Bristol County
Bristol County is located in southern Massachusetts with a population of over 579,000 people according to the 2020 decennial census. The county is bordered to the west by Rhode Island and to the south by Buzzards Bay. It was established from Plymouth colony in 1685 and its county seat is Taunton, while its largest city is New Bedford.
The trial court system in the county follows the Massachusetts court structure with the presence of juvenile courts, housing courts, probate and family courts, district courts, and superior courts.
The juvenile courts have limited jurisdiction on some case types, such as those involving juvenile delinquency, child protection, adoption, some adult criminal cases involving minors, guardianship, and termination of parental rights. Housing courts also have limited jurisdiction in matters related to the health and safety of real property, residences, and goods and services related to real property.
The probate and family courts in Bristol have limited jurisdiction over cases of domestic relations, probate matters, abuse prevention, adoption, and guardianship. Matters like divorce, annulment of marriage, child custody, child support, paternity, parental rights termination, wills, and administration of estates are handled in these courts.
The Bristol County district courts handle felony cases with potential punishment of up to 5 years of incarcerations and other types of felonies and preliminary hearings for all felony types. Civil cases heard in these courts include general civil claims for up to $25,000 and landlord-tenant matters without any limitation on the amount in controversy. The district court can also hear matters of appeals from administrative agency decisions
The superior court is the chief court in the county, with jurisdiction over all criminal and civil cases. It handles felony cases with possible penalties of more than 5 years of incarceration and hears most abuse prevention proceedings, except in instances arising solely from an engagement or dating relationship.
The Bristol County clerk of courts makes public access computers available at courthouses in the county for users to access electronic versions of scanned public court documents, such as orders, petitions, and judgments. You can print copies of these public court documents directly from the public access terminals and retrieve copies from one of the clerks at the counter. For remote access to unsealed Bristol County court documents, visit the Massachusetts courts website to use the eAccess portal. You can also search trial court dockets and land court dockets online on the Massachusetts courts website.
