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Your Bensalem Criminal Defense Attorney
If you or someone you care about is facing a charge in Bensalem, you are probably looking for straight answers more than legal theory. Pennsylvania sets grading, time limits, and a speedy trial rule by statute and court rule, so many of those answers can be checked. Below you will find the key deadlines at a glance, how charges are graded, what Rule 600 really does, where a case is heard, and how expungement and limited access differ. The details of your case decide which rule controls, and an attorney who practices in Pennsylvania courts can sort that out quickly.
The Short Answers: Time Limits, Trial Timing, 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.
- The 365-day rule (Pa.R.Crim.P. 600) is a real right, but its clock stops or adjusts for delay that is not the Commonwealth’s responsibility.
- Held in jail before trial: 180 days is the limit on pretrial incarceration under Rule 600(B), after which you can ask for release on nominal bail, unless the law does not allow bail in your case.
- 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).
- Will it stay on my record? That depends on which of three routes fits: expungement, automatic Clean Slate limited access, or a petition for limited access (18 Pa.C.S. §§ 9122 to 9122.2).
The Grading System Behind Your Charge
A charge is not just ‘a felony’ or ‘a misdemeanor.’ Pennsylvania divides each into three degrees (18 Pa.C.S. § 106), and summary offenses form a separate, lower class, so the exact grade is worth finding out early.
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). The fine ceilings under 18 Pa.C.S. § 1101 are $25,000 for first- and second-degree felonies, $15,000 for third-degree felonies, $10,000 for a first-degree misdemeanor, $5,000 for a second-degree misdemeanor, $2,500 for a third-degree misdemeanor, and $300 for a summary offense, subject to any specific statute.
If a statute says only ‘felony’ or ‘misdemeanor,’ the offense is a third-degree one, and anything with a maximum of 90 days or less is a summary offense (18 Pa.C.S. § 106).
When Does the Clock Run Out on a Pennsylvania Charge?
For most offenses the Commonwealth has two years to start a prosecution (42 Pa.C.S. § 5552(a)). Offenses not named in the longer-period lists, such as simple assault and DUI, are subject to that general two-year rule.
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.
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The 365-Day Trial Rule: What It Really Means
Pennsylvania’s speedy trial rule, Rule 600 of the Rules of Criminal Procedure, says trial in a court case must begin within 365 days after the complaint is filed. It is a real right. A violation is raised by a written motion, the judge holds a hearing, and dismissal under the rule is with prejudice, meaning the charges cannot be brought again. Read the rule closely and the 365 days turns out to be adjustable. Delay caused by the Commonwealth without due diligence is counted, and everything else is excluded, including defense continuances, unavailability of the defendant or counsel, and time the defendant has waived.
The practical question is not whether 365 days passed but what the adjusted run date is. That depends on the recorded reasons for each delay and on whether the Commonwealth acted with due diligence, a fact-specific showing the court decides case by case. A crowded court calendar does not automatically save a late trial: the Pennsylvania Supreme Court held in Commonwealth v. Harth (2021) that a trial court may rely on its own scheduling delay only after the Commonwealth has shown it exercised due diligence throughout the case.
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.
How a Criminal Case Moves Through the Courts Near Bensalem
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 Bensalem, that trial court is the Court of Common Pleas of Bucks County, which serves the Seventh Judicial District (42 Pa.C.S. §§ 901, 951). The county seat is Doylestown. The magisterial district for a case is generally the one where the offense is alleged to have occurred (Pa.R.Crim.P. 130).
Common Charges: Straight Answers
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).
Refusing a breath test or blood test under a valid warrant changes the tier: a general-impairment charge with a refusal is sentenced under the highest tier, with at least 72 consecutive hours in jail and a $1,000 to $5,000 fine for a first offense (75 Pa.C.S. §§ 3803, 3804(c)).
What is the difference between drug possession and drug delivery charges?
Possession of a controlled substance is a misdemeanor punishable by up to one year and a fine up to $5,000, and up to three years and $25,000 after a prior final conviction. A small amount of marijuana for personal use (30 grams or 8 grams of hashish) is a misdemeanor punishable by up to 30 days and $500. Manufacture, delivery, or possession with intent to deliver is a felony whose maximum depends on the drug, for example up to 15 years and $250,000 for a Schedule I or II narcotic (35 P.S. § 780-113).
A prior final conviction under the Act raises the possession ceiling from one year and $5,000 to three years and $25,000 (35 P.S. § 780-113(b)), which is one reason a record’s accuracy and its clearing matter.
What is the difference between simple assault and aggravated assault?
Simple assault (18 Pa.C.S. § 2701) is generally a second-degree misdemeanor, up to two years and $5,000. It drops to a third-degree misdemeanor (one year, $2,500) if it happened in a fight entered into by mutual consent, and rises to a first-degree misdemeanor (five years, $10,000) if an adult 18 or older commits it against a child under 12. Aggravated assault (§ 2702) is a felony, first degree for some subsections and second degree for others.
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).
How does Pennsylvania grade theft charges?
Theft is graded mainly by value (18 Pa.C.S. § 3903). Over $2,000, or a motor vehicle, is a third-degree felony; $100,000 to under $500,000 is a second-degree felony; $500,000 or more is a first-degree felony. Most other theft is a first-degree misdemeanor, with second-degree ($50 to under $200) and third-degree (under $50) misdemeanors when the property was not taken from a person or by threat. Retail theft has its own scale (§ 3929).
A theft charge turns on proving value and the taking, so how the property was valued, at market value at the time and place of the offense or replacement cost, can change the grade (18 Pa.C.S. § 3903(c)).
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Expunged, Sealed, or Limited: Why the Difference Matters
There is no single ‘clear my record’ button in Pennsylvania. The law provides expungement, an automatic Clean Slate process, and a petition process, each with its own waiting periods, conditions, and exclusions.
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.
The automatic route is Clean Slate limited access (18 Pa.C.S. § 9122.2). No petition is needed. Summary convictions qualify after five years, second- and third-degree misdemeanors (and misdemeanors punishable by two years or less) after seven years free of any conviction punishable by a year or more, and qualifying drug offenses after ten years, provided restitution and the fee are paid. Non-convictions are covered too.
For everything else, § 9122.1 allows a petition. A qualifying misdemeanor becomes eligible after seven years without a new conviction, and a felony of the third degree or lower in specific categories (theft, forgery, criminal mischief, criminal trespass) after ten. Higher-degree felonies are excluded, restitution and a fee are required, and the prosecutor can object within 30 days.
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.
Be realistic about what ‘limited access’ does. It keeps the record out of most background checks by requiring the State Police and the courts to withhold it (18 Pa.C.S. § 9121), but it does not destroy it. Criminal justice agencies still see it, and child-welfare agencies, custody and protection-from-abuse cases, and employers subject to federal review requirements can still obtain it. And after an expungement, including one tied to a diversion or probation program, a list of names is still kept, used only for later program eligibility, for identifying people in criminal investigations, and for grading later offenses (§ 9122(c)).
Local Court Details for Bensalem
A charge from Bensalem belongs to Bucks 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 Doylestown and in the magisterial district that hears your case.
Also serving: criminal defense representation from Norristown.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long can the state wait to charge me with a crime in Pennsylvania?
Usually two years from the offense (42 Pa.C.S. § 5552(a)). Aggravated assault, burglary, robbery, theft, forgery, and certain drug offenses get five years, major sexual offenses get twelve, and murder and voluntary manslaughter have no limit. The clock stops when a warrant, summons, or citation is issued and served without unreasonable delay.
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 much prison time can a felony carry in Pennsylvania?
Up to 20 years for a felony of the first degree, 10 for the second, and 7 for the third (18 Pa.C.S. § 1103), with fines up to $25,000 for the first two degrees and $15,000 for the third (§ 1101).
How serious is a summary offense compared to a misdemeanor?
Well below. A summary offense allows up to 90 days and a $300 fine, while a third-degree misdemeanor allows up to a year and $2,500 (18 Pa.C.S. §§ 1101, 1104, 1105).
What is a preliminary hearing in Pennsylvania?
A preliminary hearing takes place before a magisterial district judge acting as the committing magistrate (42 Pa.C.S. § 1515). Charges that go forward are then handled in the Court of Common Pleas.
How long can I be held in jail before my trial in Pennsylvania?
No more than 180 days from the complaint under Pa.R.Crim.P. 600(B), counting every delay except defense-caused delay. Beyond that, the remedy is a motion for immediate release on nominal bail (Rule 600(D)(2)), except where bail is not available.
What are the DUI tiers in Pennsylvania?
General impairment (unable to drive safely, or 0.08 to under 0.10 within two hours), high rate (0.10 to under 0.16), and highest rate (0.16 or above), plus separate controlled-substance and lower-limit rules for minors and commercial drivers (75 Pa.C.S. § 3802).
What is Accelerated Rehabilitative Disposition?
A diversion program that can end in dismissal of the charges and expungement of the arrest record (Pa.R.Crim.P. 320). For a DUI, driving under the influence within 10 years after completing ARD is a separate offense (75 Pa.C.S. § 3802(h)(1)).
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.’
Is a limited access record the same as an expunged record?
No. Expungement removes the record, while limited access hides it from most requesters but leaves it in place and visible to criminal justice agencies (18 Pa.C.S. §§ 9121, 9122). After some expungements, a list of names is still kept under § 9122(c).
Take the Next Step in Your Bensalem Case
The rules on this page are the same statewide, but what they mean for your case depends on the facts. Use the form to be matched with an attorney who can look at your charge and your dates.
