Cite as: 538 U. S. 510 (2003)
Opinion of Souter, J.
an LPR under § 1226(c) after Zadvydas reached the same conclusion.13
D
In sum, due process requires a "special justification" for physical detention that "outweighs the individual's constitutionally protected interest in avoiding physical restraint" as well as "adequate procedural protections." Zadvydas, 533 U. S., at 690-691 (internal quotation marks omitted). "There must be a 'sufficiently compelling' governmental interest to justify such [an] action, usually a punitive interest in imprisoning the convicted criminal or a regulatory interest in forestalling danger to the community." Flores, 507 U. S., at 316 (O'Connor, J., concurring) (quoting Salerno, 481 U. S., at 748). The class of persons subject to confinement must be commensurately narrow and the duration of confinement limited accordingly. Zadvydas, supra, at 691; Hendricks, 521 U. S., at 368; Foucha, 504 U. S., at 81-82; Salerno, supra, at 747, 750. Justice Kennedy's dissenting view in Zadvydas, like that of the majority, disapproved detention that is not "necessary" to counter a risk of flight or danger; it is "arbitrary or capricious" and violates the substantive component of the Due Process Clause. 533 U. S., at 721. Finally, procedural due process requires, at a minimum, that a detainee have the benefit of an impartial decisionmaker able to consider particular circumstances on the issue of necessity. Id., at 691-692; id., at 722 (Kennedy, J., dissenting); Foucha, supra, at 81; Salerno, supra, at 750. See also Kenyeres v. Ashcroft, post, at 1305 (Kennedy, J., in chambers) ("An opportunity to present one's meritorious grievances to a court supports the legitimacy and public acceptance of a statutory regime").
13 Welch v. Ashcroft, 293 F. 3d 213 (CA4 2002); Hoang v. Comfort, 282 F. 3d 1247 (CA10 2002), cert. pending, No. 01-1616 [Reporter's Note: See post, p. 1010]; Patel v. Zemski, 275 F. 3d 299 (CA3 2001). The Seventh Circuit's decision in Parra v. Perryman, 172 F. 3d 954 (1999), preceded our decision in Zadvydas.
557
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