{"data":{"id":"us-ma/mass.-gen.-laws-ch.-185c-21","jurisdiction":"us-ma","citation":"Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 185C, § 21","heading":"Trial without jury; exception; report of inspector as prima facie evidence","body":"Section 21. All cases in the housing court department, including motions and the like, whether interlocutory or final, shall be heard and determined by a justice of a division of the housing court department sitting without jury, except that in all cases where a jury trial is required by the constitution of the commonwealth or of the United States and the defendant has not waived his rights to a trial by jury, the cause shall be forthwith tried in a division of the housing court department before a jury selected in accordance with chapter two hundred and thirty-four. In the trial of any complaint or action in the housing court department, the report of any inspector serving in the housing inspection department of a city or the board of health of any city or town shall be prima facie evidence of the facts stated therein.","path":["Part II","Title I","Chapter 185C"],"source_url":"https://malegislature.gov/Laws/GeneralLaws/PartII/TitleI/Chapter185C/Section21","current_through":"amendments passed before May 31, 2026","vintage":"","retrieved_at":"2026-09-17T05:24:26Z","sha256":"a4f484cd1198660ee77cf6a3da24265aa7dd1669beb3b937cc96eef9a1b9fe35","source_id":"us-ma","stale":false,"prev":"us-ma/mass.-gen.-laws-ch.-185c-20","next":"us-ma/mass.-gen.-laws-ch.-185c-22"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}