Supreme Court Limits Indefinite Detention in Zadvydas v. Davis

The Supreme Court ruled 5-4 in Zadvydas v. Davis on June 28, 2001, that the government cannot detain a deportable noncitizen indefinitely after a final order of removal when no country will accept them. Justice Breyer wrote that the Due Process Clause requires release after six months if removal is not reasonably foreseeable. The ruling established that detention must bear a reasonable relation to its purpose and cannot be indefinite.