Cite as: 518 U. S. 81 (1996)
Opinion of the Court
A
The District Court departed downward five levels because King's "wrongful conduct contributed significantly to provoking the offense behavior." 833 F. Supp., at 786. Victim misconduct was an encouraged basis for departure under the 1992 Guidelines and is so now. 1992 USSG § 5K2.10; 1995 USSG § 5K2.10.
Most Guidelines prescribe punishment for a single discrete statutory offense or a few similar statutory offenses with rather predictable fact patterns. Petitioners were convicted of violating 18 U. S. C. § 242, however, a statute unusual for its application in so many varied circumstances. It prohibits, among other things, subjecting any person under color of law "to the deprivation of any rights, privileges, or immunities secured or protected by the Constitution or laws of the United States." A violation of § 242 can arise in a myriad of forms, and the Guideline applicable to the statute applies to any violation of § 242 regardless of the form it takes. 1992 USSG § 2H1.4. Section 2H1.4 takes account of the different kinds of conduct that might constitute a § 242 violation by instructing courts to use as a base offense level the greater of 10, or 6 plus the offense level applicable to any underlying offense. In this way, § 2H1.4 incorporates the base offense level of the underlying offense; as a consequence, the heartland of § 2H1.4 will vary depending on the defendant's conduct.
Here, the underlying offense was aggravated assault. After adjusting the offense level for use of a dangerous weapon and bodily injury, see 1992 USSG § 1B1.5(a) (a Guideline that incorporates another Guideline incorporates as well the other's specific offense characteristics), the District Court added six levels as required by § 2H1.4. Section 2H1.4 adds the six levels to account for the fact that the offense was committed "under actual or purported legal authority," commentary to § 2H1.4, and that "the harm involved both the underlying conduct and activity intended
101
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