332
Opinion of the Court
slam the courthouse door against those interested enough to intervene. Finally, "the state has a legitimate interest under its parens patriae powers in providing care to its citizens who are unable . . . to care for themselves," as well as "authority under its police power to protect the community" from any dangerous mentally retarded persons. Adding-ton, 441 U. S., at 426.
To be sure, if the additional parties involved in the proceedings favor commitment, their participation may increase the chances that the result of the proceeding will be a decision to commit. That fact, however, is beside the point. "The Due Process Clause does not . . . require a State to adopt one procedure over another on the basis that it may produce results more favorable to" the party challenging the existing procedures. Medina v. California, 505 U. S. 437, 451 (1992).
"The function of legal process, as that concept is embodied in the Constitution, and in the realm of factfinding, is to minimize the risk of erroneous decisions. Because of the broad spectrum of concerns to which the term must apply, flexibility is necessary to gear the process to the particular need; the quantum and quality of the process due in a particular situation depend upon the need to serve the purpose of minimizing the risk of error." Greenholtz v. Inmates of Neb. Penal and Correctional Complex, 442 U. S. 1, 13 (1979).
See also Fuentes v. Shevin, 407 U. S. 67, 97 (1972) (due process functions to "prevent unfair and mistaken deprivations"). At least to the extent protected by the Due Process Clause, the interest of a person subject to governmental action is in the accurate determination of the matters before the court, not in a result more favorable to him. So long as the accuracy of the adjudication is unaffected, therefore, the Due Process Clause does not prevent a State from allowing the intervention of immediate family members and legal guard-
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