Massachusetts General Laws ch. 33A sec. 2 – Persons subject to this code; jurisdiction
Article 2. Persons subject to this code; jurisdiction.
Terms Used In Massachusetts General Laws ch. 33A sec. 2
- Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
- Prosecute: To charge someone with a crime. A prosecutor tries a criminal case on behalf of the government.
(a) This code shall apply to all members of the state military forces. This code shall not apply to members serving in a title 10 status.
(b) Subject matter jurisdiction shall be established if a nexus exists between an offense, either military or non-military, and the state military force. Courts-martial have primary jurisdiction of military offenses as defined in article 1. A civilian court has primary jurisdiction of a non-military offense when an act or omission violates both this code and local criminal law, foreign or domestic. In such a case, a court-martial may be initiated only after the civilian authority has declined to prosecute or dismissed the charge, provided jeopardy has not attached. Jurisdiction over attempted crimes, conspiracy crimes, solicitation and accessory crimes must be determined by the underlying offense.