Care & Protection of Torrence

The parents of three minor children who were the subjects of a care and protection proceeding in the Juvenile Court appeal from a judgment of a single justice in the county court denying their petition for relief pursuant to G. L. c. 211, § 3. The parents had sought relief from an order temporarily transferring custody of the children to the Department of Children and Families (department), claiming insufficient evidence of abuse or neglect and the lack of a seventy-two hour hearing. See G. L. c. 119, § 24. In an order previously issued pursuant to S.J.C. Rule 2:21, as amended, 434 Mass. 1301…