Cite as: 503 U. S. 193 (1992)
Opinion of the Court
Where, as here, a policy statement prohibits a district court from taking a specified action, the statement is an authoritative guide to the meaning of the applicable Guideline. An error in interpreting such a policy statement could lead to an incorrect determination that a departure was appropriate. In that event, the resulting sentence would be one that was "imposed as a result of an incorrect application of the sentencing guidelines" within the meaning of § 3742(f)(1).2 Similarly, an erroneous calculation under the Sentencing Table, from which all Guidelines sentencing ranges are derived, could properly be reviewed as an "incorrect application of the sentencing guidelines" under § 3742(f)(1) even though the Table itself is not officially designated as a "guideline." See USSG ch. 5, pt. A.
Because use of a departure ground prohibited by a policy statement can be an "incorrect application" of the Guidelines under § 3742(f)(1), we also agree with both Williams and the Government that, when a district court relies upon an improper ground in departing from the guideline range, a reviewing court may not affirm a sentence based solely on its independent assessment that the departure is reasonable under § 3742(f)(2). Section 3742(f) specifies two circum-2 The dissent states that an error in interpreting a policy statement governing departures "is not, in itself, subject to appellate review." Post, at 212. The dissent believes that all departure decisions must be reviewed under the "reasonableness" standard of § 3742(f)(2) and that the "reasonableness" determination includes an assessment of whether the district court properly found an " 'aggravating or mitigating circumstance . . . not adequately taken into consideration by the Sentencing Commission in formulating the guidelines.' " Post, at 218 (quoting 18 U. S. C. § 3553(b)). But, in determining whether a circumstance was adequately taken into consideration, a court must consider "the sentencing guidelines, policy statements, and official commentary of the Sentencing Commission." § 3553(b). Thus, the dissent would appear to agree that an appellate court can review the validity of a district court's reasons for departure for consistency with the Commission's policy statements; it simply considers that inquiry to go to the "reasonableness" of the decision to depart rather than to the correct application of the Guidelines.
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