Cite as: 531 U. S. 230 (2001)
Stevens, J., dissenting
The BOP regulation challenged here operates to redefine the set of prisoners categorically ineligible for a sentence reduction, a set unambiguously defined in the text of the statute. It does so by taking a group of prisoners whose offenses the Bureau acknowledges are "nonviolent" within the meaning of the statute 3 and imposing the same sanction—categorical ineligibility—upon them as the statute imposes upon violent offenders. In so doing, the Bureau ignores Congress' express determination that, when evaluating eligibility for a sentence reduction, the salient distinction is the line between violent and nonviolent offenses. By moving this line, the BOP exceeded its authority and sought to exercise its discretion on an issue with regard to which it has none. See, e. g., Chevron, 467 U. S., at 842-843 ("First, always, is the question whether Congress has directly spoken to the precise question at issue. If the intent of Congress is clear, that is the end of the matter; for the court, as well as the agency, must give effect to the unambiguously expressed intent of Congress"); United States v. Haggar Apparel Co., 526 U. S. 380, 392 (1999) ("In the process of considering a regulation in relation to specific factual situations, a court may conclude the regulation is inconsistent with the statutory language or is an unreasonable implementation of it. In those instances, the regulation will not control").
3 The BOP regulation challenged here treats an otherwise nonviolent offense where a gun was carried as a "nonviolent offense" within the meaning of the statute, and the case was argued on that assumption. As the majority notes, ante, at 233-236, the BOP initially attempted to classify such crimes as violent offenses, but receded when the Courts of Appeals divided over the validity of such a construction. The question over which the Courts of Appeals initially divided is not before us today. If it were, the arguments raised by both sides would be quite different, with the debate likely focusing on whether "nonviolent offense" is best understood as a term of art or in relation to a more colloquial understanding of violence.
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