Determinate Sentence Law and Legal Definition
Determinate sentence is a sentence of confinement for a specific or minimum period specified by statute. The period fixed by the statute is not negotiable. A convicted person could serve more than the determinate sentence but not less. Actual limits of determinate sentence are determined at the time the sentence is imposed. They are considered as stringent laws. For example, sentence for possession of drugs. However, in an indeterminate sentence, the duration of a sentence will be partly governed by the statute and partly by the behavior of the prisoner.