In re a Care & Protection Summons

At issue in this appeal are two judgments of civil contempt entered by a judge in the Juvenile Court Department attendant in a care and protection proceeding. The Department of Social Services (department) sought temporary custody of a newborn infant of the mother and father, the appellants in this case. See G. L. c. 119, § 24. The parents refused to comply with summonses to bring their infant to court claiming, in circumstances we shall describe, that the mother had suffered a miscarriage and that there was no child to bring before the judge for identification.1 After evidentiary hearings…