Section 4 Prosecution of crimes; manner - Massachusetts Statutes

Section 4. No person shall be held to answer in any court for an alleged crime, except upon an indictment by a grand jury or upon a complaint before a district court, the housing court of the city of Boston, the western division of the housing court department, the northeastern division of the housing court department, the southeastern division of the housing court department, the housing court of the county of Worcester or in proceedings before a court-martial.

A defendant charged with an offense punishable by imprisonment in state prison shall have the right to be proceeded against by indictment except when the offense charged is within the concurrent jurisdiction of the district and superior courts and the district court retains jurisdiction.

No juvenile shall be sentenced to any punishment as is provided by law for the offense by a juvenile court or a juvenile session of a district court, as the case may be, unless he has been proceeded against by indictment or has waived indictment pursuant to section four A of chapter two hundred and sixty-three, except as otherwise provided in section seventy-two A of chapter one hundred and nineteen. The clerk of the superior court in which an indictment of such juvenile is returned shall promptly remit the indictment to the clerk of the juvenile court or the juvenile session of the district court, as the case may be, in which such indictment is to be tried.