{"data":{"id":"us-ma/mass.-gen.-laws-ch.-278-7","jurisdiction":"us-ma","citation":"Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 278, § 7","heading":"Burden to prove license or admission to practice as attorney at law","body":"Section 7. A defendant in a criminal prosecution, relying for his justification upon a license, appointment, admission to practice as an attorney at law, or authority, shall prove the same; and, until so proved, the presumption shall be that he is not so authorized.","path":["Part IV","Title II","Chapter 278"],"source_url":"https://malegislature.gov/Laws/GeneralLaws/PartIV/TitleII/Chapter278/Section7","current_through":"amendments passed before May 31, 2026","vintage":"","retrieved_at":"2026-09-17T05:25:22Z","sha256":"ccdff4129f66028ea5791f38ed14854a916d0224170972819c07c8aecf34e09e","source_id":"us-ma","stale":false,"prev":"us-ma/mass.-gen.-laws-ch.-278-6a","next":"us-ma/mass.-gen.-laws-ch.-278-8"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}