Section 1 Number of superior court justices; administrative head; definitions - Massachusetts Statutes

Section 1. The superior court department of the trial court of the commonwealth, established pursuant to section 1 of chapter 211B, shall consist of 82 justices appointed to the department. The justice as provided under section one of chapter two hundred and eleven B as the chief justice for the superior court department, in addition to his judicial powers and duties, shall, subject to the superintendence authority of the supreme judicial court as provided in section three of chapter two hundred and eleven and the administrative authority of the chief justice for administration and management, be the administrative head of the superior court department, and shall also have the power authority and responsibility of a chief justice as set forth in section ten of chapter two hundred and eleven B. A chief justice shall hold said office for a term of five years, and shall be eligible to be reappointed for additional five-year terms. A chief justice, so appointed, may be removed from that office prior to the expiration of his term upon a determination by the chief justice for administration and management that such removal is in the best interests of the administration of justice.

Wherever the words “superior court”, or wherever in this chapter the word “court” is used in that context, they shall refer to the superior court department of the trial court, and the words “justice of the superior court”, or the word “justice”, in context, shall mean an associate justice of the trial court appointed to the superior court department.