Instantly Connect For Your Criminal Defense Consultation When Filling Out Form
Ready to talk to someone about a charge in Reading? The form above connects you directly, no need to read everything below first.
Your Reading Criminal Defense Attorney
Few things are as stressful as waiting to learn what a criminal charge will mean. The steadying part is that Pennsylvania law is specific about how charges are graded, how long the Commonwealth has to bring them, and how a record can later be cleared. 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. These rules apply across Pennsylvania, but where your case is heard depends on the county, and an attorney familiar with the Court of Common Pleas of Berks County can explain what to expect there.
Pennsylvania Criminal Deadlines at a Glance
- General limit on prosecution: 2 years from the offense (42 Pa.C.S. § 5552(a)), extended to 5 or 12 years for specific offenses and removed entirely for murder.
- 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.
- If you are in custody, the limit is 180 days from the complaint (Rule 600(B)). After that a motion for release on nominal bail is available, except where bail is not allowed.
- Grading: charges are felonies (first, second, or third degree), misdemeanors (first, second, or third degree), or summary offenses, and the grade sets the maximum sentence (18 Pa.C.S. § 106).
- Three ways to clear a record: expungement (removal), Clean Slate limited access (automatic), and limited access by petition, each with its own eligibility rules (18 Pa.C.S. §§ 9122 to 9122.2).
What Do the Degrees of Felony and Misdemeanor Mean?
Under 18 Pa.C.S. § 106, every crime falls into a class: three degrees of felony, three degrees of misdemeanor, or a summary offense. Knowing which class your charge sits in tells you the most a court can impose.
In numbers: first-degree felony, up to 20 years; second-degree, up to 10; third-degree, up to 7 (18 Pa.C.S. § 1103). First-degree misdemeanor, up to 5 years; second-degree, up to 2; third-degree, up to 1 (§ 1104). Summary offense, up to 90 days (§ 1105). On fines, Pennsylvania allows up to $25,000 for the top two felony grades and $15,000 for a third-degree felony, then $10,000, $5,000, and $2,500 down the misdemeanor grades and $300 for a summary offense, unless the offense’s own statute says otherwise (18 Pa.C.S. § 1101).
When a statute calls an offense a felony or misdemeanor without naming a degree, it is treated as a third-degree offense, and an offense is summary if the most that can be imposed is 90 days (18 Pa.C.S. § 106).
How Long Does the Commonwealth Have to Bring Charges?
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.
The exceptions run long. Aggravated assault, burglary, robbery, theft, forgery, and offenses punishable under § 13(f) of the Controlled Substance Act are on a five-year list (§ 5552(b)), the most serious sexual offenses on a twelve-year list (§ 5552(b.1)), and murder and voluntary manslaughter can be prosecuted at any time (§ 5551).
The clock stops when a prosecution is ‘commenced,’ which happens when an indictment is found, an information is issued, or a warrant, summons, or citation is issued and served without unreasonable delay (§ 5552(e)). It does not run while the accused is continuously absent from Pennsylvania or has no ascertainable home or workplace here, or while another prosecution for the same conduct is pending (§ 5554).
Charged in Reading? Get matched with an attorney now.
The 365-Day Trial Rule: What It Really Means
The rule most people mean by ‘speedy trial’ in Pennsylvania is Rule 600. It gives 365 days from the filing of the complaint for trial to begin, and it lets the defense move to dismiss the charges with prejudice, after a hearing, if that time is exceeded. That number is not a simple countdown. The rule counts delay against the Commonwealth only when the Commonwealth did not act with due diligence, and it excludes all other delay, such as defense continuances, the defendant’s or attorney’s unavailability, and any time the defendant waives.
Judges work from two dates, the ‘mechanical run date’ (the complaint plus 365 days) and the ‘adjusted run date’ (after excluded time). The record of each continuance, including who asked for it and why, and the prosecution’s proof of due diligence, usually decide which side the numbers favor. Courts do not treat delay as one thing. Emergency orders suspending Rule 600 during the pandemic excluded hundreds of days in Commonwealth v. Malone (2023), while in Commonwealth v. Harth (2021) the Supreme Court held that judicial delay can excuse a late trial only if the Commonwealth was diligent.
Time in jail is measured separately. Under Rule 600(B) a person may not be held more than 180 days before trial, excluding only defense delay, and (D)(2) provides a motion for release on nominal bail, except where the defendant is not entitled to bail.
From the Magisterial District Judge to Common Pleas
A case usually starts in front of a magisterial district judge. That judge hears summary offenses, presides at arraignments, sets and accepts bail, and conducts preliminary hearings (42 Pa.C.S. § 1515). Serious charges that go forward are then tried in the Court of Common Pleas.
The trial court for Reading is the Court of Common Pleas of Berks County, part of the Twenty-third Judicial District (42 Pa.C.S. §§ 901, 951), and the county seat is Reading. Where an offense is alleged to have occurred decides the magisterial district that hears the case (Pa.R.Crim.P. 130).
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).
A DUI charge is not limited to alcohol. Any amount of a Schedule I controlled substance in the blood, or of a Schedule II or III substance that was not medically prescribed, or of a metabolite of either, can support a charge under 75 Pa.C.S. § 3802(d)(1).
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).
Is simple assault a felony?
Simple assault is not a felony. It is a second-degree misdemeanor in most cases, with a maximum of two years, and a third-degree misdemeanor in a mutual-consent fight or a first-degree misdemeanor against a child under 12 by an adult (18 Pa.C.S. § 2701). Aggravated assault, by contrast, is a first- or second-degree felony (§ 2702(b)).
The time limit differs by charge. Aggravated assault is on the five-year list in 42 Pa.C.S. § 5552(b), while simple assault falls under the two-year default, and certain aggravated assaults on a law-enforcement officer acting in the line of duty, where the accused knew the victim was an officer, have no limitation period at all (§ 5551).
What is the penalty for shoplifting in Pennsylvania?
Shoplifting is charged as retail theft under 18 Pa.C.S. § 3929. A first offense involving merchandise worth less than $150 is a summary offense, a second offense under $150 is a second-degree misdemeanor, $150 or more is a first-degree misdemeanor, and a third or later offense, or one over $1,000, is a third-degree felony.
Theft offenses (18 Pa.C.S. §§ 3921 to 3933) are on the five-year list in 42 Pa.C.S. § 5552(b), so the Commonwealth has more time to bring them than the two-year default.
Facing a charge in Reading? Talk to an attorney about the dates in your case.
Can I Get This Expunged? Three Different Ways to Clear a Record
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.
The classic remedy is expungement (18 Pa.C.S. § 9122), which removes the record but applies in limited situations: cases without a conviction, acquittals on all charges (which are now expunged automatically), and Accelerated Rehabilitative Disposition cases dismissed after completion (Pa.R.Crim.P. 320). A conviction can be expunged only if it was a summary offense after five clean years, or at 70 after ten clean years.
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.
If the automatic process does not apply, a petition for limited access under 18 Pa.C.S. § 9122.1 may. It is available for a qualifying misdemeanor after seven years without a new conviction and for a specified third-degree or lower felony (such as theft, forgery, criminal mischief, or criminal trespass) after ten, but not for first- or second-degree felonies. Restitution and a fee must be paid, and the prosecutor 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.
Limited access is not erasure. The State Police and the courts must withhold a limited-access record from most background checks (18 Pa.C.S. § 9121), but the record still exists and criminal justice agencies can see it. A few requesters can still get it, including child-welfare agencies, custody and protection-from-abuse cases, and employers whose federal rules require a criminal-history review. Even after an expungement, including one that follows a diversion or probation program, the prosecutor and the State Police keep a list of names, used only to decide eligibility for later programs, to identify people in criminal investigations, and to grade later offenses (§ 9122(c)).
What to Know About Cases in Reading
A charge from Reading belongs to Berks County and its Court of Common Pleas. Local practice, such as how quickly cases are listed and how continuances are handled, shapes how the general rules on this page play out, and a local attorney can tell you what that looks like in Reading and in the magisterial district that hears your case.
Hurt because of someone else’s carelessness? Read about personal injury claims in Reading.
Nearby cities we also cover: our Lancaster page, West Chester criminal defense attorneys.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is there a statute of limitations on criminal charges in Pennsylvania?
Yes. The general limit is two years (42 Pa.C.S. § 5552(a)), with five years for a list of serious offenses and twelve years for major sexual offenses. Murder, voluntary manslaughter, and a few other offenses can be prosecuted at any time (§ 5551). The period stops running once a prosecution is commenced.
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.
What is the difference between a misdemeanor and a felony in Pennsylvania?
The grade sets the ceiling. Felonies carry up to 20, 10, or 7 years by degree, misdemeanors up to 5, 2, or 1 years, and summary offenses up to 90 days (18 Pa.C.S. §§ 1103, 1104, 1105). Fines follow the same ladder under § 1101.
What is the penalty for a summary offense?
Up to 90 days in jail and, unless another statute says otherwise, a fine of up to $300 (18 Pa.C.S. §§ 1105, 1101). Some summary offenses have their own fines set by the statute that creates them.
How does a criminal case move through the Pennsylvania courts?
Most cases start before a magisterial district judge (arraignment, bail, preliminary hearing, and summary offenses), then move to the Court of Common Pleas for trial (42 Pa.C.S. §§ 931, 1515).
Is there a limit on pretrial jail time in Pennsylvania?
Yes: 180 days from the complaint, excluding only defense-caused delay (Pa.R.Crim.P. 600(B)). The exception is a defendant who is not entitled to bail under Pennsylvania law.
Is a first DUI a felony in Pennsylvania?
Not by itself. A first DUI is a misdemeanor, with a maximum of six months in the general-impairment tier (75 Pa.C.S. § 3803(a)(1)). The grade rises with prior offenses and some aggravating facts, such as a minor in the vehicle, and reaches a felony of the third degree once there are three or more prior offenses (§ 3803(a)(3)).
What is ARD in Pennsylvania and does it clear my record?
ARD is a diversion program. When a judge dismisses the charges after successful completion, the judge also orders the arrest record expunged, unless the Commonwealth files an objection within 30 days after the dismissal motion is served (Pa.R.Crim.P. 320). For a DUI, however, driving under the influence within 10 years after completing ARD is a separate offense (75 Pa.C.S. § 3802(h)(1)).
How long do I have to wait to expunge a criminal record in Pennsylvania?
It depends on the route. Automatic Clean Slate: five years for a summary offense, seven for certain misdemeanors, ten for qualifying drug offenses (18 Pa.C.S. § 9122.2). Petition: seven years for a qualifying misdemeanor, ten for a listed lower-level felony (§ 9122.1). Expungement: five arrest-free years for a summary offense (§ 9122).
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.
Take the Next Step in Your Reading Case
If you are unsure where to start, the form above is the simplest first step. It connects you with an attorney who can explain your options in Reading and what the next few weeks may involve.
