402
Opinion of the Court
culus depending upon whether consideration of the sentencing factor was discretionary or mandatory). As the Government argues, "[t]he fact that the sentencing process has become more transparent under the Guidelines . . . does not mean that the defendant is now being 'punished' for un-charged relevant conduct as though it were a distinct criminal 'offense.' " Brief for United States 23. The relevant conduct provisions are designed to channel the sentencing discretion of the district courts and to make mandatory the consideration of factors that previously would have been optional. United States v. Wright, 873 F. 2d 437, 441 (CA1 1989) (Breyer, J.) (explaining that, "very roughly speaking, [relevant conduct] corresponds to those actions and circumstances that courts typically took into account when sentencing prior to the Guidelines' enactment"). See also Burns v. United States, 501 U. S. 129, 133 (1991); Mistretta v. United States, 488 U. S. 361, 363-367 (1989). Regardless of whether particular conduct is taken into account by rule or as an act of discretion, the defendant is still being punished only for the offense of conviction.
Justice Stevens disagrees with our conclusion because, he contends, "[u]nder the Guidelines, . . . an offense that is included as 'relevant conduct' does not relate to the character of the offender (which is reflected instead by criminal history), but rather measures only the character of the offense." Post, at 411. The criminal history section of the Guidelines, however, does not seem to create this bright line distinction; indeed, the difference between "criminal history" and "relevant conduct" is more temporal than qualitative, with the former referring simply to a defendant's past criminal conduct (as evidenced by convictions and prison terms), see USSG § 4A1.1, and the latter covering activity arising out of the same course of criminal conduct as the instant offense, see USSG § 1B1.3.
To the extent that the Guidelines aggravate punishment for related conduct outside the elements of the crime on the
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