Section 35. A justice or special justice of a district court, or a justice of the peace who is also a clerk or assistant clerk of such a court, may at any time receive complaints and issue warrants and summonses, under his own hand and seal, and such justice or special justice may likewise issue search warrants, returnable before a court or trial justice having jurisdiction of the trial or examination of the person charged with the crime. If, after a hearing on the issuance of a complaint or a request for a search warrant, by a justice or special justice of a district court he issues such complaint or warrant, he shall be disqualified from presiding over a trial on the merits of any matter brought to trial because of such complaint or warrant if the defendant objects to his sitting before any evidence is taken.

Terms Used In Massachusetts General Laws ch. 218 sec. 35

  • Complaint: A written statement by the plaintiff stating the wrongs allegedly committed by the defendant.
  • Defendant: In a civil suit, the person complained against; in a criminal case, the person accused of the crime.
  • Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
  • 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.
  • Trial: A hearing that takes place when the defendant pleads "not guilty" and witnesses are required to come to court to give evidence.

If such an application for the issuance of a complaint is denied, the clerk of the district court wherein such application was made shall destroy such application one year after the date such application was filed, unless a justice of such court or the chief justice of the district courts shall for good cause order that such application be retained on file for a further period of time. The clerk shall enter on the face of any application so denied a conspicuous notation to that effect, and such applications shall be maintained separately from other records of such court. The provisions of this paragraph relating to the destruction of such applications shall not apply to applications filed pursuant to section twenty C of chapter ninety.

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