indeterminate sentence

indeterminate sentence
indeterminate sentence see sentence

Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary of Law. . 1996.

indeterminate sentence
A prison sentence that consists of a range of years (such as "five to ten years"). The state parole board holds hearings that determine when, during that range, the convicted person will be eligible for parole. The principle behind indeterminate sentences is the hope that prison will rehabilitate some prisoners; those who show the most progress will be paroled closer to the minimum term than those who do not. Compare: determinate sentence
Category: Criminal Law
Category: Small Claims Court & Lawsuits

Nolo’s Plain-English Law Dictionary. . 2009.


indeterminate sentence
A sentence of imprisonment to a specified minimum and maximum period of time, specifically authorized by statute, subject to termination by a parole board or other authorized agency after the prisoner has served the minimum term.

Short Dictionary of (mostly American) Legal Terms and Abbreviations.

indeterminate sentence
n.
   the prison term imposed after conviction for a crime which does not state a specific period of time or release date, but just a range of time, such as "five-to-ten years." It is one side of a continuing debate as to whether it is better to make sentences absolute (subject to reduction for good behavior) without reference to potential rehabilitation, modification or review in the future.
   See also: sentence

Law dictionary. . 2013.

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Look at other dictionaries:

  • Indeterminate sentence — (engl., spr. indëtörmĭnät ßénntens), »unbestimmtes Strafurteil« (s. d.), Verurteilung zu Freiheitsstrafe, deren Dauer von dem Verhalten des Verurteilten während des Strafvollzugs abhängt …   Meyers Großes Konversations-Lexikon

  • indeterminate sentence — Criminal Law. a penalty, imposed by a court, that has relatively wide limits or no limits, as one of imprisonment for one to ten years. [1870 75] * * * ▪ law       in law, term of imprisonment with no definite duration within a prescribed maximum …   Universalium

  • indeterminate sentence — noun : a punitive sentence that fixes the term or amount of punishment only within certain limits and leaves the exact term or amount of punishment to be determined by administrative authorities * * * Criminal Law. a penalty, imposed by a court,… …   Useful english dictionary

  • indeterminate sentence — A sentence imposed for a crime, not for a precise period of time, but in terms of a minimum period and a maximum period of imprisonment as provided by statute for the particular offense. 21 Am J2d Crim L § 540 …   Ballentine's law dictionary

  • indeterminate sentence — /ɪndəˈtɜmənət ˌsɛntəns/ (say induh termuhnuht .sentuhns) noun a penalty imposed by a court which has relatively wide limits or no limits, as imprisonment for one to ten years …  

  • sentence — sen·tence 1 / sent əns, ənz/ n [Old French, opinion, judicial sentence, from Latin sententia, ultimately from sentire to feel, think, express an opinion] 1: a judgment formally pronouncing the punishment to be inflicted on one convicted of a… …   Law dictionary

  • indeterminate — I adjective ambiguous, anceps, boundless, cryptic, dubius, endless, equivocal, featureless, fluctuant, fluid, formless, hazy, ill defined, immeasurable, in a state of uncertainty, in doubt, inarticulated, incalculable, incertus, inconclusive,… …   Law dictionary

  • sentence, indefinite — n. A sentence that has a prescribed range of punishments set by law, for which the court and other officials have some discretion in sentencing and that may be ended early at the discretion of the parole board; also called indeterminate sentence …   Law dictionary

  • sentence — The judgment formally pronounced by the court or judge upon the defendant after his conviction in a criminal prosecution, imposing the punishment to be inflicted, usually in the form of a fine, incarceration, or probation. See e.g. 18 U.S.C.A. No …   Black's law dictionary

  • sentence — I n. judgment of a court 1) to impose, pass, pronounce (a) sentence 2) to carry out, execute a sentence 3) to serve (out) a sentence 4) to commute; reduce; suspend; vacate a sentence 5) a harsh, severe, stiff; light sentence 6) a death;… …   Combinatory dictionary

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