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Opinion of the Court
sentence" before the court may impose such a sentence. Petitioner and his amici repeatedly characterize the motion required by § 3553(e) as a "motion that substantial assistance has occurred," Brief for Petitioner 12, a "motion acknowledging the defendant's 'substantial assistance,' " id., at 8, and the like. But the term "motion" generally means "[a]n application made to a court or judge for purpose of obtaining a rule or order directing some act to be done in favor of the applicant." Black's Law Dictionary 1013 (6th ed. 1990).4 Papers simply "acknowledging" substantial assistance are not sufficient if they do not indicate desire for, or consent to, a sentence below the statutory minimum.5
Of course, the Government did more than simply "acknowledge" substantial assistance here: It moved the court to impose a sentence below the Guideline range. But we agree with the Government that nothing in § 3553(e) suggests that a district court has power to impose a sentence below the statutory minimum to reflect a defendant's cooperation when the Government has not authorized such a sentence, but has instead moved for a departure only from the applicable Guidelines range. Nor does anything in § 3553(e) or § 994(n) suggest that the Commission itself may dispense with § 3553(e)'s motion requirement or, alternatively, "deem"
4 See also Random House Dictionary of the English Language 1254 (2d ed. 1987) (defining "motion" in the legal sense as "an application made to a court or judge for an order, ruling, or the like"); Wade v. United States, 504 U. S. 181, 187 (1992) ("[Substantial assistance] is a necessary condition for [a departure, but] it is not a sufficient one. The Government's decision not to move may have been based not on a failure to acknowledge or appreciate [the defendant's] help, but simply on its rational assessment of the cost and benefit that would flow from moving").
5 We do not mean to imply, of course, that specific language (such as that quoted in text) or, on the other hand, an express reference to § 3553(e) is necessarily required before a court may depart below the statutory minimum. Cf. Brief for Petitioner 5-6, 18, 32, 34 (characterizing the opposing argument in this fashion). But the Government must in some way indicate its desire or consent that the court depart below the statutory minimum before the court may do so.
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