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The only official pattern jury instructions in Massachusetts—updated, revised, and expanded
- Product Number: 2265810WFM
- Publication Date: 9/17/2025
- Edition: 6th Edition 2025
- Copyright: © 2025 MCLE, Inc.
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Product Description
Product Description
Criminal Model Jury Instructions for Use in the District Court provides Massachusetts lawyers with the only official pattern jury instructions in Massachusetts. The 2009 edition expanded and completely updated the instructions, offering supplemental instructions and notes to aid the practitioner in his or her drafting. This comprehensive set of renumbered model jury instructions was published by MCLE under the editorial direction of the Administrative Office of the District Court, and is the work product of the Committee on Criminal Proceedings. This comprehensive set of instructions is essential to practice in the District Court, and it is available in a handy format for desk and courtroom reference. Use them for District, Municipal, and Juvenile Court trials.
Recent updates:
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Update: February 2022
Dear Subscriber:
Thank you for keeping your copy of Criminal Model Jury Instructions for Use in the District Court current with this 2022 supplement. The District Court Committee on Criminal Proceedings has prepared a number of new and revised criminal model jury instructions. Among these are new instructions for drug offenses which carve out marijuana from the other controlled substances. This allowed the committee to address the exemptions that apply to marijuana without interfering with the instructions needed for cases involving controlled substances other than marijuana.
Included in this 2022 supplement are fourteen new and eight revised instructions included in Transmittal No. 1341, dated November 22, 2021. These include:
- a new COVID-19 Supplemental Impanelment Instruction (1.105);
- new and revised instructions on Evaluation of Evidence ;
- new instructions on Offenses Against the Person ;
- new and revised instructions on Public Order Offenses ;
- new and revised instructions on Firearms and Weapons Offenses ;
- new and revised instructions on Drug Offenses ; and
- a revised instruction on Larceny Offenses .
Also included in this supplement are three new and five revised instructions issued prior to Transmittal No. 1341 and subsequent to the last printed supplement in June 2019. These include:
- new and revised instructions on Offenses Against the Person ;
- revised instructions on Abuse-Related Offenses ; and
- a new instruction on Drug Offenses .
It is Massachusetts Continuing Legal Education's privilege to publish this material in collaboration with the District Court Committee on Criminal Proceedings. We trust that you will find this 2022 supplementary material for Criminal Model Jury Instructions for Use in the District Court to be instructive in your courtroom practice and useful in your library research.
Cordially,
Maryanne G. Jensen, Esq., Director of Publications
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Update: June 2019
Dear Subscriber:
Enclosed are new and updated model jury instructions for use in criminal cases in Massachusetts District Court.
The District Court Committee on Criminal Proceedings has created the following new instructions:
- 6.280 ("Assault and Battery on an Elder or Disabled Person").
- 6.281 ("Assault and Battery on an Elder or Disabled Person Causing Bodily Injury").
- 6.282 ("Assault and Battery on an Elder or Disabled Person Causing Serious Bodily Injury").
The Committee has also revised the following instructions:
- 5.310 ("Operating Under the Influence of Intoxicating Liquor").
- 5.400 ("Operating Under the Influence of Drugs").
- 6.140 ("Assault and Battery")
- 6.160 ("Assault and Battery Causing Serious Bodily Injury").
- 6.180 ("Assault and Battery on a Person Protected by an Abuse Prevention Order").
- 6.200 ("Assault and Battery on a Pregnant Woman").
- 6.210 ("Assault and Battery on a Police Officer or Public Employee").
- 6.220 ("Assault and Battery on Child Under 14 Causing Bodily Injury").
- 6.275 ("Assault and Battery on a Family or Household Member").
- 7.140 ("Deriving Support from Earnings of a Prostitute").
Also included are new and revised instructions that were promulgated and distributed pursuant to Administrative Office of the District Court Transmittals Nos. 1212, 1256, and 1260:
- 1.100 ("Impaneling the Jury").
- 1.120 ("Preliminary Instruction to Jury Before Trial").
- 1.270 ("Use of an Interpreter")
- 1.275 ("Interpreter Assistance to Deaf Juror")
- 2.120 ("Function of the Jury, What is Evidence, Credibility of Witnesses").
- 5.305 ("Endangering a Child While Operating with a Blood Alcohol Level of .08 percent or Greater")
- 5.315 ("Endangering a Child While Under the Influence of Intoxicating Liquors")
- 7.300 ("Giving False Information After Arrest")
- 7.360 ("Intimidating a Witness, Etc.")
- 8.260 ("Wanton Destruction of Property")
- 8.280 ("Willful and Malicious Destruction of Property")
- 8.460 ("Larceny by Check").
- 8.500 ("Larceny by False Pretenses")
- 8.520 ("Larceny by Stealing")
- 8.521 ("Larceny by Stealing Verdict Slip")
- 8.600 ("Receiving Stolen Property")
- 8.620 ("Shoplifting")
It is Massachusetts Continuing Legal Education's privilege to publish this material in collaboration with the District Court Committee on Criminal Proceedings. We trust that you will find this 2019 supplementary material for Criminal Model Jury Instructions for Use in the District Court to be instructive in your courtroom practice and useful in your library research.
Cordially,
Maryanne G. Jensen, Esq., Director of Publications
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Update: June 2018
Dear Subscriber:
Enclosed are new and updated model jury instructions for use in criminal cases in Massachusetts District Court.
The District Court Committee on Criminal Proceedings has created the following new instructions:
- 3.230 ("Transferred Intent").
- 3.570 ("Redactions").
- 7.365 ("Intentionally misleading an investigator in a criminal investigation"). This instruction is tailored to this specific provision of G.L. c. 268, § 13B, which is commonly encountered in the District Court. The full instruction for intimating a witness, juror, court official or law enforcement officer in violation of G.L. c. 268, § 13B, remains at Instruction 7.360.
The Committee has also revised the following instructions:
- 3.560 ("Confessions and admissions (Humane Practice)"). This instruction was revised to include factors for the jury's consideration regarding the voluntariness of a defendant's statement in the body of the instruction. It also now includes reference to the absence of a complete recording of the defendant's statement as a factor for the jury to consider.
- 5.310 ("Operating under the influence of intoxicating liquor"). A supplemental "Downs" instruction has been inserted and notes, consistent with, Commonwealth v. Wolfe, 478 Mass. 142 (2017), that such an instruction may only be given if the defendant requests it.
- 6.500 ("Indecent assault and battery"). Supplemental instructions were added for cases in which the defendant directs the victim to touch the defendant or when the defendant touches the victim with his or her own private part. The instruction also eliminated the requirement that the Commonwealth prove that the victim was over the age of fourteen in addition to proving lack of consent.
- 6.520 ("Indecent assault and battery on a child under the age of 14"). Supplemental instructions were added for cases in which the defendant directs the victim to touch the defendant or when the defendant touches the victim with his or her own private part.
- 7.360 ("Intimidating a witness, juror, court official or law enforcement officer"). This instruction was revised to reflect the changes to the statute made by the Criminal Justice Reform Act, St. 2018, c. 69, namely, that an act committed in retaliation for past participation in a criminal investigation or court proceeding can now be charged as a crime under § 13B; the elimination of the category of persons protected by the statute who "further[ed] a civil or criminal proceeding … of any type"; and the addition of the following categories of persons protected by the statute: a person who is or was aware of information, records, documents, or objects that relate to a violation of a court order; victim witness advocate; correction officer; court reporter; court interpreter; and family member of a person described in the section.
It is Massachusetts Continuing Legal Education's privilege to publish this material in collaboration with the District Court Committee on Criminal Proceedings. We trust that you will find this 2018 supplementary material for Criminal Model Jury Instructions for Use in the District Court to be instructive in your courtroom practice and useful in your library research.
Cordially,
Maryanne G. Jensen, Esq., Director of Publications
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Update: June 2017
Dear Subscriber:
Enclosed are new and updated model jury instructions for use in criminal cases in Massachusetts District Court.
The District Court Committee on Criminal Proceedings has created the following new instructions:
- 3.210 ("Motor Vehicle")
- 5.700 ("Operating a Boat with a Blood Alcohol Level of .08% or Greater")
- 5.710 ("Operating a Boat Under the Influence of Intoxicating Liquor")
- 7.625 ("Possession of Ammunition")
- 9.230 ("Duress"), separated from Necessity (9.240)
The Committee has also revised the following instructions:
- 3.660 ("First Complaint"), making non-substantive corrections to the language of the instruction, and updating notes.
- 5.180 ("Leaving the Scene of an Accident Involving Property Damage"), removing public way as an element. See Commonwealth v. Leblanc, 475 Mass. 820, 822 (2016).
- 6.180 ("Assault and Battery on a Person Protected by an Abuse Prevention Order"), to explain to the jury the concept of an offensive touching.
- 6.200 ("Assault and Battery on a Pregnant Woman"), to explain to the jury the concept of an offensive touching.
- 6.300 ("Assault and Battery by Means of a Dangerous Weapon"), removing references to requirement that the defendant "intentionally" used the item as a dangerous weapon.
- 7.270 "Cruelty to Animals"), adding "cruelly" to modify "mutilated" and "killed," and provided definition of "cruelty." See Commonwealth v. Daly, 90 Mass. App. Ct. 48, 51 (2016).
- 7.400 ("Open and Gross Lewdness and Lascivious Behavior"), to explain to the jury the objective element of the offense, see Commonwealth v. Maguire, 476 Mass. 156, 161 (2016), and deleting supplemental instruction regarding child of tender years, see Commonwealth v. Kessler, 442 Mass. 770, 777 (2004).
- 8.220 ("Trespass"), updated notes to reflect potential necessity defense. See Commonwealth v. Magadini, 474 Mass. 593, 597-602 (2016).
- 8.250 ("Vandalism"), replacing "owner of the property" to "another." See Commonwealth v. Chambers, 90 Mass. App. Ct. 137, 144-45 (2016).
- 8.200 ("Theft, Purchase, Receipt, Possession or Concealment of Stolen Motor Vehicle; Malicious Damage to Motor Vehicle; Stealing Parts from Motor Vehicle Taken Without Authority; Concealing Motor Vehicle Thief"), replacing "owner of the property" to "another," see Commonwealth v. Chambers, 90 Mass. App. Ct. 137, 144-45 (2016), and deleting reference to belief being "reasonable," see Commonwealth v. Liebenow, 470 Mass. 151, 157 (2014).
- 8.260 ("Wanton Destruction of Property"), deleting reference to "immediate" in explanation of wanton conduct, as well as non-substantive corrections to the language.
- 8.280 ("Wilful and Malicious Destruction of Property"), replacing "owner of the property" to "another." See Commonwealth v. Chambers, 90 Mass. App. Ct. 137, 144-45 (2016).
- 9.240 ("Necessity"), reformatting to frame in terms of Commonwealth's burden with no substantive changes, and updated notes to reflect Commonwealth v. Magadini, 474 Mass. 593, 597-602 (2016)
It is Massachusetts Continuing Legal Education's privilege to publish this material in collaboration with the District Court Committee on Criminal Proceedings. We trust that you will find this 2017 supplementary material for Criminal Model Jury Instructions for Use in the District Court to be instructive in your courtroom practice and useful in your library research.
Cordially,
Maryanne G. Jensen, Esq., Director of Publications
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Update: July 2016
Dear Subscriber:
Enclosed are new and updated model jury instructions for use in criminal cases in Massachusetts District Court.
The District Court Committee on Criminal Proceedings has created the following new instructions:
- 1.270 ("Use of an Interpreter")
- 8.250 ("Vandalism")
- 9.250 ("Parental Discipline")
The Committee has also revised the following instructions:
- 5.180 ("Leaving the Scene of an Accident Involving Property Damage"), making minor changes to the language to accord with Instruction 5.190.
- 5.190 ("Leaving the Scene of an Accident Involving Personal Injury"), making non-substantive corrections to the language of the instruction.
- 6.140 ("Assault and Battery"), to explain to the jury the concept of an offensive touching.
- 6.275 ("Assault and Battery on Family or Household Member"), to explain to the jury the concept of an offensive touching.
- 6.600 ("Annoying and Accosting Persons"), to reflect the deletion of the requirement that the victim be of the opposite sex of the defendant, St. 2014, c. 417.
- 7.220 ("Escape"), adding language regarding failing to return from temporary release. See Commonwealth v. Porter , 87 Mass. App. Ct. 676, 678-82, rev. denied , 473 Mass. 1103 (2015).
- 7.620 ("Possession of a Firearm"), adding a supplemental instruction regarding the defense of an expired license. See Commonwealth v. Indrisano , 87 Mass. App. Ct. 709, 716-17 (2015).
Also included are two new instructions created by the Supreme Judicial Court's Standing Committee on Eyewitness Identification:
- 1.340 ("Preliminary Identification Instruction")
- 9.160 ("Identification")
It is Massachusetts Continuing Legal Education's privilege to publish this material in collaboration with the District Court Committee on Criminal Proceedings. We trust that you will find this 2016 supplementary material for Criminal Model Jury Instructions for Use in the District Court to be instructive in your courtroom practice and useful in your library research.
Cordially,
Maryanne G. Jensen, Esq., Director of Publications
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Update: June 2014
Dear Subscriber:
Enclosed are new and updated model jury instructions for use in criminal cases in Massachusetts District Court.
The Committee has created the following new instructions:
- 5.520 ("Failure to Have Ignition Interlock Device")
- 5.530 ("Disabling an Ignition Interlock Device")
- 7.210 ("Wilful Interference with a Fire Fighting Operation")
- 7.270 ("Cruelty to Animals")
- 7.410 ("Furnishing Alcohol to a Minor")
- 7.630 ("Improper Storage of a Firearm")
The Committee has also revised the following instructions:
- 3.820 ("Unrecord Custodial Interrogation"), adding language approved in Commonwealth v. Rousseau , 465 Mass. 372, 392–393 (2013), regarding evaluating the lack of a recording in light of any opportunity to record the interrogation that the defendant declined.
- 4.120 ("Attempt"), deleting the third element (failure to complete the crime) in light of recent cases omitting this as a required element. See Commonwealth v. Rivera , 460 Mass. 139, 142 (2011); Commonwealth v. Sullivan , 84 Mass. App. Ct. 26, 27, rev. granted limited to other issues , 466 Mass. 1109 (2013).
- 5.190 ("Leaving the Scene of an Accident Involving Personal Injury not Resulting in Death"), collapsing the old third and fourth elements (causing injury and knowing the defendant caused injury) into one element ("knowingly collided with or otherwise injured another person"), and adding a note explaining that the absence of death is not an element, both in accordance with Commonwealth v. Muir , 84 Mass. App. Ct. 635, 637–639 (2013).
- 6.100 ("Affray"), adding language clarifying the meaning of fighting and conforming the third element to Commonwealth v. Nee , 83 Mass. App. Ct. 441, 447–448, rev. denied , 465 Mass. 1106 (2013), as well as adding notes regarding self-defense and sentencing.
- 6.520 ("Indecent Assault and Battery on a Child Under Fourteen"), revising language regarding inability to consent to clarify that it remains the jury's role to determine whether the victim was under fourteen years of age at the time of the crime, as required by Commonwealth v. Dunton , No. 2012-P-1577, 2014 Mass. App. Unpub. LEXIS 20, 84 Mass. App. Ct. 1128 (Jan. 13, 2014) (unpublished), rev. denied , 467 Mass. 1106 (2014).
- 6.600 ("Annoying and Accosting Persons of the Opposite Sex"), adding the requirement that the disorderly acts or language be sexual in nature, as required by Commonwealth v. Sullivan , 84 Mass. App. Ct. 26, 30, rev. granted , 466 Mass. 1109 (2013).
- 6.740 ("Violation of a Harassment Prevention Order"), amending the supplemental instruction on the meaning of "harass" to reflect St. 2010, c. 239, §§ 71–72, which changed statutory language regarding a "mentally retarded person" to a "person with an intellectual disability."
- 7.260 ("False Report of a Crime"), omitting needless language and adding a citation to Commonwealth v. Saylor , 84 Mass. App. Ct. 346, 351–352 (2013).
- 7.360 ("Intimidating a Witness, Juror, Court Official or Law Enforcement Office"), adding the theory of reckless interference with a court proceeding and reflecting the expansion of the crime to endeavors to interfere with certain civil proceedings enacted by the Legislature in St. 2010, c. 256, § 120. The instruction is also amended to reflect new statutory language specifically including certain specified electronic communications in the definition of "harass." St. 2010, c. 92, § 11. Finally, the instruction is amended to delete the theories of "harming" or "punishing" a criminal proceeding, in light of Commonwealth v. Hamilton , 459 Mass. 422, 436–437 (2011).
It is Massachusetts Continuing Legal Education's privilege to publish this material in collaboration with the District Court Committee on Criminal Proceedings. We trust that you will find this 2014 supplementary material for Criminal Model Jury Instructions for Use in the District Court to be instructive in your courtroom practice and useful in your library research.
Cordially,
Maryanne G. Jensen, Esq., Director of Publications
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Update: February 2013
Dear Subscriber:
Enclosed are new model jury instructions for use in criminal cases in Massachusetts District Court.
Compiled through the efforts of the District Court Committee on Criminal Proceedings, this new material reflects the latest developments in the law. It contains revisions to Instructions 1.120, 2.320, 3.200, 3.600, 3.700, 5.180, 5.200, 5.400, 6.600, 6.640, 6.700, 6.740, 7.600, and 7.860, along with new Instructions numbered 1.130, 3.840, 5.190, 7.540, and 7.870.
In an effort to clarify and improve the model instruction for OUI cases, the Committee has divided former Instruction 5.300 ("Operating under the Influence of Liquor or with .08% Blood Alcohol") into two separate and revised instructions: 5.300 ("Operating with a Blood Alcohol Level of .08% or Greater") and 5.310 ("Operating under the Influence of Intoxicating Liquor").
The Committee has also created new verdict slips 5.301 and 5.311 for the revised OUI instructions, and revised verdict slips 5.501, 6.121, 6.141, 6.301, and 8.521.
It is Massachusetts Continuing Legal Education's privilege to publish this material in collaboration with the District Court Committee on Criminal Proceedings. We trust that you will find this 2013 supplementary material for Criminal Model Jury Instructions for Use in the District Court to be instructive in your courtroom practice and useful in your library research.
Cordially,
Maryanne G. Jensen, Esq., Director of Publications
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Update: June 2011
Dear Subscriber:
Enclosed are new model jury instructions for use in criminal cases in Massachusetts District Court.
Compiled through the efforts of the District Court Committee on Criminal Proceedings, this new material reflects the latest developments in the law. It contains revisions to Instructions 1.120, 2.540, 4.200, 5.180, 5.300, 6.121, 6.640, and 6.720, along with new Instructions numbered 3.760, 6.120, 6.140, 7.380 and 7.400. The Committee has added notes to Instructions 3.760, 6.120, and 7.380.
It is Massachusetts Continuing Legal Education's privilege to publish this material in collaboration with the District Court Committee on Criminal Proceedings. We trust that you will find this 2011 supplementary material for Model Jury Instructions for Use in the District Court to be instructive in your courtroom practice and useful in your library research.
Cordially,
Maryanne G. Jensen, Esq., Director of Publications
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Update: February 2009
Dear Subscriber:
Enclosed is the 2009 edition of the model criminal jury instructions that have been issued by the Administrative Office of the District Court, Commonwealth of Massachusetts and are the same instructions as those referred to by judges of the District, Municipal and Juvenile Courts.
This 2009 edition, which features an Introduction by Chief Justice Lynda M. Connolly, provides Massachusetts lawyers with the only official pattern jury instructions in Massachusetts. Inside you will find
- "Plain English" instructions, along with supplemental instructions and notes to aid you in your drafting.
- Three new model instructions, covering Subsequent Offense, Failing to Register as a Sex Offender, and Giving a False Name upon Arrest.
- Thirty-six revised model instructions.
- Updated notes that reflect recent legal developments.
- A checklist of instructions either required or affirmatively recommended by appellate courts.
- A useful chart offering suggested dialogues for sentencing.
- An alphabetical index and conversion chart to aid you in referring to renumbered instructions.
We at MCLE trust that you will find this new 2009 edition to be indispensable in your criminal law practice and valuable in your law library.
Cordially,
Maryanne G. Jensen, Esq., Director of Publications
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Update: February 2022
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Table of Contents
Table of Contents
expand allChapter 01 expandThe Authoritative Framework for Alcoholic Beverage Licensing
Buy Chapter
Exhibit 1A
- G.L. c. 138, § 11: Questions to Be Placed on Ballot at Biennial State Election Buy FormChapter 02 expandLicense Acquisitions
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Chapter 03 expandLicensing at the Local Level
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Chapter 04 expandEntertainment Licensing
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Chapter 05 expandThe License Application Procedure
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Exhibit 5A
- ABCC Advisory Regarding Changes to M.G.L. c. 138, § 26–State License Managers Buy FormExhibit 5B
- ABCC Advisory Regarding Changes to M.G.L. c. 138, § 26–Retail License Managers Buy FormExhibit 5C
- ABCC Advisory Regarding Changes to M.G.L. c. 138, § 15F–Farmer’s Market Permit Buy FormExhibit 5D
- ABCC Advisory Regarding On-Premises Licensees Permanently Selling Mixed Drinks for Off-Premises Consumption Buy FormExhibit 5E
- New Law Permits Farmer Distillers to Obtain Salesman Permits Buy FormExhibit 5F
- ABCC Advisory Regarding Food and Beverages Containing Hemp Derived CBD and/or THC on Licensed Premises Buy FormExhibit 5G
- ABCC “Electronic Signature” Guide Buy FormExhibit 5H
- ABCC Advisory Regarding Changes to M.G.L. c. 138, § 34B–Forms of Identifications Which Licensees May Reasonably Rely On Buy FormChapter 06 expandUpdates to the Application Process and Practical Pointers for Success at the Local and State Level
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Checklist 6.1
- Topics for an Initial Client Meeting in an Alcoholic Beverages Licensing Matter Buy FormChapter 07 expandAppeal
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Chapter 08 expandPractical Questions and Private Issues at the Massachusetts Alcoholic Beverages Control Commission
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Exhibit 8A
- Decisions and Orders Regarding TVPs Buy FormExhibit 8B
- Decisions Regarding Dual Conditions Buy FormExhibit 8C
- ABCC Decision (BonCaldo Inc.) Regarding Service to an Intoxicated Person Buy FormExhibit 8D
- ABCC Decision (Braintree Brew House, LLC) Regarding Service to an Intoxicated Person Buy FormExhibit 8E
- ABCC Decision (Peregrine Endeavors, Inc.) Regarding Service to an Underaged Person Buy FormExhibit 8F
- ABCC Decision (Monkey Business Inc.) Regarding Possession of Alcoholic Beverage by Underaged Person Buy FormExhibit 8G
- ABCC Decision (Tanzila Inc.) Regarding Reasonable Reliance Pursuant to G.L. c. 138 § 34B Buy FormExhibit 8H
- Superior Court Decision (RK&E Corp.) Regarding Illegality on Premises Buy FormExhibit 8I
- ABCC Decision (Hong Kong Eastern Pearl Enterprise Inc.) Regarding Stings and Entrapment Buy FormExhibit 8J
- ABCC Decision (AHPP LLC) Regarding Subsequent Offenses Buy FormExhibit 8K
- ABCC Decision (Fannie’s Place Inc.) Regarding Control over Premises; Service of More than Two Drinks to Patron; Rollback of Hours; Reasonableness of Penalty Buy FormExhibit 8L
- ABCC Decision (RWJ Beverage (MA) LLC) Regarding Denial of License by Local Board Buy FormExhibit 8M
- ABCC Decision (Tavern Management Corp.) Regarding Cancellation of License for Non-Use Buy FormExhibit 8N
- ABCC Decision (Sajjan Enterprises LLC) Regarding Failure to Automatically Renew; Cancellation of License for Non-Use Buy FormExhibit 8O
- ABCC Decision (EZ Mart Foods Corp. of MA, Inc.) Regarding Denial of License by LLA Buy FormExhibit 8P
- Superior Court Decision (Arslan, Inc.) Regarding Automatic License Renewal Buy FormExhibit 8Q
- ABCC Decision (Local Vines & Gourmet, LLC) Regarding Right to Hearing at Local Board Buy Form - Editors & Authors