{"data":{"id":"us-ma/mass.-gen.-laws-ch.-277-37","jurisdiction":"us-ma","citation":"Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 277, § 37","heading":"Negativing excuses, exceptions or provisos","body":"Section 37. An excuse, exception or proviso not stated in the enacting clause of a statute creating a crime or stated only by reference to other provisions of the statute need not be negatived in the indictment unless necessary for a complete definition of the crime. If any statute shall prescribe a form of indictment in which an excuse, exception or proviso is not negatived, it shall be taken that it is not necessary to a complete definition of the crime that they should be negatived. If a statute creating a crime permits an act, therein declared to be criminal, to be performed without criminality under stated conditions, such conditions need not be negatived.","path":["Part IV","Title II","Chapter 277"],"source_url":"https://malegislature.gov/Laws/GeneralLaws/PartIV/TitleII/Chapter277/Section37","current_through":"amendments passed before May 31, 2026","vintage":"","retrieved_at":"2026-09-17T05:25:21Z","sha256":"296a6e100775951302c642e33fcfa43f756a5da20add287d439966e7ca0ab744","source_id":"us-ma","stale":false,"prev":"us-ma/mass.-gen.-laws-ch.-277-36","next":"us-ma/mass.-gen.-laws-ch.-277-38"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}