Section 56C. (a) Notwithstanding any general or special law, to the contrary, the administrative office of the trial court shall transmit an order of the probate court appointing a guardian or conservator for an incapacitated person under Parts 3 or 4 of Article 5 of chapter 190B, on the grounds that the person lacks mental capacity to contract or manage the person's affairs, and any subsequent order terminating or rescinding the appointment, to the department of criminal justice information services to provide: (i) licensing authorities as defined pursuant to section 121 of chapter 140 with information required or permitted to be considered under state and federal law to conduct background checks for firearm sales or licensing; and (ii) the Attorney General of the United States with information required or permitted under federal law to be included in the National Instant Criminal Background Check System maintained to conduct background checks for firearms sales or licensing. The department shall transmit no more information than is necessary for the purpose stated above and the information shall not be considered a public record under clause Twenty-sixth of section 7 of chapter 4 and section 10 of chapter 66.
(b) A person found to lack the mental capacity to contract or manage the person's affairs may, after 5 years from the date of the finding, file a petition for relief with the probate court that ordered the commitment requesting the court to restore the person's ability to possess a firearm. The court may grant the relief sought in accordance with due process if the circumstances regarding the person's disqualifying condition and the person's record and reputation are determined to be such that: (i) the person is not likely to act in a manner that is dangerous to public safety; and (ii) the granting of relief would not be contrary to the public interest. In making the determination, the court may consider evidence from a licensed physician or clinical psychologist that the person is no longer suffering from the disease or condition that caused the incapacity or that the disease or condition has been successfully treated for a period of 3 consecutive years. Upon the granting of a petition for relief, the administrative office of the trial court shall immediately forward a copy of the order for relief to the department of criminal justice information services for the purposes listed in subsection (a).
Structure Massachusetts General Laws
Part III - Courts, Judicial Officers and Proceedings in Civil Cases
Title I - Courts and Judicial Officers
Section 1 - Divisions; Definitions; Courts of Record
Section 2 - Superior Jurisdiction; Presumption
Section 3 - Courts and Their Jurisdictions; General Provisions
Section 5 - Courts and Their Jurisdictions; French Spoliation Awards
Section 6 - Courts and Their Jurisdictions; Equity Jurisdiction
Section 6a - Courts and Their Jurisdictions; Attachment by Injunction
Section 7 - Attachment of Jurisdiction; Control of Case
Section 8a - Courts and Their Jurisdictions; Change of Venue
Section 9 - Persons Entitled to Appeal
Section 9a - Fiduciaries; Acts During Appeal Period
Section 10 - Appellate Procedure
Section 11 - Appeals; Report of Facts
Section 13 - Reservation and Report of Case to Appeals Court
Section 14 - Interlocutory Judgments and Decrees; Revision on Appeal From Final Judgments or Decrees
Section 17 - Appeals; Insolvent Estates
Section 18 - Appeals; Stenographers; Appointment
Section 19 - Consolidation of Appeals by Appellant
Section 20 - Consolidation of Appeals by Court
Section 22 - Effect of Appeal; Interlocutory Orders
Section 23 - Effect of Appeal; Equity Cases
Section 24 - Effect of Appeal; Separate Support and Custody Cases
Section 25 - Removal of Fiduciary; Effect of Appeal
Section 26 - Appeals; Decree; Force and Effect
Section 27 - Pending Appeals; Modification of Decrees
Section 28 - Appeals; Reversal or Affirmance
Section 30 - Rules and Forms; Power of Judges to Make
Section 31 - Notice of Hearing; Rule Making Power of Courts
Section 32 - Transaction of Business Out of Court
Section 33 - Notice; Ex Parte Matters
Section 34b - Review of Contempt Order Prior to Order of Confinement
Section 35 - Warrants and Commissions; Revocation
Section 36 - Judgments, Decrees and Orders; Necessity of Writing; Notices; Recording
Section 37 - Docket and Index; Manner of Keeping; Public Inspection
Section 39 - Administration of Estates; Compensation for Services; Power to Determine and Enforce
Section 39a - Attorneys' Fees; Power of Court to Determine
Section 39b - Attorneys' Fees; Allowance
Section 40 - Resignation or Removal of Fiduciary; Power to Compel Surrender of Property
Section 41 - Temporary Investments
Section 41a - Distribution of Limited Funds of Estates to Parents of Minors
Section 44 - Concealed Property; Examination of Suspects Under Oath
Section 46 - Summons or Citation; Service by Registered Mail
Section 49 - Notices; Selection of Newspapers
Section 50 - Receipts and Releases of Fiduciaries; Recording; Fees
Section 52 - Original Will; Taking From Registry
Section 53 - Court Room and Room for Records; Duty to Provide
Section 54 - Rooms for Records; Additional Space
Section 55 - Preservation of Dockets and Indexes
Section 56 - Recording of Proceedings in Suffolk; Expense
Section 57 - Sessions of the Courts; Contempt Powers of Judge, Etc.
Section 58 - Sessions of the Courts; Open Times
Section 59 - Sessions of the Courts; Adjournment
Section 60 - Sessions of the Courts; Holidays and Election Days