Care & Protection of Helena

The Department of Children and Families (department) brought a care and protection action against the mother of Helena (child) and the child’s father. The department was granted temporary custody of the child, first on an emergency basis and then following a so-called seventy-two-hour hearing. The mother then filed a petition, pursuant to G. L. c. 211, § 3, in the county court, requesting that the order of temporary custody be vacated. A single justice of this court denied the petition without a hearing, and this appeal followed. In an order previously issued pursuant to S.J.C. Rule 2:21, as…