The judge is allowing the defense to file a motion to dismiss the case and he laid out a briefing schedule. The defense motion is due December 2.
Merchan's order also puts off any decision about whether the Supreme Court's presidential immunity decision applies to Trump's criminal hush money case.
The judge provided no new sentencing date after adjourning the original November 26 date.
The sparse, one-page, order provided no reason for the decision.
On Wednesday, Trump's attorneys argued in a letter to the court that the criminal conviction must be dismissed "to facilitate the orderly transition of Executive power."
Defense attorneys Todd Blanche and Emil Bove, now Trump's picks for the second and third-highest jobs in the Justice Department, had sought the judge's permission to file a motion to dismiss the case.
The defense filing came one day after Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg's office said they opposed dismissing the case, but consented to freeze of all remaining proceedings, including sentencing, until after Trump completes his term.
Trump was convicted in May of all 34 felony counts of falsifying business records related to a hush money payment to adult film actress Stormy Daniels to silence allegations about a 2006 sexual encounter with Trump in order to boost his electoral prospects in the 2016 presidential election.
His conviction carries a maximum penalty of up to four years in prison, but first-time offenders would normally receive a lesser sentence.
Trump's Communications Director Steven Cheung celebrated the sentencing delay, claiming that his cases are now "destroyed and we are focused on Making America Great again."
"In a decisive win for President Trump, the hoax Manhattan Case is now fully stayed and sentencing is adjourned," Cheung said in a statement. "President Trump won a landslide victory as the American People have issued a mandate to return him to office and dispose of all remnants of the Witch Hunt cases. All of the sham lawfare attacks against President Trump are now destroyed and we are focused on Making America Great Again."