Cite as: 532 U. S. 59 (2001)
Opinion of the Court
than "de novo." Id., at 942. And it affirmed that decision. Ibid.
Buford sought certiorari. In light of the different Circuits' different approaches to the problem, we granted the writ. Compare United States v. Irons, 196 F. 3d 634, 638 (CA6 1999) (relatedness decision reviewed for clear error); United States v. Wiseman, 172 F. 3d 1196, 1219 (CA10) (same), cert. denied, 528 U. S. 889 (1999); United States v. Mapp, 170 F. 3d 328, 338 (CA2) (same), cert. denied, 528 U. S. 901 (1999); United States v. Maza, 93 F. 3d 1390, 1400 (CA8 1996) (same), cert. denied, 519 U. S. 1138 (1997); United States v. Mullens, 65 F. 3d 1560, 1565 (CA11 1995), cert. denied, 517 U. S. 1112 (1996) (same), with United States v. Garcia, 962 F. 2d 479, 481 (CA5) (relatedness determination reviewed de novo), cert. denied, 506 U. S. 902 (1992); United States v. Davis, 922 F. 2d 1385, 1388 (CA9 1991) (same).
II
In arguing for de novo review, Buford points out that she has not contested any relevant underlying issue of fact. She disagrees only with the District Court's legal conclusion that a legal label—"functional consolidation"—failed to fit the un-disputed facts. She concedes, as she must, that this circumstance does not dispose of the standard of review question. That is because the relevant federal sentencing statute requires a reviewing court not only to "accept" a district court's "findings of fact" (unless "clearly erroneous"), but also to "give due deference to the district court's application of the guidelines to the facts." 18 U. S. C. § 3742(e) (emphasis added). And that is the kind of determination—application of the Guidelines to the facts—that is at issue here. Hence the question we must answer is what kind of "deference" is "due." And, as we noted in Koon v. United States, 518 U. S. 81, 98 (1996), the "deference that is due depends on the nature of the question presented."
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