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Your Chester Criminal Defense Attorney
Being charged with a crime in Chester can feel like the ground has moved. Before anything else, it helps to know that Pennsylvania’s rules on deadlines, trial timing, and clearing a record are written down, and they are more specific than most people expect. 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. The details of your case decide which rule controls, and an attorney who practices in Pennsylvania courts can sort that out quickly.
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.
- Trial clock: 365 days from the date the complaint is filed (Pa.R.Crim.P. 600). Delay that is not the Commonwealth’s fault does not count, so the real deadline is often later.
- Custody clock: 180 days. Rule 600(B) limits pretrial incarceration to 180 days from the complaint, and only delay caused by the defense is excluded from that count.
- 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?
The Crimes Code grades offenses in tiers (18 Pa.C.S. § 106): felonies of the first, second, and third degree, misdemeanors of the first, second, and third degree, and summary offenses. A charge’s grade is the quickest way to understand how serious it is.
The maximum prison terms are 20 years for a first-degree felony, 10 years for a second-degree felony, and 7 years for a third-degree felony (18 Pa.C.S. § 1103). Misdemeanors top out at 5, 2, and 1 years by degree (§ 1104), and a summary offense carries up to 90 days (§ 1105). Each grade also has a fine limit (18 Pa.C.S. § 1101): $25,000 for a felony of the first or second degree, $15,000 for the third, $10,000 to $2,500 across the misdemeanor degrees, and $300 for a summary offense, with exceptions where a statute provides its own amount.
Section 106 also fills the gaps: a felony or misdemeanor without a stated degree is third degree, and an offense punishable by no more than 90 days is summary.
How Long Does the Commonwealth Have to Bring Charges?
Two years is the baseline. Under 42 Pa.C.S. § 5552(a), a prosecution must begin within two years after the offense unless the subchapter provides otherwise, and offenses that are not on the longer lists, including simple assault and DUI, are held to it.
Certain offenses get more time. The five-year list in § 5552(b) includes aggravated assault, robbery, burglary, theft, forgery, and drug offenses punishable under § 13(f) of the Controlled Substance Act. A twelve-year period applies to major sexual offenses (§ 5552(b.1)), and § 5551 removes the limit for murder, voluntary manslaughter, and a few other offenses.
A prosecution counts as started when an indictment is found or an information is issued, or when a warrant, summons, or citation is issued and executed without unreasonable delay (§ 5552(e)). Time also does not run while the accused is continuously outside Pennsylvania or has no reasonably ascertainable abode or work here, or while a prosecution for the same conduct is pending (§ 5554).
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Is There a Hard Deadline to Bring Me to Trial in Pennsylvania?
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. How the days are counted is what matters. Under Rule 600(C), time lost to the Commonwealth’s lack of diligence is included, and all other delay is excluded, so a case can lawfully run past 365 days when the delay came from the defense, from a waiver, or from circumstances the prosecution could not control.
Courts call the 365-day date the ‘mechanical run date’ and the date after excluded time the ‘adjusted run date.’ Whether a motion succeeds usually turns on the reasons for each continuance, which the judge must record along with who asked for it, and on whether the prosecution can show it acted with due diligence. 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.
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. Philadelphia Municipal Court cases run on a different 180-day clock under Rule 1013, but that court sits only in Philadelphia.
From the Magisterial District Judge to Common Pleas
Early steps happen before a magisterial district judge: arraignment, bail, summary offenses, and the preliminary hearing (42 Pa.C.S. § 1515). If the charges go forward, the Court of Common Pleas is where the case is tried.
The Court of Common Pleas of Delaware County handles the trial of charges from Chester. It forms the Thirty-second Judicial District under 42 Pa.C.S. § 901, and its county seat is Media. Under Pa.R.Crim.P. 130, a case is generally brought before the magisterial district where the offense is alleged to have taken place.
The Charges Behind Most Calls From Chester
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 are the penalties for possession of a controlled substance?
Possession of a controlled substance under 35 P.S. § 780-113(a)(16) is a misdemeanor with a maximum of one year and a $5,000 fine, or three years and $25,000 after a prior conviction. Possession of a small amount of marijuana, 30 grams or 8 grams of hashish, carries a maximum of 30 days and $500. Charges of delivery or possession with intent to deliver are felonies with much higher ceilings.
A drug offense can also lead to a DUI-type charge: driving with any amount of a Schedule I substance, or a non-prescribed Schedule II or III substance, in the blood can be charged under 75 Pa.C.S. § 3802(d)(1), separately from the drug charge itself.
How serious is an assault charge in Pennsylvania?
Assault is graded by how serious the alleged conduct is. Simple assault is a second-degree misdemeanor unless it was a mutual fight (third degree) or committed by an adult against a child under 12 (first degree) (18 Pa.C.S. § 2701). Aggravated assault is a felony: first degree under subsections (a)(1), (2), and (9) and second degree under the other subsections (§ 2702(b)), with maximums of 20 and 10 years.
Which subsection is charged decides the grade, so the charging document matters: the same incident can be charged as simple or aggravated assault, and the difference is a misdemeanor versus a felony (18 Pa.C.S. §§ 2701, 2702).
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).
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 Chester? Talk to an attorney about the dates in your case.
Expunged, Sealed, or Limited: Why the Difference Matters
Whether a charge can come off a record depends on which of three mechanisms applies. Expungement, Clean Slate limited access, and petition-based limited access work differently, so the first step is working out which one matches your case.
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.
Under § 9122.2, courts and the State Police process limited access automatically after the waiting time: five years for a summary offense, seven years free of another conviction punishable by a year or more for a second- or third-degree misdemeanor or a misdemeanor punishable by up to two years, and ten years for a qualifying drug offense, with restitution and the fee paid. Charges that ended without a conviction are included.
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.
Exclusions matter as much as waiting periods. Violent offenses (offenses against the person), offenses against the family, firearms offenses, registration offenses, and corruption of minors are left out of most of these processes (18 Pa.C.S. §§ 9122.1, 9122.3), and some prior records disqualify a person too.
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)).
Chester: Courts, Counties, and Getting Started
Chester cases are heard in Delaware County. Knowing which court you will be in, and how it schedules cases, matters because the Rule 600 count depends on the reasons for each delay, and an attorney who handles Delaware County matters can watch those dates for you.
Nearby coverage: the Philadelphia criminal defense resource, criminal defense representation from Radnor.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Pennsylvania have a deadline for bringing criminal charges?
Yes, and it depends on the offense. Two years is the baseline (42 Pa.C.S. § 5552(a)); listed offenses run five years, major sexual offenses twelve, and murder and voluntary manslaughter have none (§ 5551). Time does not run while the accused is continuously absent from Pennsylvania (§ 5554).
Is 365 days a hard deadline for my trial?
No. It is a starting point that adjusts. The count includes only Commonwealth delay without due diligence and excludes every other period (Pa.R.Crim.P. 600(C)(1)), and the judge must record who asked for each continuance and to whom the delay is attributed (Rule 600(C)(3)).
What do first-degree and third-degree mean for a criminal charge?
The degree marks how serious the charge is and how much a court may impose. A first-degree felony can bring up to 20 years, a third-degree felony up to 7, a first-degree misdemeanor up to 5, and a third-degree misdemeanor up to 1 (18 Pa.C.S. §§ 1103, 1104).
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.
What happens before a magisterial district judge?
Magisterial district judges handle summary offenses, arraignments, and bail, and sit as the committing magistrate for preliminary hearings (42 Pa.C.S. § 1515). Charges that continue go to the Court of Common Pleas.
Can I get out on bail if my trial is delayed?
Possibly. After 180 days in custody the defense can ask to be released on nominal bail, with any nonmonetary conditions, unless the case is one where the law does not allow bail (Rule 600(B) and (D)(2)).
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 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)).
Can I get my record expunged in Pennsylvania?
Sometimes, through one of three routes. Expungement (18 Pa.C.S. § 9122) covers some non-convictions, acquittals, ARD cases, and only a few convictions, such as a summary offense after five arrest-free years. Automatic Clean Slate limited access (§ 9122.2) and limited access by petition (§ 9122.1) cover more, but restrict access rather than remove the record.
Will a background check show my record after limited access?
Usually not for ordinary employer and public background checks, because the State Police must withhold it, but exceptions apply, including federally required employment checks (18 Pa.C.S. § 9121(b), (b.2)).
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