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Instruction 6.620
2009 Edition
CIVIL RIGHTS VIOLATIONS
CIVIL RIGHTS VIOLATIONS
The defendant is charged with having violated the Massachusetts
Civil Rights Act, which is found as section 37 of chapter 265 of our General
Laws. It provides that:
“No person . . . shall
by force or threat of force,
willfully injure, intimidate or interfere with,
or attempt to injure, intimidate or interfere with,
or oppress or threaten
any other person
in the free exercise or enjoyment of any right or privilege
secured to him [or her]
by the constitution or laws of the commonwealth or by the
constitution or laws of the United States.”
In order to prove the defendant guilty of this offense, the
Commonwealth must prove four things beyond a reasonable doubt:
First: That [alleged victim] was exercising a right or privilege
protected by the Constitution or laws of the Commonwealth of
Instruction 6.620
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CIVIL RIGHTS VIOLATIONS
2009 Edition
Massachusetts or of the United States;
Second: That the defendant either injured, intimidated, interfered
with, oppressed or threatened the exercise or enjoyment of that legally
protected right by [alleged victim] , or attempted to do so;
Third: That the defendant did so by using force or by threatening to
use force; and
Fourth: That the defendant did so wilfully.
The foregoing instruction, and the notes below, are based upon a model instruction developed by the
Department of the Attorney General. See also A. Sager, “Rights Protected by the Massachusetts Civil
Rights Act Against Interference on Account of Race or Color,” 17 Suffolk U. L. Rev. 53 (1983);
Sherman & Goldman, “The Development of the Massachusetts Civil Rights Act,” 29 Boston Bar. J.
10 (No. 4 Sept./Oct. 1985).
General Laws c. 265, § 37 offers a scope of protection that is similar in many respects to 42 U.S.C.
§ 242 (the Federal criminal statute governing civil rights violations), and to 42 U.S.C. § 1983 (the
Federal civil statute governing civil rights violations). General Laws c. 265, § 37 differs fr