When is Donald Trump's sentencing hearing scheduled after 2024 conviction?

1. What the schedules say: November 2024 postponement and later pauses

In September 2024 Judge Merchan moved the sentencing to Nov. 26, 2024, explicitly saying a hearing should be “entirely focused on the verdict” and not “diluted by the enormity of the upcoming presidential election” ^{[7] [2]}. Reporting in late November shows Merchan paused the proceedings again while weighing immunity and other post-trial motions, reflecting continued judicial caution about timing as the inauguration approached ^[4].

2. How the legal fight affected timing: immunity claims and appeals

Trump’s team repeatedly sought to delay sentencing on immunity grounds and to pause proceedings while appeals were pursued; Merchan and appellate courts rejected several of those delay requests, noting the court could address evidentiary issues on appeal and that any burden on the president-elect would be limited if the hearing was brief and virtual ^{[5] [6]}. News outlets reported the delays were often driven by both defense requests and the judge’s concern about the extraordinary constitutional questions at stake ^{[4] [6]}.

3. The January 10, 2025 hearing: what actually happened

Despite efforts to push sentencing past inauguration, the courts allowed the hearing to proceed on Jan. 10, 2025; Merchan issued an “unconditional discharge,” which leaves the felony conviction intact on Trump’s record but imposes no incarceration, fine or probation ^{[3] [8]}. Multiple outlets described the sentence as effectively no ongoing penalty and noted prosecutors had recommended the same outcome given the impending change in office ^{[9] [10]}.

4. Why the judge indicated no jail time was likely

Merchan had signaled he did not intend to impose jail time, and appellate discussion noted that a brief, virtual January hearing made any burden on the incoming president relatively insubstantial; that calculus influenced courts’ decisions to let sentencing go forward rather than defer it indefinitely ^{[6] [11]}. Prosecutors and some commentators nevertheless argued the conviction — even without a punish­ment — carries institutional and reputational consequences ^{[9] [8]}.

5. Competing perspectives in coverage

News outlets converge on the timeline (postponement to Nov. 26, further pauses, then Jan. 10 hearing) and the ultimate unconditional discharge ^{[1] [4] [3]}. But perspectives vary on the propriety and implications: some sources stress Merchan’s concern to avoid election interference and to preserve the integrity of the jury’s verdict ^{[7] [2]}, while others frame the lenient sentence as a political accommodation given the presidency and warn it sets a fraught precedent ^{[9] [11]}.

6. Limits of the reporting and remaining questions

Available sources document the date changes, the courts’ stated rationales, and the Jan. 10, 2025 outcome, but they do not provide exhaustive detail on Merchan’s internal deliberations about alternative sentences or on any sealed filings that might have influenced timing; they also do not quantify how often judges delay sentencing in comparably high-profile, election-adjacent cases ^{[7] [4]}. If you want full court papers or the judge’s detailed sentencing memorandum, those are not included in these news reports (not found in current reporting).

7. Bottom line for your original question

The sentencing was first rescheduled to Nov. 26, 2024, then delayed amid further litigation, and the final scheduled and held sentencing hearing occurred on Jan. 10, 2025, when Judge Merchan imposed an unconditional discharge — no jail time or fines — while leaving the conviction on Trump’s record ^{[2] [4] [3]}.