punishable by more than five years. Under G.L. c. 218, § 26, the District Court cannot try a higher-tier charge. The Commonwealth must obtain an indictment and try the case in the Superior Court.

Under G.L. c. 140, § 121, a large capacity firearm includes any semiautomatic firearm that can accept a detachable magazine holding more than ten rounds. Most modern semiautomatic pistols are large capacity firearms under § 121. In St. 2024, c. 135, § 70, the Legislature added the words “or semiautomatic” to the higher penalty tier. As a result, the words of the lower tier and the words of the higher tier each describe a semiautomatic firearm that is not large capacity. No appellate court has decided which tier applies to a semiautomatic firearm that is not large capacity. Under the rule of lenity, which requires a court to read an unclear criminal statute in the defendant’s favor, the defendant can argue that the lower tier applies.

The higher tier states a term of “not less than” one and one half years, but § 131L contains no language barring probation, a suspended sentence, or a continuance without a finding. The Supreme Judicial Court has held that a “not less than” term without an express bar does not require a mandatory minimum state prison sentence. Commonwealth v. Hines, 449 Mass. 183, 191 (2007). “When the Legislature intends to bar probation, it knows how to say so explicitly.” Commonwealth v. Zapata, 455 Mass. 530, 534 (2009). A judge may not suspend a state prison sentence. G.L. c. 127, § 133. No appellate court has applied Hines, Zapata, or § 133 to a higher-tier § 131L sentence.

The penalties are higher if a person under 18 could get to the gun without trespassing in a way that the owner could not have expected. For a firearm that is not a large capacity firearm or a machine gun, subsection (c) provides a fine of $2,500 to $15,000, one and one half to twelve years in prison, or both.

Subsection (c) applies only if the person under 18 who could get to the gun did not hold a valid firearm identification card. For a large capacity firearm or a machine gun, subsection (d) provides a fine of $10,000 to $20,000, four to fifteen years in prison, or both. The offenses under subsections (c) and (d) are felonies tried in the Superior Court.

Under G.L. c. 140, § 131L(e), a violation is also evidence of wanton or reckless conduct in any criminal or civil case. The § 131L(e) rule applies if a person under 18 who was not a trespasser, or was a foreseeable trespasser, got to the firearm and someone was injured or killed.

The § 131L(e) rule does not apply if the person under 18 held a valid firearm identification card and was permitted by law to possess the firearm.

The Commonwealth can also charge reckless endangerment of a child under G.L. c. 265, § 13L, when a person under 18 could get to an unsecured gun. A § 13L charge requires proof that the defendant was personally aware of a substantial risk of serious bodily injury to the child.

The Commonwealth cannot ask a judge to hold a defendant without bail as dangerous, under G.L. c. 276, § 58A(1), on an improper storage charge alone. The Commonwealth can ask for detention without bail if the offense happened while a 209A abuse prevention order was in effect against the defendant. The Commonwealth can likewise ask for detention without bail if the improper storage charge involves abuse as defined in G.L. c. 209A, § 1.

The Commonwealth must bring the charge within six years. G.L. c. 277, § 63. A person has a right to a clerk-magistrate hearing before the clerk-magistrate decides whether to issue a complaint, if the police apply for a complaint on the misdemeanor tier without arresting the person. The clerk-magistrate may issue the complaint without a hearing if there is an imminent threat of bodily injury, of the commission of a crime, or of flight from the Commonwealth by the person. G.L. c. 218, § 35A.

Constitutional Challenges

The courts have rejected every Second Amendment challenge to the storage statute. In Runyan, the Supreme Judicial Court upheld the statute because the statute does not apply to a gun carried by the owner or under the owner’s control. The District of Columbia law struck down in District of Columbia v. Heller applied even to a gun under the owner’s control. Runyan, 456 Mass. at 236-237.

After the United States Supreme Court’s decision applying the Second Amendment to the states, the Supreme Judicial Court held that § 131L(a) “falls outside the scope of the Second Amendment.” The court reasoned that the statute is consistent with the right to keep a gun for self-defense in the home.

The statute’s purpose is to keep unlicensed persons from getting firearms. Commonwealth v. McGowan, 464 Mass. 232, 244 (2013). In Reyes, the Supreme Judicial Court rejected the argument that the storage statute is so vague that a gun owner cannot tell what the statute requires. Reyes, 464 Mass. at 248-254. In 2025, the Appeals Court held that the statute remains constitutional after New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen. Commonwealth v. Brown, No. 24-P-512 (Mass. App. Ct. Aug. 6, 2025) (unpublished).

The Search That Found the Firearm

The police rarely obtain a warrant for a storage violation. The police usually see the gun while inside the home or the car for another reason. In Cantelli, the Appeals Court held that the police lawfully entered a home to help a person in danger and lawfully took the guns that the officers could see after entering.

Cantelli, 83 Mass. App. Ct. at 166-168. In Commonwealth v. Gordon, 87 Mass. App. Ct. 322 (2015), the Appeals Court held that the police lawfully entered a home to give emergency aid after a 911 call about a domestic dispute. In Commonwealth v. Hernandez, 93 Mass. App. Ct. 172 (2018), the Appeals Court held that the police could search the defendant’s closed but unlocked suitcase because a person who shared the closet with the defendant consented to the search. The suitcase held the gun.

In 2025, the Appeals Court set aside a judge’s denial of a motion to suppress. The court sent the case back so the judge could make findings on consent and on whether there was an emergency. The officer had entered because “the firearm could be unsecured and there were multiple people inside the apartment.”

Commonwealth v. Cunningham, No. 24-P-736 (Mass. App. Ct. July 11, 2025) (unpublished). The judge suppresses the gun if the entry was unlawful, the consent was invalid, or the police searched beyond the lawful scope of the consent or the warrant. The firm’s page on illegal searches and seizures explains the motion to suppress.

Defenses

Carried or under control. A gun on the owner’s person, or close enough that the owner could stop anyone else from using the gun at once, was never stored. Defense counsel establishes where the defendant was, where the gun was, and who else was in the room.

A locked container or an engaged lock. A gun in a safe, a lock box, a locked gun case, a locked trunk, or a locked glove box in an unoccupied car was secured. A gun with an engaged trigger lock or cable lock was also secured. The Commonwealth must prove that no lock was in place. In Rufo, the Appeals Court ordered a judgment of not guilty because no witness testified about a lock.

Knowledge. The Commonwealth must prove that the defendant knowingly kept or stored the gun. A defendant is not guilty if someone else placed the gun in the home without the defendant’s knowledge.

The definition of a firearm. The Commonwealth must prove that the item was a firearm under § 121. For an offense before October 2, 2024, the Commonwealth must prove that the gun could fire. A ballistics certificate is inadmissible unless the examiner testifies. For a later offense, defense counsel requires the Commonwealth to prove that the item meets the new definition. Counsel also objects to any ballistics evidence offered without a live witness.

Suppression. The judge suppresses the gun if the police entered the home without a warrant, valid consent, or an emergency, or searched a car without a lawful basis. The firm’s page on traffic stops, exit orders, and pretext searches explains the vehicle cases.

The penalty tier. Defense counsel challenges whether the gun was a large capacity firearm and demands proof that the defendant knew the gun was large capacity. Counsel also argues that a semiautomatic firearm that is not large capacity belongs in the lower tier.

An antique or a replica. A muzzle-loading or percussion cap firearm made in or before 1899, or a replica that does not use conventional fixed ammunition, is outside the statute. G.L. c. 140, § 131L(f).

The License, the Seized Guns, Immigration, and the Record After a Conviction

Under G.L. c. 140, § 121F(j), a person convicted of the felony under the higher tier can never hold a license to carry or a firearm identification card. A misdemeanor conviction under the lower tier is a conviction under a firearms law that can be punished by imprisonment. A person convicted under the lower tier can never hold a license to carry. A person convicted under the lower tier also cannot hold a firearm identification card for five years.

The Appeals Court has said that a conviction under § 131L(b) would bar a license to carry. Chief of Police of Taunton v. Caras, 95 Mass. App. Ct. 182 (2019).

The licensing authority, which is usually the local police chief, can revoke a license even when no one is convicted of a crime. In Caras, the licensee’s grandson stole a handgun that the licensee had left in an unlocked glove compartment. The Taunton police chief then revoked the license, because the chief found that the licensee was unsuitable to hold a license. A licensee is unsuitable when reliable information shows that the licensee may create a risk to public safety or a risk of danger to the licensee or to others. The Appeals Court upheld the revocation, even though no one was charged with a crime. Caras, 95 Mass. App. Ct. at 186. A continuance without a finding that ends in a dismissal is not a conviction under § 121F. Even so, the licensing authority may find that the person is unsuitable because of the way the person stored the gun.

A lawfully owned firearm that was improperly stored is not contraband. A judge therefore cannot order the gun forfeited under G.L. c. 276, § 3. Commonwealth v. Fleury, 489 Mass. 421 (2022).

G.L. c. 140, § 129D governs what happens to the guns. The former owner has one year to transfer the guns to a licensed dealer or to a person licensed to possess the guns. The person who receives the guns must state in writing that they will not transfer the guns back. Guns not transferred within the year are sold at a State Police auction. The Appeals Court applied the § 129D rules to a defendant who received a continuance without a finding on a storage charge and then asked for the return of his gun. Commonwealth v. Atkinson-Gedutis, No. 24-P-1145 (Mass. App. Ct. May 6, 2025) (unpublished).

Federal immigration law imposes its own consequences on a storage case. Federal law makes a noncitizen deportable for a conviction “under any law of purchasing, selling, offering for sale, exchanging, using, owning, possessing, or carrying” a firearm. 8 U.S.C. § 1227(a)(2)(C). No court has decided whether a Massachusetts storage conviction makes a noncitizen deportable under § 1227(a)(2)(C). A noncitizen should not admit that the Commonwealth has enough evidence for a guilty finding, and should not accept a continuance without a finding, until an immigration lawyer has reviewed the charge, the client’s immigration status, and the court record. At an interview, an immigration officer may also ask about the storage arrest or the police report, even if the storage case was dismissed. The immigration lawyer should review the exact question about the arrest before the client files any petition or attends any interview. The firm’s immigration consequences pages describe how an immigration lawyer reviews a criminal case.

The charge appears on the defendant’s criminal record once the defendant is arraigned. The sealing statute does not allow sealing of convictions under G.L. c. 140, §§ 121 to 131H. Section 131L is not one of §§ 121 to 131H.

The Commissioner of Probation can seal a misdemeanor storage conviction under G.L. c. 276, § 100A three years after the case ends and after any time in custody. For a felony conviction, the waiting period is seven years. For a misdemeanor or a felony conviction, the person must have no new conviction during the waiting period. A judge can seal a dismissal after a continuance without a finding under § 100C, with no waiting period.

Attorney Serpa’s Representation in Improper Storage Cases

Attorney Joe Serpa has practiced Massachusetts criminal defense since 1995. Attorney Serpa defends improper storage charges in the Boston Municipal Court and the District Courts of Greater Boston. The police bring most improper storage charges after a surrender order in a 209A restraining order case, a domestic call, a burglary, or a traffic stop.

In every improper storage case, Attorney Serpa reviews the entry and the search, where the gun was in relation to the client, the container and any lock, the tier charged, and the licensing record. Attorney Serpa then advises the client on a motion to suppress, a trial, or a continuance without a finding, and on the transfer of the seized guns under § 129D.

Frequently Asked Questions About Improper Storage of a Firearm

Related Serpa Law Office Resources

• Massachusetts Criminal Defense of Firearms Offenses
• Carrying a Firearm Without a License in Massachusetts: G.L. c. 269, § 10(a)
• Possession of a Firearm or Ammunition Without an FID Card in Massachusetts: G.L. c. 269, § 10(h)
• Possession of a Large Capacity Firearm or Feeding Device in Massachusetts: G.L. c. 269, § 10(m)
• Carrying a Loaded Gun During an OUI Stop or While Drunk in Massachusetts Under G.L. c. 269, § 10H
• Untraceable Firearms, Ghost Guns, and Defaced Serial Numbers in Massachusetts: G.L. c. 269, § 11C
• Firearms Offenses for Massachusetts Visitors or Out-of-State Travelers
• Firearms After a Domestic Violence Charge in Massachusetts
• Illegal Searches and Seizures in Massachusetts
• Massachusetts Traffic Stops, Exit Orders, and Pretext Searches
• Massachusetts Clerk-Magistrate (Show Cause) Hearings
• Continuances Without a Finding, Pretrial Probation, and Diversion
• Felonies and Misdemeanors in Massachusetts
• Who Can See Your Massachusetts Criminal Record
• Sealing and Expunging a Massachusetts Criminal Record
• Criminal Records and the Massachusetts Firearms License Application
• Immigration Consequences of Massachusetts Criminal Charges