Instantly Connect For Your Criminal Defense Consultation When Filling Out Form
Ready to talk to someone about a charge in Lebanon? The form above connects you directly, no need to read everything below first.
Your Lebanon Criminal Defense Attorney
A criminal charge brings a lot at once: a court date, questions about work and family, and no clear picture of what comes next. This page walks through the Pennsylvania rules that most often shape how a case in Lebanon unfolds. Keep reading for the time limits, the truth about the 365-day trial rule, straight answers on DUI, drug, assault, and theft charges, and how expungement, Clean Slate, and limited access differ. A local attorney who handles Lebanon County cases can tell you which of these rules apply to your situation.
Quick Answers on Charges, Deadlines, and Records
- Most criminal charges must be started within 2 years of the offense, per 42 Pa.C.S. § 5552(a), while listed serious offenses carry 5 or 12 years.
- Speedy trial: 365 days under Rule 600, counted from the complaint, but only delay caused by the Commonwealth’s lack of diligence is counted against it.
- Sitting in jail awaiting trial: 180 days is the ceiling under Rule 600(B), after which release on nominal bail can be requested unless bail is not available in your case.
- Felony, misdemeanor, or summary? Pennsylvania grades each offense by degree, and the degree sets the ceiling on prison time and fines (18 Pa.C.S. §§ 106, 1101, 1103 to 1105).
- Records: Pennsylvania has three separate routes, expungement, Clean Slate limited access, and limited access by petition, and they are not interchangeable (18 Pa.C.S. §§ 9122 to 9122.2).
How Pennsylvania Grades Criminal Charges
Every Pennsylvania criminal charge carries a grade. Section 106 of Title 18 lists them: first-, second-, and third-degree felonies, first-, second-, and third-degree misdemeanors, and summary offenses at the bottom.
The ceilings are set by statute. A first-degree felony can bring up to 20 years, a second-degree felony up to 10, and a third-degree felony up to 7 (§ 1103), while misdemeanors are capped at 5, 2, and 1 years (§ 1104) and summary offenses at 90 days (§ 1105). Fines follow the same ladder: $25,000 (first- and second-degree felonies), $15,000 (third-degree felony), $10,000, $5,000, and $2,500 (misdemeanors of the first, second, and third degree), and $300 (summary offenses), unless another statute sets a different figure (18 Pa.C.S. § 1101).
Two small rules from § 106 are worth knowing: an offense labeled a felony or misdemeanor with no degree is graded third degree, and one carrying no more than 90 days is summary.
Pennsylvania's Time Limits on Prosecution
Start with the general rule: two years from the offense (42 Pa.C.S. § 5552(a)). It applies to offenses that no special provision lengthens, including simple assault and DUI, which are not on the five-year list.
Which period applies depends on the offense. Five years covers a long list that includes aggravated assault, terroristic threats, burglary, robbery, theft, forgery, and delivery-type drug offenses (§ 5552(b)); twelve years covers rape, incest, and related offenses (§ 5552(b.1)); and some offenses, including murder, have no limitation (§ 5551).
Under § 5552(e), a case is commenced when an indictment is found, an information is issued, or a warrant, summons, or citation is issued and promptly executed. Section 5554 adds pauses for someone continuously absent from Pennsylvania or without a reasonably ascertainable home or job here, and while a prosecution for the same conduct is pending.
Charged in Lebanon? Get matched with an attorney now.
Rule 600 and Speedy Trial in Lebanon: The Honest Answer
Rule 600 requires a court case to go to trial within 365 days after the complaint is filed. Enforcing it takes a motion by the defense and a hearing, and a dismissal under the rule is with prejudice. The catch is in the counting. Rule 600(C)(1) includes only delay caused by the Commonwealth’s failure to exercise due diligence, and it says any other delay is excluded. That takes out continuances requested by the defense, time the defendant or attorney is unavailable, and waived time.
In practice the fight is over the adjusted date. The judge is required to record who requested each continuance and whether the time is included or excluded (Rule 600(C)(3)), and the Commonwealth carries the burden of showing due diligence before it can rely on excluded time. Because the count depends on why time passed, two cases with the same 365 days can end differently. One may be dismissed for the Commonwealth’s lack of diligence and another may go forward because the delay came from continuances, waived time, or circumstances the prosecution could not control.
Custody has its own clock. Rule 600(B) caps pretrial incarceration at 180 days from the complaint, counting every delay except those the defense caused, and a motion for release on nominal bail is the remedy, except where the law does not allow bail. One point of confusion: Rule 1013 gives cases in Philadelphia Municipal Court a separate 180-day period, and it does not apply anywhere else in Pennsylvania.
From the Magisterial District Judge to Common Pleas
The first stop is typically the magisterial district court. Its judge handles summary offenses, arraignments, bail, and preliminary hearings (42 Pa.C.S. § 1515), and charges that survive that stage move to the Court of Common Pleas for trial.
For a charge arising in Lebanon, that trial court is the Court of Common Pleas of Lebanon County, which serves the Fifty-second Judicial District (42 Pa.C.S. §§ 901, 951). The county seat is Lebanon. Under Pa.R.Crim.P. 130, a case is generally brought before the magisterial district where the offense is alleged to have taken place.
What These Charges Mean in Pennsylvania
Does my blood alcohol level change what I face on a DUI?
Yes, the number matters a great deal. A level of 0.08 to under 0.10 is general impairment, 0.10 to under 0.16 is high rate, and 0.16 or above is highest rate (75 Pa.C.S. § 3802), and each step up brings a higher minimum for a first offense: six months of probation and $300, then 48 hours in jail and $500 to $5,000, then 72 hours and $1,000 to $5,000 (§ 3804).
Accelerated Rehabilitative Disposition (ARD) is a diversion program that can end in dismissal and expungement of the arrest record (Pa.R.Crim.P. 320), but for a DUI it is not risk-free: since December 22, 2025, driving under the influence within 10 years after completing ARD for a DUI is a separate offense under 75 Pa.C.S. § 3802(h)(1), graded under § 3803(c).
Is possession with intent to deliver a felony?
Yes. Manufacturing, delivering, or possessing with intent to deliver a controlled substance is a felony under 35 P.S. § 780-113, and the maximum depends on the substance and amount, up to 15 years and $250,000 for a Schedule I or II narcotic. Simple possession, by comparison, is a misdemeanor of up to one year and $5,000, and a small amount of marijuana (30 grams or 8 grams of hashish) up to 30 days and $500.
For record clearing, a drug offense under section 13 of the Controlled Substance Act can qualify for automatic Clean Slate limited access after 10 years, unless the sentence was a minimum of 30 months or more or a maximum of 60 months or more (18 Pa.C.S. §§ 9102, 9122.2).
How does Pennsylvania grade assault charges?
Simple assault is graded second-degree misdemeanor, with exceptions: third degree for a mutual-consent fight and first degree against a child under 12 by an adult (18 Pa.C.S. § 2701(b)). Aggravated assault (§ 2702) is graded first-degree felony under subsections (a)(1), (2), and (9) and second-degree felony under the rest.
Assault convictions are treated differently for record clearing. Offenses against the person are excluded from automatic Clean Slate limited access (18 Pa.C.S. § 9122.3), while the petition route has its own exclusions (§ 9122.1(b)), so eligibility depends on the exact offense and its maximum penalty.
When does theft become a felony in Pennsylvania?
Value drives the grade. Theft of more than $2,000, or of a motor vehicle, is a third-degree felony, and a second-degree felony if $100,000 to under $500,000 (a first-degree felony at $500,000 or more), while theft below $2,000 is generally a first-degree misdemeanor, or second- or third-degree if under $200 or $50 and not taken from a person (18 Pa.C.S. § 3903). Retail theft follows a separate scale (§ 3929).
Amounts from retail thefts committed under one scheme or course of conduct can be added together, even across several stores, to set the grade (18 Pa.C.S. § 3929(b)(2)), and prior offenses count even when the earlier case ended in Accelerated Rehabilitative Disposition (§ 3929(b.1)).
Want someone to check the deadlines in your Lebanon case? Get matched now.
Expunged, Sealed, or Limited: Why the Difference Matters
Three routes exist for clearing a Pennsylvania record, and which one fits depends on how the case ended and how long ago. They are expungement, automatic Clean Slate limited access, and limited access by petition, and they are not interchangeable.
True expungement under 18 Pa.C.S. § 9122 is the narrowest tool. It applies to non-conviction outcomes, to an acquittal on all charges (automatic), and to a dismissed case after successful Accelerated Rehabilitative Disposition (Pa.R.Crim.P. 320). Convictions qualify only if they are summary offenses with five arrest-free years, or the person is 70 and has been free of arrest for ten years after release from confinement or supervision.
Clean Slate limited access needs no petition (18 Pa.C.S. § 9122.2). It applies to summary convictions after five years, to second- and third-degree misdemeanors and misdemeanors punishable by up to two years after seven years without a conviction for an offense punishable by a year or more, and to qualifying drug offenses after ten years, with restitution paid and a fee, and it includes non-conviction records.
Petition-based limited access (18 Pa.C.S. § 9122.1) asks a court to limit access to a qualifying misdemeanor after seven years without a new conviction, or to a listed lower-level felony after ten. The felony list is specific (including theft, forgery, criminal mischief, and criminal trespass), first- and second-degree felonies are excluded, restitution and the fee must be paid, and the district attorney may object.
Not every offense qualifies. Offenses against the person, offenses against the family, firearms offenses, offenses that require sex-offender registration, and corruption of minors are excluded from most of these routes (18 Pa.C.S. §§ 9122.1, 9122.3), and a person with certain other convictions may be excluded as well.
The effect of each order differs. Limited access requires State Police and courts to withhold the record from most requesters (18 Pa.C.S. § 9121) without erasing it, so criminal justice agencies and a few others (child-welfare agencies, custody and protection-from-abuse cases, federally required employment checks) can still see it. Expungement removes the record, though the prosecutor and State Police still keep a list of names after an expungement (including one following a diversion or probation program), used only for later program eligibility, criminal investigations, and grading later offenses (§ 9122(c)).
Lebanon: Courts, Counties, and Getting Started
Deadlines and clocks are the same across Pennsylvania, and the courtroom is not. A charge in Lebanon is handled in Lebanon County, and getting the timeline for that court from an attorney who practices there is a sound first step.
Injury claims follow different Pennsylvania rules, covered on our Lebanon personal injury page.
Nearby coverage: the Pottsville criminal defense resource.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much time does the Commonwealth have to file criminal charges?
For most offenses, two years (42 Pa.C.S. § 5552(a)). Longer periods apply to listed offenses: five years for offenses such as aggravated assault, robbery, and theft, and twelve for rape and related crimes. A few offenses, including murder, have no limit (§ 5551).
What happens if the Commonwealth takes too long to bring my case to trial?
The remedy is a motion to dismiss with prejudice, heard by a judge (Rule 600(D)). Whether it succeeds depends on how much delay counts against the Commonwealth, the recorded reasons for each continuance, and its showing of due diligence, so results vary from case to case.
How serious is a misdemeanor in Pennsylvania?
Even a misdemeanor can matter: a first-degree misdemeanor carries up to 5 years and $10,000, a second-degree up to 2 years and $5,000, and a third-degree up to 1 year and $2,500 (18 Pa.C.S. §§ 1101, 1104).
What happens if I am charged with a summary offense?
It usually starts and finishes before a magisterial district judge, who has jurisdiction over summary offenses (42 Pa.C.S. § 1515). The penalty ceiling is 90 days and a $300 fine unless another statute provides otherwise (18 Pa.C.S. §§ 1105, 1101).
Where will my criminal case be heard in Lebanon?
It typically begins in a magisterial district in Lebanon County, chosen by where the offense is alleged to have occurred (Pa.R.Crim.P. 130), and a serious charge that goes forward is tried in the Court of Common Pleas of Lebanon County.
What if I am in custody and my trial keeps getting postponed?
The 180-day custody limit in Rule 600(B) counts delay caused by the Commonwealth and the court but not delay caused by the defense. If it is exceeded, a defense motion for nominal bail is the remedy, unless bail is not allowed.
What is the penalty for a first DUI in Pennsylvania?
It rises with the tier: six months of probation and $300 (general impairment), 48 consecutive hours and $500 to $5,000 (high rate), or 72 consecutive hours and $1,000 to $5,000 (highest rate, refusal, or controlled substances), plus alcohol highway school and treatment (75 Pa.C.S. § 3804).
Will ARD for a DUI count against me later?
It can. Since December 22, 2025, driving under the influence within 10 years after completing ARD for a DUI is a separate offense under 75 Pa.C.S. § 3802(h)(1), graded under § 3803(c).
What is the difference between expungement and sealing a record?
Expungement removes a record. Limited access, whether automatic (18 Pa.C.S. § 9122.2) or by petition (§ 9122.1), keeps it out of most background checks but leaves it in existence and visible to criminal justice agencies. Many people mean limited access when they say ‘sealed.’
What does limited access mean on a Pennsylvania record?
The record still exists, but the State Police and courts must withhold it from most non-criminal-justice requests (18 Pa.C.S. § 9121). It is a restriction on who sees it, not a deletion.
Connect With a Lebanon Criminal Defense Attorney
Questions about grading, time limits, Rule 600, or clearing a record are exactly what an initial conversation is for. Use the form to get matched with an attorney who can answer them for your case.
