Deferment Window

A legal term used in a criminal sentence. A deferment window is generally the time frame from when the court issues the sentence to the deferred sentence hearing.

For example, “12 months in the house of corrections with all but 30 days deferred for one year conditioned upon good behavior and no contact with the victim.” This means the defendant will serve 30 days in the house of corrections the remaining 11 months are deferred for one year. The deferred time in this example is 11 months. The deferment window in this example is one year. At the end of the deferment window the court holds a deferred sentence hearing and the defendant must show the Court that he has remained of good behavior and had not contact with the victim. If the court agrees then the case will likely be closed unless there is a suspended sentence after the deferred sentence, which is often the case.