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Your York Criminal Defense Attorney
If you or someone you care about is facing a charge in York, 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. 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. Talking with an attorney who knows York County practice can turn these general rules into a plan for your case.
Quick Answers on Charges, Deadlines, and Records
- Time limit to bring most charges: 2 years, under the general rule in 42 Pa.C.S. § 5552(a). Listed offenses get longer periods, and a few have no limit at all.
- 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.
- 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.
- The grade of a charge decides its maximum penalty: three degrees of felony, three of misdemeanor, and summary offenses at the bottom (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).
How Pennsylvania Grades Criminal Charges
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.
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).
Pennsylvania's Time Limits on Prosecution
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.
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.
Timing is measured to the start of the case, not to trial: an indictment, an information, or a warrant, summons, or citation issued and executed without unreasonable delay (§ 5552(e)). The period does not run during continuous absence from Pennsylvania, when no home or workplace here can reasonably be found, 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?
Rule 600 requires a court case to go to trial within 365 days after the complaint is filed. Enforcing it takes a motion by the defense and a hearing, and a dismissal under the rule is with prejudice. But 365 days is only a starting point. Under Rule 600(C), only delay caused by the Commonwealth when it failed to use due diligence counts against it. Every other period of delay is excluded, including continuances the defense asks for, time when the defense is unavailable, and any period 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. 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.
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.
The Courts Behind a York Criminal Charge
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.
In York County the Court of Common Pleas is the Nineteenth Judicial District (42 Pa.C.S. §§ 901, 951). It is the court that would try a serious charge from York, and York is the county seat. Venue follows the location of the alleged offense: the proceeding is brought before the magisterial district where it is alleged to have occurred (Pa.R.Crim.P. 130).
The Charges Behind Most Calls From York
What are the penalties for a first DUI in Pennsylvania?
The penalty depends on the tier. General impairment (unable to drive safely, or 0.08 to under 0.10) means at least six months of probation and a $300 fine for a first offense; high rate (0.10 to under 0.16) means at least 48 consecutive hours in jail and $500 to $5,000; highest rate (0.16 or higher) means at least 72 consecutive hours and $1,000 to $5,000 (75 Pa.C.S. §§ 3802, 3804). Alcohol highway school and treatment requirements apply in every tier.
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).
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).
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).
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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What Can Be Cleared From a Pennsylvania Record?
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.
True expungement under 18 Pa.C.S. § 9122 is the narrowest tool. It applies to non-conviction outcomes, to an acquittal on all charges (automatic), and to a dismissed case after successful Accelerated Rehabilitative Disposition (Pa.R.Crim.P. 320). Convictions qualify only if they are summary offenses with five arrest-free years, or the person is 70 and has been free of arrest for ten years after release from confinement or supervision.
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.
Petition-based limited access (18 Pa.C.S. § 9122.1) asks a court to limit access to a qualifying misdemeanor after seven years without a new conviction, or to a listed lower-level felony after ten. The felony list is specific (including theft, forgery, criminal mischief, and criminal trespass), first- and second-degree felonies are excluded, restitution and the fee must be paid, and the district attorney may object.
Several categories are generally off the table: offenses against the person, offenses against the family, firearms offenses, offenses that require sex-offender registration, and corruption of minors (18 Pa.C.S. §§ 9122.1, 9122.3). Other convictions in a person’s history can also make them ineligible.
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)).
Criminal Defense in York and York County
A charge from York belongs to York 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 York and in the magisterial district that hears your case.
If you were hurt in an accident instead, see personal injury help in York.
Also serving: our Lancaster page.
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).
Can a case be dismissed for violating the speedy trial rule?
Yes, but only after a motion and a hearing, and only if the time that counts has run out. Only Commonwealth delay without due diligence counts toward the 365 days, and other delay, including defense continuances, is excluded. If the rule was violated, the dismissal is with prejudice.
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.
Is a summary offense a crime?
Yes, but the lowest level. An offense is summary if it is designated that way or if the most that can be imposed is 90 days (18 Pa.C.S. § 106(c)). A magisterial district judge hears these cases (42 Pa.C.S. § 1515).
Which court handles a criminal case in York County?
The trial court is the Court of Common Pleas of York County, part of the judicial district that covers York County (42 Pa.C.S. §§ 901, 951). Early proceedings happen before a magisterial district judge.
Can I be held in jail for a year waiting for trial?
Generally no. Rule 600(B) limits pretrial incarceration to 180 days from the complaint, excluding only delay caused by the defense, and the defense can move for release on nominal bail after that, unless the law does not entitle you to bail.
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).
Can an ARD case be expunged?
Generally yes. On dismissal after completion, the judge also orders expungement of the arrest record, subject to a Commonwealth objection filed within 30 days after the dismissal motion is served (Pa.R.Crim.P. 320(B)). Some offenses are excluded, including listed sexual offenses against a victim under 18 (18 Pa.C.S. § 9122(b.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).
Who can still see a record after Clean Slate limited access?
Criminal justice agencies, child-welfare agencies, courts in custody and protection-from-abuse cases, employers whose federal rules require a criminal-history review, and a few others (18 Pa.C.S. § 9121(b.1), (b.2)).
Get Started With an Attorney in York
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