{"data":{"id":"us-ma/mass.-gen.-laws-ch.-39-17","jurisdiction":"us-ma","citation":"Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 39, § 17","heading":"Powers of moderator; preservation of order","body":"Section 17. No person shall address a town meeting without leave of the moderator, and all persons shall, at the request of the moderator, be silent. If a person, after warning from the moderator, persists in disorderly behavior, the moderator may order him to withdraw from the meeting, and, if he does not withdraw, may order a constable or any other person to remove him and confine him in some convenient place until the meeting is adjourned.","path":["Part I","Title VII","Chapter 39"],"source_url":"https://malegislature.gov/Laws/GeneralLaws/PartI/TitleVII/Chapter39/Section17","current_through":"amendments passed before May 31, 2026","vintage":"","retrieved_at":"2026-09-17T05:20:28Z","sha256":"4fabc7a50ebe8e3fa2af7eae23b4b568eff92e420baa4a39b8057af6c459bc0b","source_id":"us-ma","stale":false,"prev":"us-ma/mass.-gen.-laws-ch.-39-16","next":"us-ma/mass.-gen.-laws-ch.-39-18"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}