90
Opinion of the Court
impose a sentence that reflects a need to protect the public from [them]." Ibid. The court concluded these factors justified a departure when taken together, although none would have been sufficient standing alone. Id., at 786.
The departures yielded an offense level of 19 and a sentencing range of 30-to-37 months' imprisonment. The court sentenced each petitioner to 30 months' imprisonment. The petitioners appealed their convictions, and the Government appealed the sentences, arguing that the District Court erred in granting the downward departures and in failing to adjust the offense level upward for serious bodily injury. The Court of Appeals affirmed petitioners' convictions, and affirmed the District Court's refusal to adjust the offense level, but it reversed the District Court's departure determinations. Only the last ruling is before us.
The Court of Appeals reviewed "de novo whether the district court had authority to depart." 34 F. 3d, at 1451. The court reversed the five-level departure for victim misconduct, reasoning that misbehavior by suspects is typical in cases involving excessive use of force by police and is thus comprehended by the applicable Guideline. Id., at 1460.
As for the three-level departure, the court rejected each factor cited. Acknowledging that a departure for susceptibility to abuse in prison may be appropriate in some instances and that police officers as a group are susceptible to prison abuse, the court nevertheless said the factor did not justify departure because "reliance solely on hostility toward a group of which the defendant is a member provides an unlimited open-ended rationale for departing." Id., at 1455. The court further noted that, unlike cases in which a defendant is vulnerable to prison abuse due to physical characteristics over which he has no control, here the petitioners' vulnerability stemmed from public condemnation of their crimes. Id., at 1456.
As for petitioners' collateral employment consequences, the court first held consideration of the factor by the trial
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