Student Legal Services

State statutes

Each U.S. state has its own constitution and legal code that covers subject matter under their jurisdiction. The text of these statutes can usually be found at the web page of the state's legislature.

Massachusetts General Laws
Massachusetts laws are available at the web site of the General Court (the state legislature).

Subject Compilations of State Laws This link opens in a new window
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An index of articles, books, court opinions, and other publications that compare state laws, with many links to full text. Searchable by subject, 1925-current with a two year lag.
Available on campus to all, or off-campus to UMass Amherst students, staff and faculty with an UMass Amherst IT NetID (user name) and password.
Westlaw Campus Research This link opens in a new window
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Choose "State Materials" and a state. It is also possible to search all state materials in the search bar by choosing "All States" on the right side.
Available on campus to all, or off-campus to UMass Amherst students, staff and faculty with an UMass Amherst IT NetID (user name) and password.

Massachusetts General Laws Annotated
Call Number: KFM2430 1958 W4
Publication Date: ongoing
Includes popular name table.

Find Massachusetts statutes by popular name

State laws are often known by their "popular name" or "short title" rather than by their code title and section. Popular name tables exist to allow researchers to match the popular name with the location in the code.

Massachusetts Laws by Popular Name
The libraries of the Massachusetts Court System provides a table of popular names for statutes of the Commonwealth.