Case-law access map · checked November 7, 2026
Massachusetts: where to read court opinions for free
Free and searchable from 1671 to today (CourtListener from 1781; Caselaw Access Project to 2017).
Appeals courts: free and searchable from 1671 to today (CourtListener from 1960; Caselaw Access Project to 2017).
As we read the highest court's own website and the free indexes on November 7, 2026. CourtListener's years come from its public bulk files (snapshot of Sep 30, 2026). The table has each court and source.
Not legal advice. Check the court's own website before relying on any listing.
Courts and sources
Each line is one court read from one source. Years are the span that source lists; “inferred” means taken from a description of the site, not from the site itself. A site that refused our automated check may still open in a browser.
| Court | Level | Source | Years | Text search | Access |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court | Highest court | mass.gov | from 1804 | No | Only partly readable in our check |
| Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court | Highest court | CourtListener evidence | 1781–2026 | Yes | Opened in our check58,963 opinions in CourtListener's public bulk files (snapshot of Sep 30, 2026); newest Sep 29, 2026; 13,013 with approximate dates. |
| Massachusetts Appeals Court | Appeals | mass.gov | from 1972 | No | Only partly readable in our check |
| Massachusetts Appeals Court | Appeals | CourtListener evidence | 1972–2026 | Yes | Opened in our check18,153 opinions in CourtListener's public bulk files (snapshot of Sep 30, 2026); newest Sep 29, 2026. |
| Massachusetts Appellate Tax Board | Appeals | CourtListener evidence | 1980–1983 | Yes | Listed by CourtListener as not in use19 opinions in CourtListener's public bulk files (snapshot of Sep 30, 2026); newest Mar 4, 1983. |
| Massachusetts District Court | Appeals | CourtListener evidence | 1941–1983 | Yes | Opened in our checkCourtListener shows no automatic collection of new opinions from this court.148 opinions in CourtListener's public bulk files (snapshot of Sep 30, 2026); newest Feb 18, 1983. |
| Massachusetts District Court, Appellate Division | Appeals | CourtListener evidence | 1934–2015 | Yes | Listed by CourtListener as not in use6,335 opinions in CourtListener's public bulk files (snapshot of Sep 30, 2026); newest Dec 18, 2015; 406 with approximate dates. |
| Massachusetts Superior Court | Appeals | CourtListener evidence | 1960–2026 | Yes | Opened in our check8,091 opinions in CourtListener's public bulk files (snapshot of Sep 30, 2026); newest Sep 2, 2026; 308 with approximate dates. |
| Massachusetts - all reported decisions in CAP reporters | Other | Caselaw Access Project (Harvard) evidence | 1671–2017 | No | Opened in our check |
| Massachusetts - state appellate and supreme courts (published opinions) | Other | Google Scholar | from 1950 | Yes | Opened in our check |
| Massachusetts Department of Industrial Accidents | Other | CourtListener evidence | None found | Yes | Opened in our checkCourtListener shows no automatic collection of new opinions from this court.No opinions from this court were found in CourtListener's public bulk files (snapshot of Sep 30, 2026). |
| Massachusetts House of Representatives | Other | CourtListener evidence | Years not measured | Yes | Listed by CourtListener as not in use240 opinions in CourtListener's public bulk files (snapshot of Sep 30, 2026); 240 with approximate dates. |
| Massachusetts Land Court | Other | CourtListener evidence | 1927–2021 | Yes | Opened in our checkCourtListener shows no automatic collection of new opinions from this court.178 opinions in CourtListener's public bulk files (snapshot of Sep 30, 2026); newest Dec 15, 2021; 77 with approximate dates. |
Where else to look
- CourtListener: Lists 6 Massachusetts courts.
- Caselaw Access Project (Harvard): Holds published opinions from 1671 to 2017.
- Google Scholar: Its help page says its case law covers state appellate and supreme courts since 1950.
- mass.gov: Official court website.
- Justia: Also publishes opinions; we did not check it state by state.
Known gaps
- CourtListener's court record shows no automatic collection of new opinions from Massachusetts District Court. Check the court's own website for recent ones.
- Only part of Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court's website could be read in our check, so its years and text search are not fully measured.
- We found no search of opinion text on Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court's website, only lists or lookup by name, number or date.
- The Caselaw Access Project holds published opinions only through 2017.
- Our survey lists no free statewide source of trial-court opinions for this state.
Corpus
Corpus holds the statutes, not the opinions
For the law itself, Corpus searches Massachusetts statutes, and each result cites its section and links the source.
Data: Corpus Open (open source). CourtListener bulk data (public domain), snapshot Sep 30, 2026.
Read by Corpus on November 7, 2026. Sites change; check the court’s own website before relying on a line.
Not legal advice. Check the court's own website before relying on any listing. Corpus is not a law firm.