Cite as: 503 U. S. 193 (1992)
White, J., dissenting
priety 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-17 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 checked, 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 "[a]bsent specific authority" favoring wider review. 463 U. S., at 290, n. 16.
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