Zadvydas v. Davis, 533 U.S. 678, 46 (2001)

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Cite as: 533 U. S. 678 (2001)

Kennedy, J., dissenting

quests, the INS has the discretion to grant more frequent reviews. § 241.4(k)(2)(iii). The INS must provide the alien 30-days advance, written notice of custody reviews; and it must afford the alien an opportunity to submit any relevant materials for consideration. § 241.4(i)(3)(ii). The alien may be assisted by a representative of his choice during the review, §§ 241.4(i)(3)(i), (ii), and the INS must provide the alien with a copy of its decision, including a brief statement of the reasons for any continued detention, § 241.4(d).

In this context the proper analysis can be informed by our cases involving parole-eligibility or parole-revocation determinations. In Morrissey v. Brewer, 408 U. S. 471 (1972), for example, we held some amount of process was due an individual whose parole was revoked, for "the liberty of a parolee, although indeterminate, includes many of the core values of unqualified liberty." Id., at 482; see also Board of Pardons v. Allen, 482 U. S. 369 (1987). We rejected in Morrissey the suggestion that the State could justify parole revocation "without some informal procedural guarantees," 408 U. S., at 483, but "[g]iven the previous conviction and the proper imposition of conditions," we recognized that "the State has an overwhelming interest in being able to return the individual to imprisonment without the burden of a new adversary criminal trial," ibid. We held the review process need not include a judicial officer or formal court proceeding, but could be conducted by a neutral administrative official. Id., at 486.

While the majority expresses some concern that the regulations place the burden on the alien to show he is no longer dangerous, that question could be adjudicated in a later case raising the issue. It should be noted the procedural protection here is real, not illusory; and the criteria for obtaining release are far from insurmountable. Statistics show that between February 1999 and mid-November 2000 some 6,200 aliens were provided custody reviews before expiration of the 90-day removal period, and of those aliens about 3,380

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