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Your Monroeville 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 Monroeville 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. 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
- 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.
- 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.
- Grades run from summary offenses up to first-degree felonies, with three degrees each of felony and misdemeanor, and each grade has its own sentencing ceiling (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).
What Do the Degrees of Felony and Misdemeanor Mean?
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.
Sentencing maximums follow the grade: 20, 10, and 7 years for felonies of the first, second, and third degree (18 Pa.C.S. § 1103); 5, 2, and 1 years for the three misdemeanor degrees (§ 1104); and 90 days for a summary offense (§ 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.
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.
The Statute of Limitations on a Pennsylvania Criminal Charge
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.
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).
What stops the clock is the start of the prosecution: an indictment, an information, or a warrant, summons, or citation that is served without unreasonable delay (§ 5552(e)). Under § 5554 the period is also paused while the accused is continuously absent from the state or cannot reasonably be located here, or while a prosecution for the same conduct is pending.
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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. 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.
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. 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.
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. 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.
Where Your Case Is Heard in Monroeville
Most Pennsylvania criminal cases begin before a magisterial district judge, who handles summary offenses, arraignments, and bail, and sits as the committing magistrate at preliminary hearings (42 Pa.C.S. § 1515). Charges that continue past that stage are tried in the Court of Common Pleas.
A Monroeville case that reaches trial goes to the Court of Common Pleas of Allegheny County. That court is the Fifth Judicial District (42 Pa.C.S. §§ 901, 951), and Pittsburgh is the county seat. Which magisterial district hears the case is set by where the offense is alleged to have occurred (Pa.R.Crim.P. 130).
Answers on the Charges We Hear About Most
Is a DUI a misdemeanor in Pennsylvania?
For most first offenses, yes: a first DUI in the general-impairment tier is a misdemeanor with a maximum of six months (75 Pa.C.S. § 3803), and the tiers above it start with mandatory jail time. The tiers are 0.08 to under 0.10 or inability to drive safely, 0.10 to under 0.16, and 0.16 or more (§ 3802), with first-offense minimums of six months of probation and $300, 48 hours and $500 to $5,000, and 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.
How does Pennsylvania treat a small amount of marijuana?
Pennsylvania draws a specific line: a small amount of marijuana, meaning 30 grams or 8 grams of hashish, held only for personal use is a misdemeanor with a maximum of 30 days and $500 (35 P.S. § 780-113(a)(31), (g)). Possession of other controlled substances is a misdemeanor of up to a year and $5,000, and delivery or possession with intent to deliver is a felony graded by the drug.
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).
What penalties come with an assault conviction?
For simple assault, a second-degree misdemeanor carries up to two years and a $5,000 fine (18 Pa.C.S. §§ 1104, 1101), with lower and higher grades in the mutual-fight and child-victim situations. Aggravated assault is a felony, up to 20 years for a first-degree felony and 10 for a second-degree felony (§§ 2702(b), 1103).
An assault charge also sets the calendar: with a two-year default for simple assault and five years for aggravated assault (42 Pa.C.S. § 5552), the date of the incident and the date the complaint or warrant issued can matter.
Does the value of the item matter in a theft case?
Yes, the value sets the grade. Under 18 Pa.C.S. § 3903, over $2,000 is a third-degree felony, $200 to $2,000 is generally a first-degree misdemeanor, $50 to under $200 a second-degree misdemeanor, and under $50 a third-degree misdemeanor, with higher felony grades for larger amounts and different rules when property was taken from a person. Retail theft has its own scale in § 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.
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What Can Be Cleared From a Pennsylvania Record?
People often use ‘expunged’ and ‘sealed’ as if they meant the same thing. In Pennsylvania they do not: expungement removes a record, while Clean Slate limited access and limited access by petition restrict who can see it. Each has its own eligibility rules.
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.
Limited access by petition (§ 9122.1) covers people who are not reached automatically. A qualifying misdemeanor can be petitioned for after seven years without a new conviction, and a listed lower-level felony, such as certain theft, forgery, criminal mischief, or criminal trespass offenses, after ten years. First- and second-degree felonies are excluded, restitution and a fee are required, and the district attorney can 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.
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)).
What to Know About Cases in Monroeville
A charge from Monroeville belongs to Allegheny 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 Pittsburgh and in the magisterial district that hears your case.
Hurt because of someone else’s carelessness? Read about personal injury claims in Monroeville.
Nearby coverage: our coverage in New Castle.
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.
Will my charges be dropped if I do not get a trial within a year?
Not just because a year passes. Under Rule 600 the count adds only Commonwealth delay caused by a lack of due diligence and excludes other delay, so the real deadline can be later. The defense must file a motion and the judge holds a hearing; a dismissal is with prejudice.
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).
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).
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)).
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).
What happens to my arrest record after ARD?
After successful completion and dismissal, 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). The prosecutor and the State Police still keep a list of names, used only for later program eligibility, identifying people in criminal investigations, and grading later offenses (18 Pa.C.S. § 9122(c)).
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.
Does limited access hide my record from employers?
From most of them, yes. The State Police and the courts must withhold a limited-access record from most background checks (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.
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