Court Opinion

ID: 9432488
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-02 23:35:31.371288+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T17:23:34.138964
License: Public Domain

*207Justice White,
with whom Justice Kennedy joins, dissenting.
Title 18 U. S. C. § 3553(b),1 a section of the Sentencing Reform Act of 1984 (Act), as amended, 18 U. S. C. § 3551 et seq. and 28 U. S. C. §§991-998, directs that in sentencing a convicted defendant, the district court shall impose a sentence of the kind and within the range referred to in § 3553(a)(4)2 and established under the Guidelines issued by the Sentencing Commission, “unless the court finds that there exists an aggravating or mitigating circumstance of a kind, or to a degree, not adequately taken into consideration by the Sentencing Commission in formulating the guidelines that should result in a sentence different from that described.” If the court departs from the sentence that would be imposed within the range established pursuant to § 3553(a)(4), it must *208state the specific reasons for such departure, § 3553(c).3 If there is an upward departure the defendant may appeal. § 3742(a)(3).4
In the case before us, the District Court determined that the applicable guideline range inadequately depicted the defendant’s criminality for three specific reasons, and that there should accordingly be an upward departure. The defendant, petitioner here, appealed. The Court of Appeals found one of the reasons given by the trial court to be invalid, but on the basis of the other two reasons, which were acceptable, it affirmed the sentence imposed. Petitioner claims that the Court of Appeals should have remanded to the District Court for resentencing.
Whether remand was required turns on the meaning and application of § 3742(f), which provides in full:
“(f) Decision and disposition. — If the court of appeals determines that the sentence—
*209“(1) was imposed in violation of law or imposed as a result of an incorrect application of the sentencing guidelines, the court shall remand the case for further sentencing proceedings with such instructions as the court considers appropriate;
“(2) is outside the applicable guideline range and is unreasonable or was imposed for an offense for which there is no applicable sentencing guideline and is plainly unreasonable, it shall state specific reasons for its conclusions and—
“(A) if it determines that the sentence is too high and the appeal has been filed under subsection (a), it shall set aside the sentence and remand the case for further sentencing proceedings with such instructions as the court considers appropriate;
“(B) if it determines that the sentence is too low and the appeal has been filed under subsection (b), it shall set aside the sentence and remand the case for further sentencing proceedings with such instructions as the court considers appropriate;
“(3) is not described in paragraph (1) or (2), it shall affirm the sentence.”
In arriving at its conclusion that there must be a remand in this case, the majority of the Justices of this Court have concluded that there was both “an incorrect application of the sentencing guidelines,” § 3742(f)(1), and a sentence “outside the applicable guideline range,” § 3742(f)(2). Also being of the view that the Court of Appeals did not fully deal with the former subsections, the majority orders a remand to the Court of Appeals.
It is my view, however, that where there is a departure from the applicable guideline range, any appeal is governed by § 3742(f)(2) alone, and not also by § 3742(f)(1). This appears to be the view of the United States Sentencing Commission:
*210“Pursuant to the Act, the sentencing court must select a sentence from within the guideline range. If, however, a particular case presents atypical features, the Act allows the court to depart from the guidelines and sentence outside the prescribed range. In that case, the court must specify reasons for departure. 18 U. S. C. § 3553(b). If the court sentences within the guideline range, an appellate court may review the sentence to determine whether the guidelines were correctly applied. If the court departs from the guideline range, an appellate court may review the reasonableness of the departure. 18 U.S.C. §3742.” United States Sentencing Commission, Guidelines Manual § 1A.2, p. s. (Nov. 1991) (emphasis added).
The errors disposed of on appeal under § 3742(f) are to be determined under § 3742(e), which provides explicitly that, when reviewing the sentence imposed by the district court, the court on appeal shall determine only whether the sentence (1) was imposed in violation of law; (2) was imposed as a result of an incorrect application of the Sentencing Guidelines; (3) is outside the applicable guideline range and is unreasonable; or (4) was imposed for an offense for which there is no applicable Sentencing Guideline and is plainly unreasonable.5 For purposes of disposition by the appellate court, subsection (f) groups the first two and last two types of error together. The determination of error, however, occurs under subsection (e), which plainly identifies four wholly separate and distinguishable types of sentencing error — a nuance overlooked by the majority of the Court. Subsections (e)(2) and (e)(3), when read together, address different possible errors, each exclusive of the other: (e)(2) deals with possible misapplication of the Guidelines by the district court *211when determining and sentencing within the applicable guideline range; (e)(3) deals with possible errors by the district court when departing from the applicable guideline range.6 Indeed, the majority — as well as both parties in their briefs on the merits and in response to our request for supplemental briefing — fails to define what the phrase “incorrect application of the sentencing guidelines” means. Absent such understanding, it is impossible to apply these appellate review provisions with any hope of meeting Congress’ intent.
We deal here with a faulty interpretation of a policy statement, USSG § 4A1.3, p. s., by the District Court when deciding to depart from the otherwise applicable guideline range. Policy statements, however, even though contained in the Guidelines Manual, are not “guidelines” as referred to in § 3742(e)(2) and defined in the Act, 28 U. S. C. § 998(c), as “the guidelines promulgated by the Commission pursuant to section 994(a).” Congress has clearly distinguished between Guidelines and policy statements. The former are “for use of a sentencing court in determining the sentence to be imposed in a criminal case.” § 994(a)(1). The latter are simply instructions “regarding application of the guidelines or any other aspect of sentencing or sentence implementation” furthering the purposes of the Act. § 994(a)(2). Only the Guidelines promulgated pursuant to § 994(a)(1) play a direct *212role in the calculation of points pertaining to the offense level and criminal history category reduced into the Sentencing Table, USSG § 5A, from which the applicable guideline range is drawn.7 It follows that “application of the sentencing guidelines” refers only to those Guidelines relevant to the construction of the applicable guideline range.8
Even though policy statements are numbered and grouped in the Guidelines Manual by means identical to actual Guidelines, see USSG § 1B1.6, their purpose is limited to interpreting and explaining how to apply the Guidelines, and— significantly — “may provide guidance in assessing the reasonableness of any departure from the guidelines,” § 1B1.7. While the district court must consider policy statements when determining the appropriate sentence, see 18 U. S. C. § 3553(a)(5), the Act’s legislative history could not have been more explicit that an error in their interpretation is not, in itself, subject to appellate review:
“It should be noted that a sentence that is inconsistent with the sentencing guidelines is subject to appellate review, while one that is consistent with guidelines but inconsistent with the policy statements is not. This is not intended to undermine the value of the policy statements. It is, instead, a recognition that the policy statements may be more general in nature than the guidelines and thus more difficult to use in determining the right to appellate review.” S. Rep. No. 98-225, *213p. 167 (1983) (emphasis added; footnote omitted) (hereinafter S. Report).9
The legislative history to 18 U. S. C. § 356710 is equally clear in this regard:
“The provisions for appellate judicial review of sentences in section 3742 are designed to reduce materially any remaining unwarranted disparities by giving the right to appeal a sentence outside the guidelines and by providing a mechanism to assure that sentences inside the guidelines are based on correct application of the guidelines.” S. Report 86 (emphasis added).
The majority of the Justices asserts that, because one of three reasons for the upward departure imposed here by the District Court was invalid, an “incorrect application of the *214sentencing guidelines” within the meaning of § 3742(e)(2) took place in this case.11 As I have explained, however, this phrase refers only to the process by which the district court determines the applicable range of sentences when applying the “guidelines,” as defined by 28 U. S. C. § 998(c). The majority does not — and indeed can not — identify or claim that any error in determining the guideline range under the Guidelines is involved in this case. Instead, the majority does no more than declare that invalidly finding an aggravat*215ing circumstance not adequately taken into account by the Sentencing Commission is an “ ‘incorrect application’ of the Guidelines,” while referring only to two policy statements contained in the Guidelines Manual, see USSG §§lA4(b), p. s., and 5K2.0, p. s., which, the majority says, do no more than echo the statute.12 Ante, at 200. Since the policy statements referred to by the majority merely refer to the statute, the majority’s confusion about the distinction between Guidelines and policy statements is without import. But the majority concludes that the “Guidelines” — and we have here at issue only a policy statement, USSG §4A1.3, p. s. — qualify the propriety of basing a departure on arrest records, and that the District Court erred in relying on arrest records without further explanation. To the extent that the majority equates the District Court’s misinterpretation of this policy statement with a misapplication of the Guidelines that must be dealt with under § 3742(f)(1), it does so erroneously. Such error by the District Court signifies only an invalid grounds for departure, nothing more. While the majority concludes that such a policy statement “prohibits a district court from taking a specified action” and thereby “is an authoritative guide to the meaning of the applicable Guideline,” ante, at 201, it remains a fact that this statute does not permit appellate review for the mere misinterpretation of a policy statement, see supra, at 212-213.
Significantly, subsections (a) and (b) of §3742 do not authorize appeal of a sentence imposed within the guideline range correctly determined under the Sentencing Guidelines. And if any alleged error is found to be without basis, the appellate court “shall affirm the sentence.” 18 U. S. C. *216§ 3742(f)(3). Thus, appellate review under § 3742(f)(1) has a much more focused inquiry than that given it by the majority. A sentence is imposed “as a result of” an incorrect application of the Sentencing Guidelines when the error results in a mistaken guideline range. When such an error is identified, remand is required.13 To obtain relief under subsection (f)(1) insofar as it relates to a misapplication of the Guidelines, the appellant must demonstrate that an error has occurred that affects the applicable guideline range.14
*217Looking to this case, there is no question but that the District Court correctly applied the relevant Guidelines to derive the properly applicable guideline range. The “Guideline” Williams places at issue, USSG §4A1.3, p. s., is specifically designated as a policy statement, dealing only with considerations of whether the criminal history category calculated under the Guidelines was so inadequate as to warrant a departure. This provision is solely to guide a district court’s discretion should it find departure from the Guidelines appropriate. Because the District Court’s error here in construing this policy-statement could in no way affect the applicable guideline range, Williams is not entitled to relief pursuant to subsections 3742(e)(2) and (f)(1).
Accordingly, the only available appellate consideration here is whether Williams’ sentence “is outside the applicable guideline range and is unreasonable.” 18 U. S. C. § 3742(f)(2). This inquiry is guided solely by § 3742(e)(3), which states in full:
“(e) Consideration. — Upon review of the record, the court of appeals shall determine whether the sentence—
“(3) is outside the applicable guideline range, and is unreasonable, having regard for—
“(A) the factors to be considered in imposing a sentence, as set forth in chapter 227 of this title; and
“(B) the reasons for the imposition of the particular sentence, as stated by the district court pursuant to the provisions of section 3553(c). . . .”
Subsection (e)(3)(A) in fact refers to § 3553(a), designating “factors to be considered in imposing a sentence.”15 It should be noted as well that the reasons to be assessed pur*218suant to subsection (e)(3)(B) arise directly from findings by the district court that “there exists an aggravating or mitigating circumstance of a kind, or to a degree, not adequately taken into consideration by the Sentencing Commission in formulating the guidelines that should result in a sentence different from that described [in the applicable guideline range].” § 3553(b); see also nn. 3 and 9, supra.
Where all the reasons enunciated by the district court to support departure are found to be invalid, the departure is per se unreasonable, as nothing supports it, and the appellate court must set aside the sentence and remand the case, after stating specific reasons for its conclusion. 18 U. S. C. § 3742(f)(2). See n. 13, supra. The reasonableness inquiry is more involved when only one of several reasons supporting departure are found to be invalid. Not every circumstance left unconsidered by the Sentencing Commission warrants departure. Indeed, § 3553(b) requires a finding that the identified circumstances “should result” in a sentence outside the applicable guideline range.16 By law the Guidelines generally provide a variance between the high and low ends of the range by the greater of six months or 25%. 28 U. S. C. § 994(b)(2). This provides both flexibility within the range as well as a check on disparity. Whether a departure then “should result” depends on the factors listed in § 3553(a) for consideration when imposing the sentence in the first instance. These same factors control the inquiry into the pro*219priety of the nature and extent of any departure made. In light of the surviving reasons enunciated by the district court, the appellate court must determine for itself the “reasonableness” of the departure under the factors to be considered when imposing sentence.17 Subsection (a)(6)— “the need to avoid unwarranted sentence disparities among defendants with similar records who have been found guilty of similar conduct” — takes on added significance in judging the reasonableness of the extent of departure. Congress intended appellate review under the new sentencing regime to guide and control the discretion long reposed in the district courts towards the ultimate goal of sentencing reform: to promote fairness and rationality, and to reduce unwarranted disparity, in sentencing. S. Report 78, 150, 161; see also 28 U. S. C. § 991(b)(1). The provisions of 18 U. S. C. § 3742 establish the limited practice of appellate review which Congress deemed “essential to assure that the guidelines are ap*220plied properly and to provide case law development of the appropriate reasons for sentencing outside the guidelines.” S. Report 151. Because the district court must state its reasons when departing, § 3553(c)(2), and because the appellate court must “state specific reasons” for concluding a departure sentence is unreasonable, § 3742(f)(2), case law development will proceed apace, creating a ready benchmark by which to determine whether the current offender has been dealt a sentence disparate from similar criminals found guilty of similar crimes.18 In sum, “while the reasonableness standard will be interpreted and defined by subsequent case law, the incorporation into this standard of the section 3553(b) departure test and the section 3553(a) sentencing factors provides specific content that will permit a broader judicial inquiry than otherwise would be warranted by a bare reasonableness standard alone.” Wilkins, Sentencing Reform and Appellate Review, 46 Wash. & Lee L. Rev. 429, 444 (1989) (footnote omitted).
In this case, the Seventh Circuit concluded that it was error for the District Court to consider prior arrests not resulting in conviction because no reliable evidence of the conduct described in the arrest entries indicated a more severe criminal history than the one provided by the Guidelines. 910 F. 2d 1574, 1580 (1990); see USSG §4A1.3, p. s. The Court of Appeals correctly ruled, however, that “a sentence nevertheless may be upheld if there are proper factors that, standing alone, would justify the departure.” 910 F. 2d, at 1580 (citing United States v. Franklin, 902 F. 2d 501, 508-509 *221(CA7 1990)). The Court of Appeals noted that the District Court had also properly relied upon convictions more than 15 years old, as well as the fact that the petitioner had previously been convicted of the same crime — felon in possession of a firearm.19 910 F. 2d, at 1580; see USSG §4A1.3, p. s.; United States v. Schmude, 901F. 2d 555, 559 (CA7 1990). The court found both reasons to support a finding that the criminal history category did not adequately reflect the severity of petitioner’s criminal past, and that his propensity for violence was laid bare in this case by his threats to the lives of the DEA agents and their families. 910 F. 2d, at 1580. In conclusion, the Court of Appeals considered the 3-month departure imposed by the District Court, and stated that “despite the error noted, the court correctly determined that Mr. Williams’ criminality was not reflected properly in the criminal history category and that the relevant evidence justified the rather modest increase in sentence.” Ibid.
This appellate assessment of the validity of the sentence imposed is sufficient. As previously stated by the Seventh Circuit in Franklin, it is not for the court on appeal “to probe the mind of the sentencing judge and try to determine what portions of the departure he or she assigned to the different grounds for departure.” 902 F. 2d, at 508. Instead, the appellate court must assess for itself whether valid reasons stated by the district court justify the magnitude of departure. Id., at 509. This the Seventh Circuit did without error, and I would affirm its judgment.
Accordingly, I respectfully dissent.

 Section 3553(b) in relevant part states:
“(b) Application of guidelines in imposing a sentence. — The court shall impose a sentence of the kind, and within the range, referred to in subsection (a)(4) unless the court finds that there exists an aggravating or mitigating circumstance of a kind, or to a degree, not adequately taken into consideration by the Sentencing Commission in formulating the guidelines that should result in a sentence different from that described. In determining whether a circumstance was adequately taken into consideration, the court shall consider only the sentencing guidelines, policy statements, and official commentary of the Sentencing Commission.”

 Section 3553(a)(4) states in full:
“(a) Factors to be considered in imposing a sentence. — The court shall impose a sentence sufficient, but not greater than necessary, to comply with the purposes set forth in paragraph (2) of this subsection. The court, in determining the particular sentence to be imposed, shall consider—
“(4) the kinds of sentence and the sentencing range established for the applicable category of offense committed by the applicable category of defendant as set forth in the guidelines that are issued by the Sentencing Commission pursuant to 28 U. S. C. 994(a)(1) and that are in effect on the date the defendant is sentenced . ...”

 Section 3553(c) in relevant part states:
“(c) Statement of reasons for imposing a sentence. — The court, at the time of sentencing, shall state in open court the reasons for its imposition of the particular sentence, and, if the sentence—
“(l)is of the kind, and within the range, described in subsection (a)(4) and that range exceeds 24 months, the reason for imposing a sentence at a particular point within the range; or
“(2) is not of the kind, or is outside the range, described in subsection (a)(4), the specific reason for the imposition of a sentence different from that described.”

 Section 3742(a)(3) states in full:
“(a) Appeal by a defendant. — A defendant may file a notice of appeal in the district court for review of an otherwise final sentence if the sentence—
“(3) is greater than the sentence specified in the applicable guideline range to the extent that the sentence includes a greater fine or term of imprisonment, probation, or supervised release than the maximum established in the guideline range, or includes a more limiting condition of probation or supervised release under section 3563(b)(6) or (b)(ll) than the maximum established in the guideline range .. . .”

 For its part, § 3742(e) simply mirrors the four separate grounds for appeal available to a defendant, § 3742(a), and to the Government, § 3742(b).

 Commentary by the Chairman of the United States Sentencing Commission, Judge William Wilkins, Jr., of the Fourth Circuit, confirms this approach. See Wilkins, Sentencing Reform and Appellate Review, 46 Wash. & Lee L. Rev. 429, 437-444 (1989). His discussion of appellate review of guideline departures focused on the recognition that “the language of subsections 3742(e)(3) and (f)(2)... pertain[s] to consideration and disposition of a departure sentence appeal.” Id., at 441. Indeed, the plain language of the controlling statute so clearly dictated this approach that his discussion nowhere even recognizes the possibility that subsections (e)(2) and (f)(1) are implicated on the appellate review of a departure sentence. This view has carried the day in the Fourth Circuit. See United States v. Summers, 893 F. 2d 63, 64-67 (1990) (opinion of Wilkins, J.).

 The interrelationship of subsections (a)(4), (b), and (c) of §3553 compels this conclusion. See supra, at 207-208. For within these subsections, all reference ultimately is to those actual Guidelines, as opposed to policy statements, promulgated pursuant to 28 U. S. C. § 994(a)(1).

 The majority misinterprets this conclusion to be only that formally designated Guidelines “can be incorrectly applied within the meaning of 18 U. S. C. § 3742(f)(1).” Ante, at 200. What I plainly conclude, however, is that only these Guidelines are part of the district court’s calculus when constructing the applicable guideline range, and it was to the propriety of this construction that Congress addressed itself in § 3742(e)(2).

 The legislative history behind the nature, role, and purpose of the district court’s statement pursuant to 18 U. S. C. § 3553(c) of its reasons for imposing a particular sentence is similarly instructive:
“The statement of reasons for a sentence outside the guidelines is especially important. Under proposed 18 U. S. C. 3742, a defendant may appeal a sentence above the applicable guidelines, and the government may appeal a sentence below the guidelines. If the appellate court finds that a sentence outside the guidelines is unreasonable, the case may be remanded to the trial court for resentencing.... The statement of reasons will play an important role in evaluation of the reasonableness of the sentence. In fact, if the sentencing judge fails to give specific reasons for a sentence outside the guidelines, the appellate court would be justified in returning the case to the sentencing judge for such a statement.
“Sentences within the guidelines are subject to appeal under proposed 18 U. S. C. 3742 on grounds of illegality or an incorrect application of the guidelines. As with sentences outside the guidelines, the statement of reasons may play a role in the appellate court’s decision on the legality of sentences. The statement of reasons in cases claiming incorrect application of the guidelines will probably play only a minor role in the appellate process because the sentencing court will be deciding factual issues concerning offense and offender characteristics which might not be discussed in the statement of reasons.” S. Report 80 (emphasis added).

 “Review of a sentence. The review of a sentence imposed pursuant to section 3551 is governed by the provisions of section 3742.” §3567.

 This confusion apparently stems from both parties’ citation of United States v. Hernandez-Vasquez, 884 F. 2d 1314 (CA9 1989) (per curiam), and United States v. Zamarripa, 905 F. 2d 337 (CA10 1990), in support of the proposition that, when one or more of the stated grounds for departure is invalid, the case must be remanded for resentencing. Be that as it may, neither case has concluded that the sentence should be treated as “an incorrect application of the sentencing guidelines,” within the meaning of § 3742(f)(1), when reviewing district court departures that rely on both proper and improper grounds. Not only do neither of these cases so hold, but neither case in any way purports to explain, much less cite, §3742. Instead, both cases simply rely on United States v. Nuno-Para, 877 F. 2d 1409, 1412-1414 (CA9 1989), for the above proposition. Also in reliance on Nuno-Para, Zamarripa added that the appellate court “cannot determine whether the same departure would have resulted absent the improper factor.” 905 F. 2d, at 342. But Nuno-Para itself fails to cite, discuss, or explain § 3742. The Ninth Circuit there simply concluded that “we must hold that the district court’s departure was unreasonable because it improperly relied on factors already considered by the guidelines.” 877 F. 2d, at 1414 (emphasis added). While such a construction of the review for “reasonableness” is too limited, see infra, at 217-220, any such consideration on appeal is clearly taken under § 3742(f)(2). Moreover, a close study of the appellate review outlined by the Tenth. Circuit in Zamarripa reveals that it in fact generally conforms to the approach outlined by my opinion here. See 905 F. 2d, at 339-340; see also United States v. White, 893 F. 2d 276, 277-278 (CA10 1990); United States v. Diaz-Villafane, 874 F. 2d 43, 49 (CA1), cert. denied, 493 U. S. 862 (1989).
Consequently, no case has been brought to our attention that has considered reliance upon both proper and improper grounds for departure to be “an incorrect application of the sentencing guidelines” within the meaning of § 3742(f)(1). That the parties attempt to concede this point should not prevent our own scrupulous reading of these statutes, lest we disturb Congress’ intent, which I find to be clearly expressed.

 1 point the majority to the language of one of the policy statements it cites: USSG § lA.4(b), p. s. When discussing guided departures of the type referred to in § 4A1.3, p. s., the Sentencing Commission states that it “intends such suggestions as policy guidance for the courts. The Commission expects that most departures will reflect the suggestions and that the courts of appeals may prove more likely to find departures ‘unreasonable’ where they fall outside suggested levels’' (emphasis added).

 Contrary to the majority’s conclusion, ante, at 202-203, appellate review of departure sentences under §3742 does not accommodate “harmless-error” review. Subsections (f)(1) and (f)(2) both explicitly direct that, if appellate review discloses an error listed in subsection (e), the court “shall” remand for resentencing. As originally enacted, 18 U. S. C. § 3742 would have authorized an appellate court to “correct the sentence” determined to have been imposed in violation of law or as a result of an incorrect application of the sentencing guidelines. Pub. L. 98-473, § 213(a), 98 Stat. 2012. However, “[a]fter consideration, Congress determined that it was more appropriate for an appellate court to remand a case for further sentencing proceedings in all instances in which the district court decision was reversed, thereby leaving imposition of the final sentence to the district court.” Wilkins, 46 Wash. & Lee L. Rev., at 433; see Pub. L. 99-646, §73, 100 Stat. 3617. Deeming an error “harmless” does not conform with the appellate court’s mandate. See United States v. Stephenson, 887 F. 2d 57, 62 (CA5 1989), cert. denied sub nom. Goff v. United States, 493 U. S. 1086 (1990).

 The unfortunate result of the majority’s contrary conclusion, based as it is on an unnatural reading of this statute, is that appellate review becomes a quite complicated exercise, one which will apparently involve shifting “burdens” in the search for the subjective intent of the district court to determine whether “the sentence would have been different but for the district court’s error.” Ante, at 203. The baldness of this assertion is matched only by the total lack of guidance the majority provides to control this inquiry, apart from its opaque instruction that the appellate courts somehow “must decide whether the district court would have imposed the same sentence had it not relied upon the invalid factor or factors.” Ibid. This will likely provide the fodder for later confusion and conflict among the circuits, which I believe we could here avoid by a straightforward reading of this statute.

 Briefly recited, these factors include, inter alia, the seriousness of the offense, deterrence, public protection, the applicable guideline range, pertinent policy statements, and avoidance of unwarranted sentencing disparities. 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a).

 The legislative history indicates that this language was intended to emphasize that not every unaccounted-for circumstance is a basis for departure: “The provision recognizes . . . that even though the judge finds an aggravating or mitigating circumstance in the case that was not adequately considered in the formulation of guidelines, the judge might conclude that the circumstance does not justify a sentence outside the guidelines. Instead, he might conclude that a sentence at the upper end of the range in the guidelines for an aggravating circumstance, or at the lower end of the range for a mitigating circumstance, was more appropriate or that the circumstance should not affect the sentence at all.” S. Report 79. See also Wilkins, supra, at 439, and n. 52.

 The majority obliquely references Solem v. Helm, 463 U. S. 277, 290, n. 16 (1983), and its broad statement that an appellate court should not substitute its judgment for that of the sentencing court. Ante, at 204-205. Indeed, prior to the Sentencing Reform Act, appellate courts were generally bound by the simple principle that sentences imposed by district courts within legal limits should not be disturbed. Dorszynski v. United States, 418 U. S. 424, 431 (1974); Gore v. United States, 357 U. S. 386, 393 (1958). See S. Report 150. But that unquestioned deference evolved from the near-absolute discretion vested in the district courts prior to sentencing reform. Ibid. That discretion is now cheeked, however, and appellate courts are presented a statement of reasons explaining its exercise. In the situation we face here, a district court has made clear its conclusion that the applicable guideline range is inadequate. It is not a substitution of judgment for the appellate court to determine whether the district court’s judgment remains valid. And in any event, this review of “reasonableness” is precisely what Congress intends the appellate courts to do. To the extent our decisions previously reigned in the scope of appellate review, they must be loosened to conform to this new mandate. Indeed, in its quotation of the Solem passage, the majority omits language showing it to be the general rule only “[ajbsent specific authority” favoring wider review. 463 U. S., at 290, n. 16.

 The statements of reasons and development of case law will also permit the Sentencing Commission to “adequately consider” those factors leading to departures, ultimately resulting in less need for departures overall. See S. Report 161; USSG § lA4(b), p. s. (“By monitoring when courts depart from the guidelines and by analyzing their stated reasons for doing so and court decisions with references thereto, the Commission, over time, will be able to refine the guidelines to specify more precisely when departures should and should not be permitted”).

 The majority suggests this latter factor only played a role in “selecting a sentence at the high end of the guideline range” to which the District Court was departing. See ante, at 197; App. 64-66. What must be kept in mind, however, is that this was a departure sentence and, as recognized by the Seventh Circuit here, the reasons articulated to justify a particular sentence beyond the otherwise applicable guideline range are those supporting departure, as in this case, e. g., where “the criminal history category is inadequate.” 910 F. 2d, at 1580.