Instantly Connect For Your Criminal Defense Consultation When Filling Out Form
Ready to talk to someone about a charge in Lancaster? The form above connects you directly, no need to read everything below first.
Your Lancaster 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 Lancaster unfolds. The sections that follow cover how Pennsylvania grades charges, the time limits on prosecution, the speedy trial rule and its exceptions, and the three ways a record can be cleared. Talking with an attorney who knows Lancaster County practice can turn these general rules into a plan for your case.
The Short Answers: Time Limits, Trial Timing, and Records
- How long can they wait to charge me? Usually 2 years (42 Pa.C.S. § 5552(a)), with longer periods for listed offenses such as aggravated assault, robbery, and theft.
- 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).
- Clearing a record: expungement, automatic Clean Slate limited access, and petition-based limited access are three different tools with different waiting periods (18 Pa.C.S. §§ 9122, 9122.1, 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.
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). 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.
A statute that names no degree is graded at the third degree, and a maximum penalty of 90 days or less makes an offense summary, according to 18 Pa.C.S. § 106.
The Statute of Limitations on a Pennsylvania Criminal Charge
The default limitation period for a criminal case is two years from the offense, under 42 Pa.C.S. § 5552(a). It applies unless a more specific provision sets a longer period, which many offenses do, and it covers offenses such as simple assault and DUI.
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).
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 Lancaster? 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.
Every continuance leaves a record: the judge must note who asked for it, why, and whether the time counts (Rule 600(C)(3)). Lawyers then argue over the ‘adjusted run date’ and over whether the Commonwealth was diligent, which is the real question in most Rule 600 motions. 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.
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 Lancaster is the Court of Common Pleas of Lancaster County, part of the Second Judicial District (42 Pa.C.S. §§ 901, 951), and the county seat is Lancaster. 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 Lancaster
What happens if I am charged with DUI in Lancaster?
Pennsylvania’s DUI law has tiers. General impairment covers driving while unable to drive safely or with a blood alcohol level of 0.08 to under 0.10, high rate covers 0.10 to under 0.16, and highest rate covers 0.16 and above (75 Pa.C.S. § 3802). For a first offense the minimums rise with the tier: six months of probation and a $300 fine, then at least 48 hours in jail and $500 to $5,000, then at least 72 hours and $1,000 to $5,000 (§ 3804).
DUI is not on the five-year list in 42 Pa.C.S. § 5552(b), so the general two-year limit applies unless another provision extends it. The clock is measured to the start of the prosecution, not to trial.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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).
For record clearing, a third-degree felony theft offense can be the subject of a petition for limited access after 10 years, while first- and second-degree felonies are excluded (18 Pa.C.S. § 9122.1(a.1)). A summary retail theft conviction may qualify for automatic limited access after five years (§ 9122.2).
Questions about trial timing in Lancaster? Get matched with an attorney.
Will This Stay on My Record? Expungement, Clean Slate, and Limited Access
‘Will this stay on my record?’ has three different answers in Pennsylvania, because expungement, Clean Slate limited access, and petition-based limited access are separate tools with separate rules. Mixing them up leads to the wrong expectations, so it helps to take them one at a time.
Expungement erases the record, but few convictions qualify. Under 18 Pa.C.S. § 9122 it reaches non-convictions, acquittals on all charges (automatically), and ARD completions (Pa.R.Crim.P. 320), plus two conviction paths: a summary offense after five years without arrest or prosecution, and age 70 with ten arrest-free years after release from confinement or supervision.
Clean Slate limited access (§ 9122.2) is automatic, with no petition, once the waiting period has passed and court-ordered restitution and a fee are paid: five years for a summary conviction; seven years without another conviction punishable by a year or more for a second- or third-degree misdemeanor or any misdemeanor punishable by no more than two years; and ten years for a qualifying drug offense under the Controlled Substance Act. Non-conviction outcomes 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.
Eligibility has limits beyond time. For most routes, offenses against the person, offenses against the family, firearms offenses, offenses requiring sex-offender registration, and corruption of minors are excluded (18 Pa.C.S. §§ 9122.1, 9122.3), and a history of other convictions can disqualify someone.
One warning: limited access is a restriction on who sees the record, not a deletion. State Police and court dissemination to most employers and the public stops (18 Pa.C.S. § 9121), but criminal justice agencies, child-welfare agencies, custody and protection-from-abuse cases, and employers under federal screening rules can still get it. Similarly, an expungement, including one that follows a diversion or probation program, still leaves a list of names kept by the prosecutor and State Police, used only for later eligibility, criminal investigations, and the grading of later offenses (§ 9122(c)).
Lancaster: Courts, Counties, and Getting Started
Deadlines and clocks are the same across Pennsylvania, and the courtroom is not. A charge in Lancaster is handled in Lancaster County, and getting the timeline for that court from an attorney who practices there is a sound first step.
Nearby coverage: our West Chester page.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the time limit to prosecute a crime in Pennsylvania?
Two years is the general rule under 42 Pa.C.S. § 5552(a). Five-year and twelve-year lists extend it for specific offenses, and a few offenses have no time limit (§ 5551). A prosecution counts as begun when a warrant, summons, or citation is issued and served without unreasonable delay.
Does Rule 600 mean my case is dismissed after 365 days?
Not automatically. Rule 600 sets 365 days from the complaint, but only delay caused by the Commonwealth’s failure to use due diligence counts. Other delay, such as defense continuances, is excluded. Dismissal, with prejudice, requires a written motion and a hearing (Pa.R.Crim.P. 600).
What are the maximum sentences for Pennsylvania crimes?
Felony maximums are 20, 10, and 7 years; misdemeanor maximums are 5, 2, and 1 years; and a summary offense allows up to 90 days (18 Pa.C.S. §§ 1103, 1104, 1105). Individual statutes can set their own penalties within those classes.
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.
What is the 180-day rule for pretrial detention?
Rule 600(B) says no one may be held in pretrial incarceration more than 180 days from the complaint. Only delay caused by the defense is excluded, and the remedy is a motion for release on nominal bail, unless you are not entitled to bail.
Can I be charged with DUI for drugs in Pennsylvania?
Yes. Any amount of a Schedule I controlled substance, or of a Schedule II or III substance that was not medically prescribed, or a metabolite of either, in the blood can support a charge under 75 Pa.C.S. § 3802(d)(1).
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)).
Will my conviction ever come off my record?
Some can, but usually through limited access, not expungement. Summary offenses qualify for automatic Clean Slate after five years, certain misdemeanors after seven years, and qualifying drug offenses after ten (18 Pa.C.S. § 9122.2), and a petition covers more (§ 9122.1).
What are the exclusions for Clean Slate in Pennsylvania?
For automatic Clean Slate limited access, convictions for offenses involving danger to the person, offenses against the family, firearms offenses, offenses requiring sex-offender registration, animal cruelty, and corruption of minors are excluded, as is anyone who has ever been convicted of a felony other than a qualifying drug offense, or of several other serious offenses (18 Pa.C.S. § 9122.3(a)).
Connect With a Lancaster Criminal Defense Attorney
A charge is easier to face with someone reading the paperwork alongside you. Submit the form to be connected with an attorney who can go over the charge, the deadlines, and the court in Lancaster County.
