How a Pennsylvania criminal case moves
Every criminal case in Pennsylvania follows the same life cycle, and knowing where a case is in that cycle is the first step in defending it. After an arrest, the accused is brought before a Magisterial District Judge or hearing officer for a preliminary arraignment — usually within hours — where the charges are read and bail is set. For many lower-level offenses, police release the person and mail a summons instead of holding them.
The preliminary hearing follows at the magisterial district court — or the Municipal Court in Philadelphia — scheduled within 14 days for someone in custody or 21 days for someone released. There the Commonwealth must show a prima facie case — enough evidence, if believed, that a crime occurred and the accused committed it. Charges held for court move to the Court of Common Pleas for formal arraignment, which starts the clock on pretrial motions: suppression of evidence, habeas corpus challenges, and discovery. The case then resolves by dismissal, diversion, negotiated plea, or trial — before a judge or a jury of twelve and two alternates. Sentencing follows Pennsylvania's guidelines, and post-sentence rights include a direct appeal to the Superior Court and, later, post-conviction relief under the PCRA.
Pennsylvania's speedy-trial rule, Rule 600, requires trial within 365 days of the complaint, excluding defense-caused delay, and a defendant held in jail pretrial is entitled to release on nominal bail after 180 days. These deadlines are enforceable — but only if someone is counting.
What the grading of a charge really decides
Pennsylvania grades offenses by maximum penalty, and the grade drives nearly everything: the sentencing guidelines, whether a record can ever be sealed, firearm rights, professional licensing, and immigration consequences. Often the most valuable work in a case happens early, negotiating what a charge is graded as — the difference between a third-degree felony and a first-degree misdemeanor can matter more than the eventual sentence.
- First-degree felony (F1): up to 20 years and a $25,000 fine
- Second-degree felony (F2): up to 10 years and $25,000
- Third-degree felony (F3): up to 7 years and $15,000
- First-degree misdemeanor (M1): up to 5 years and $10,000
- Second-degree misdemeanor (M2): up to 2 years and $5,000
- Third-degree misdemeanor (M3): up to 1 year and $2,500
- Summary offense: up to 90 days
A conviction reaches further than the sentence
The consequences of a conviction extend well past the courtroom. Employers may consider convictions that relate to the job, and Pennsylvania law requires written notice when criminal history is the reason for a rejection. Licensing boards scrutinize convictions for nurses, teachers, contractors, and other licensed professionals. Non-citizens can face removal or inadmissibility — sometimes from offenses that sound minor. A first-degree misdemeanor, because it is punishable by five years, triggers the federal firearms prohibition even when no jail time is ever served. Custody courts must consider certain convictions. Housing applications ask.
This is why cases here are prepared as though they are going to trial from the first filing: the Commonwealth's evidence gets tested at every stage — the stop, the search, the statements, the identification — because Pennsylvania's constitution often protects more than the federal minimum, and because leverage at trial is what produces outcomes that protect a client's record, rights, and livelihood.
