Cite as: 511 U. S. 39 (1994)
Rehnquist, C. J., dissenting
tainty in the language and structure of the Act," Chapman v. United States, 500 U. S. 453, 463 (1991) (internal quotation marks and citation omitted).
The term "original sentence" is not defined in the statute. A basic principle of statutory construction provides that where words in a statute are not defined, they "must be given their ordinary meaning." Id., at 462; see also Smith v. United States, 508 U. S. 223, 228 (1993) ("When a word is not defined by statute, we normally construe it in accord with its ordinary or natural meaning").
Whether one consults a dictionary or common sense, the meaning of "original sentence" is plain: The term refers to the initial judgment imposing punishment on a defendant. "Original" is commonly understood to mean "initial" or "first in order." See Webster's Third New International Dictionary 1592 (1971) (Webster's) (defining "original" as "of or relating to a rise or beginning . . . initial, primary"); Black's Law Dictionary 1099 (6th ed. 1990) (defining "original" as "[p]rimitive" or "first in order"). "Sentence," in turn, is ordinarily meant in the context of criminal law to refer to the judgment or order "by which a court or judge imposes punishment or penalty upon a person found guilty." Webster's 2068; see also Black's Law Dictionary, supra, at 1362 (defining "sentence" as "[t]he judgment . . . imposing the punishment to be inflicted, usually in the form of a fine, incarceration, or probation").2 In the context of § 3565(a), the term "original sentence" thus must refer to the sentence of probation a defendant actually received when initially sentenced. It cannot, therefore, mean what the Court says it means: the maximum sentence which a defendant could have received, but did not.
The Court's interpretation thus founders, I believe, because the word "sentence" does not ordinarily, or even occa-2 Federal sentencing law also consistently uses the word "sentence" to refer to the punishment actually imposed on a defendant. See, e. g., 18 U. S. C. §§ 3551(b) and (c), 3553(a), (b), (c), and (e), and 3554-3558.
71
Page: Index Previous 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 NextLast modified: October 4, 2007