United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts

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United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts
(D. Mass.)
Map

Appeals to First Circuit
Established September 24, 1789
Judges assigned 13
Chief judge Mark Lawrence Wolf
Official site

The United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts (in case citations, D. Mass.) is the Federal district court whose jurisdiction is the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, USA. The first court session was held in Boston in 1789. The second term was held in Salem in 1790 and until 1813 court session locations alternated between the two cities. That year, Boston became the court's permanent home. A western division was opened in Springfield in 1979 and a central division was opened in Worcester in 1987. The court's main building is the John Joseph Moakley Federal Courthouse on Fan Pier in South Boston.

Appeals are heard by the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit, also headquartered in Boston.

The United States Attorney's Office for the District of Massachusetts represents the United States in civil and criminal litigation in the court. The current U.S. Attorney is Michael J. Sullivan.

Contents

[edit] District Judges

(13 authorized judgeships)

[edit] Magistrate Judges

[edit] Notable cases

  • Ghen v. Rich (1881) (a whale is the property of the whaler who killed it, and not the person who found it dead on the beach)

[edit] External links

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