Massachusetts General Laws Part III. Courts, Judicial Officers and Proceedings in Civil Cases (Ch. 211-262) Ch. 212, § 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 1 of chapter 211B 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 3 of chapter 211, have the power, authority and responsibility of a chief justice as set forth in section 10 of chapter 211B.

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.