Massachusetts law about: A to Z index

This page serves as an index to the Trial Court Law Libraries' curated guides to popular Massachusetts legal topics. These guides are designed to help you get started on your legal research. They include laws, regulations, cases, websites, and library resources.

Guides by general topic

Browse the A to Z index below for specific Massachusetts law topics or use our guides compiled by general topic.

Topics A-C

A A +

• Abortion
• Abuse in court
• Adoption
• Adverse possession
• Airbnbs & short-term rentals
• Alcohol
• Alimony
• American Indians
• Animals
• Anti-SLAPP
• Artificial intelligence
• Attorneys
• Auto insurance
• Automobiles

B B +

• Backyard chickens
• Banking
• Bankruptcy
• Beach rights
• Bicycles
• Birth control
• Boating
• Breastfeeding at work
• Bullying
• Burial

C C +

• Capital punishment
• Carbon monoxide
• Caregivers
• Cars
• Casinos
• Cell phone searches
• Change of name
• Charitable organizations
• Chickens
• Child abuse & neglect
• Child custody & parenting time
• Child labor
• Child sexual abuse
• Child support
• Child support, changing
• Child support over 18
• Children's health care
• Citations, reading & writing
• Civil procedure
• Clemency
• Collective bargaining
• Complaint drafting
• Conflict of interest
• Conservatorship
• Consumer protection
• Contraception
• Copyright
• CORI
• Corporations
• Court system
• Court-appointed attorneys
• Credit & banking
• Cremation
• Crimes & punishment
• Criminal law
• Criminal records
• Cyberbullying

Topics D-F

D D +

• Dead bodies
• Death penalty
• Debt collection
• Defamation
• Defending against 209A
• Disability rights in employment
• Disability rights in housing
• Disability rights in public spaces & government services
• Discovery
• Discrimination
• Divorce
• DNA
• Dogs
• Domestic partnerships
• Domestic violence, employment leave due to
• Domestic violence (209A)
• Drafting a complaint
• Dress codes
• Drivers' health
• Drug detection dogs
• Drunk & drugged driving

E E +

• Education
• Elder law
• Elections
• Electronic discovery
• Emancipation of minors
• Eminent domain
• Emotional distress
• Employee privacy
• Employee uniforms
• Employment
• Employment, disability rights in
• Employment leave
• Employment termination
• Engagement rings
• Estate planning
• Estate taxation
• Ethics
• Eviction
• Evidence
• Evidence, testimonial & non-testimonial
• Eyewitnesses

F F +

• Family & medical leave
• Famous cases
• Firearms
• Fishing
• Flood insurance
• Foreclosure
• Foreclosure & tenants
• Fortune tellers
• Freedom of information
• Frivolous litigation
• Fuel assistance  

Topics G-I

G G +

• Gambling
• Gay marriage
• Gender identity
• Gift certificates
• Gig economy
• Government services, disability rights in
• Grandparents' visitation
• Guardians & caregivers
• Guide dogs
• Guns

H H +

• Harassment
• Harassment, sexual
• Harassment in court
• Health care
• Health care proxies
• Health insurance
• Heat
• Hiring employees
• Home improvement
• Home schooling
• Home sharing
• Homestead
• Horses
• Hours & conditions of employment
• Housing
• Housing, disability rights in
• Hunting 

I I +

• Identity theft
• Immigration
• Immigration consequences of state convictions
• Immunization
• Independent contractors
• Indian tribes
• Insurance
• Interest rates
• Internet privacy 

Topics J-M

J J +

• Judges
• Junk mail
• Juries & jury service
• Jury duty, employment leave for
• Jury selection
• Juvenile justice 

L L +

• Landlord/tenant
• Lawyers
• Lead paint
• Leave from work
• Legal counsel (right to)
• Legal parentage
• Legal writing & citations
• Libel
• Limited liability companies (LLCs)
• Limited liability partnerships (LLPs)
• Liquor

M M +

• Marijuana, medical
• Marijuana, recreational
• Marriage
• Massage therapy
• MassHealth
• Maternity leave
• MCAS & education reform
• Mechanic's liens
• Medicaid/MassHealth
• Medical care
• Medical insurance
• Medical privacy
• Medical qualifications to drive
• Medicare
• Medication, prescription
• Mental health
• Minimum wage
• Modification of divorce
• Mortgage foreclosure
• Mortgage loans

Topics N-Q

N N +

• Name change
• Native Americans
• Neighbors
• Noncompetition agreements
• Nonprofit corporations
• Notary public
• Nurses

O O +

• Obscenity
• Occupational licensing
• Older drivers
• Online privacy
• Open meetings
• Overtime

P P +

• Paid family & medical leave (PFML)
• Pardons & commutations
• Parentage
• Parental leave
• Parole
• Police conduct
• Police, recording
• Pornography
• Potholes & road defects
• Pregnant or breastfeeding employees
• Prescription drugs
• Prevailing wage
• Privacy
• Pro se litigants
• Probate of estates
• Professional licensing
• Property taxes
• Public benefits
• Public housing
• Public records
• Public spaces, disability rights in

Topics R-T

R R +

• Rape & sex crimes
• Real estate 
• Real estate brokers
• Real estate taxes
• Recording police
• Recreational boating
• Recreational hunting & fishing
• Repossession
• Restraining orders
• Reverse mortgages
• Ride sharing
• Roads

S S +

• Same-sex marriage
• Security deposits
• Self-represented litigants
• Sentencing
• Septic systems
• Service animals
• Sex
• Sex offenders
• Sexting
• Sexual abuse of children
• Sexual harassment
• Sharing economy
• Shopping & returns
• Shoreline access
• Sick time
• Slander
• SLAPP
• Small business
• Small claims
• Small necessities leave
• Smoking
• Snow & ice
• Spam
• Special education
• Speed limits
• Squatters' rights
• Stalking
• Statutes of limitations in civil sexual abuse cases
• Streets
• Student discipline
• Student dress codes
• Student records
• Submetering water
• Subpoenas
• Substance use disorders
• Surrogate parenting

T T +

• Taxation
• Taxes, estate
• Taxes, property
• Telemarketing
• Tenants in foreclosure
• Testimonial & non-testimonial evidence
• Ticket reselling
• Time
• Title 5
• Town meetings
• Traffic violations
• Transgender rights
• Trees
• Trusts

Topics U-Z

U U +

• Unemployment
• Uniforms
• Unions
• Unmarried couples
• Utilities

V V +

• Vacation time
• Vaccination
• Veterans
• Veterinary practice
• Vexatious litigation
• Victims & witnesses
• Voting, employment leave for
• Voting & elections 

W to Z W to Z +

• Wages
• Water submeter law
• Weapons (firearms)
• Weapons (non-firearms)
• Wills & estates
• Winter heating
• Work uniforms
• Workers' compensation
• Workplace privacy
• Youth employment
• Zoning