Bill > H1272

This bill aims to bolster safety and security within courthouses by introducing new penalties for specific offenses. It amends Chapter 265 of the General Laws to create a new section, 13D1/4, which establishes penalties for committing assault or assault and battery on property owned or occupied by the Massachusetts judicial department, including any trial or appellate court, while courts are in session or open to the public; such offenses could result in imprisonment for up to three years in state prison or two and a half years in jail or a house of correction, or a fine of up to $25,000, or both. Additionally, the bill revises Section 13C of Chapter 268 of the General Laws to increase penalties for willfully disrupting court proceedings, allowing for imprisonment of up to two and a half years in jail or house of correction or three years in state prison, or a fine of up to $5,000, or both, while explicitly stating this will not affect a court's power of contempt. Finally, it amends Section 4 of Chapter 275 of the General Laws to impose stricter penalties for threats of bodily injury against individuals performing official duties as judges, judicial department employees (such as clerk magistrates, probation officers, interpreters, stenographers, and court officers), prosecutors, and attorneys, with potential imprisonment of up to two and a half years in jail or house of correction or three years in state prison, or a fine of up to $5,000, or both, also without interfering with a court's contempt powers.