Cite as: 511 U. S. 39 (1994)
Rehnquist, C. J., dissenting
(same). As these and numerous other opinions show,4 we
have until today invariably used "original sentence" just as one would expect: to refer to the punishment imposed upon a defendant when he was first sentenced, and to distinguish that initial sentence from a sentence the defendant received after some intervening event—such as a new trial, see Pearce, supra, or a revocation of probation, see Hicks, supra.5
The Court's heretofore firm grasp on the meaning of "original sentence" should not be cause for wonder or surprise. Whether alone or in combination, the definitions of "original" and "sentence" simply do not seem open to serious debate. Once the term "original sentence" is accorded its ordinary meaning, the operation of § 3565(a) becomes perfectly clear.6
4 The term "original sentence" appears in at least 50 prior opinions. Rather than citing them all, suffice it to say that a review of these opinions reveals that the term is not once used to refer to the range of punishment potentially applicable when a defendant was first sentenced.
5 Although the term "original sentence" does not appear in other provisions of the Federal Criminal Code chapter on sentencing, it does appear in other federal statutes and rules. In each instance, the term refers to the sentence initially imposed upon a defendant. See, e. g., Fed. Rule Crim. Proc. 35(a)(2) (directing sentencing courts to correct sentences upon remand from a court of appeals if, after further sentencing proceedings, "the court determines that the original sentence was incorrect"); 10 U. S. C. § 863 (providing that upon rehearing in a court-martial, "no sentence in excess of or more severe than the original sentence may be imposed"). The term is similarly used in the Federal Sentencing Guidelines. See, e. g., United States Sentencing Commission, Guidelines Manual § 4A1.2(k) (Nov. 1993) (using term "original sentence" to refer to sentence previously imposed upon defendant); § 7B1.4, comment., n. 4 (same).
6 The Court suggests that if "original sentence" is given its ordinary meaning, the statute will have to be interpreted to require the absurd result that a revocation sentence be another term of probation. See ante, at 47-48, n. 5. I do not see at all how or why the latter proposition follows from the former. The Court rightly rejects interpreting the statute to require reimposition of probation because that would be a senseless reading, and it would be senseless regardless of what the term "original sentence" means. See ante, at 44-45. It is thus beyond me why the Court
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