Cite as: 511 U. S. 39 (1994)
Scalia, J., concurring in judgment
Both under my analysis, and under Justice Kennedy's, there exists a problem of comparing the incomparable that ought to be acknowledged. Since Granderson's original sentence was 60 months' probation plus a $2,000 fine, I must, in order to concur in today's judgment, conclude, as I do, that the five extra months of prison (beyond the Guidelines' 6-month maximum imposable for the original offense) which Granderson has served are worth at least $667 (one-third the original fine) and that 11 months in prison are the equivalent of 20 months' probation plus a $667 fine—because otherwise I would have to consider imposing some or all of the $5,000 maximum fine imposable for the original offense, see USSG § 5E1.2(c)(3), or indeed consider departing upward from the applicable Guidelines range, see 18 U. S. C. § 3553(b), towards the 5-year imprisonment that is the statutory maximum for the offense, see 18 U. S. C. § 1703(a). And Justice Kennedy, even if he takes only the probation into account for purposes of determining the "original sentence," must still conclude, it seems to me, that 11 months in prison is at least the equivalent of 20 months' probation—because otherwise he would have to consider imposing some or all of the available $5,000 fine or departing upward from the Guidelines.
It is no easy task to determine how many days' imprisonment equals how many dollars' fine equals how many months' probation. Comparing the incommensurate is always a tricky business. See, e. g., Bendix Autolite Corp. v. Midwesco Enterprises, Inc., 486 U. S. 888, 897 (1988) (Scalia, J., concurring in judgment). I frankly doubt that those who drafted and adopted this language intended to impose that task upon us; but I can neither pronounce the results reached by a straightforward reading of the statute utterly absurd nor discern any other self-evident disposition for which they are an obviously mistaken replacement. Cf. Green v. Bock Laundry Machine Co., 490 U. S. 504, 527 (1989) (Scalia, J., concurring in judgment). It seems to me that the other interpretations proposed today suffer, in varying degrees, the
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