Cite as: 518 U. S. 120 (1996)
Opinion of the Court
a motion requesting or authorizing different action—such as a departure below the Guidelines minimum—to be a motion authorizing the district court to depart below the statutory minimum.
Moreover, we do not read § 5K1.1 as attempting to exercise this nonexistent authority. Section 5K1.1 says: "Upon motion of the government stating that the defendant has provided substantial assistance . . . the court may depart from the guidelines," while its Application Note 1 says: "Under circumstances set forth in 18 U. S. C. § 3553(e) and 28 U. S. C. § 994(n) . . . substantial assistance . . . may justify a sentence below a statutorily required minimum sentence," § 5K1.1, comment., n. 1. One of the circumstances set forth in § 3553(e) is, as we have explained previously, that the Government has authorized the court to impose a sentence below the statutory minimum.
Petitioner and his amici argue that § 3553(e) requires a sentence below the statutory minimum to be imposed in "accordance" with the Guidelines; that § 994(n) specifically directs the Commission to draft a provision covering substantial assistance cases, including cases in which a sentence below a statutory minimum is warranted; and that if § 5K1.1 is not read as creating a unitary motion system, then the Commission has improperly failed to meet its obligation, because no other provision of the Guidelines implements § 3553(e) and § 994(n). They also argue (1) that the reference to § 3553(e) in § 5K1.1's Application Note 1 indicates that § 5K1.1 is a "conduit" established by the Commission for "implementation" of § 3553(e); (2) that Application Note 2's use of the broad term "sentencing reduction," rather than "departure from the guidelines range," supports petitioner's view that § 5K1.1 authorizes departures below a statutory minimum; 6 (3) that Application Note 3 makes sense only on
6 Application Note 2 provides in relevant part: "The sentencing reduction for assistance to authorities shall be considered independently of any reduction for acceptance of responsibility." USSG § 5K1.1, comment., n. 2.
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