Starting a criminal defense issue in Pennsylvania: suppression issues, calendar reset risk, and before leverage slips

Pennsylvania's criminal procedure has several distinctive features. ARD (Accelerated Rehabilitative Disposition) — a pre-trial diversion program primarily used for DUI and minor drug/property offenses — is one of the most significant tools in Pennsylvania criminal practice; successful ARD completion results in dismissal and expungement eligibility, keeping first-time offenders off the permanent record. Pennsylvania's expungement law is more limited than Illinois or New York for convictions, but ARD completion and certain minor convictions are expungeable. The PCRA (42 Pa.C.S. § 9541 et seq.) is the exclusive post-conviction remedy for challenging wrongful convictions.

ARD: Pennsylvania's Diversion Program

ARD (Accelerated Rehabilitative Disposition, Pa.R.Crim.P. 319) is a pre-trial diversion program that allows first-time offenders charged with certain offenses to complete a supervisory period, after which the charges are dismissed. The program is administered by each county's District Attorney's office — eligibility criteria, program requirements, and wait times vary by county. Generally, ARD is available for: DUI (first offense); minor drug possession; retail theft; and other non-violent misdemeanors and summary offenses. Requirements typically include: alcohol/drug evaluation and treatment, community service, costs and fines, and any restitution. Upon successful completion, charges are dismissed and the arrest record can be expunged. ARD is particularly valuable because it avoids a conviction entirely. The ARD offer is made by the DA's office; the court approves; the defendant has the right to reject ARD if they prefer trial.

Pennsylvania Expungement Law: Limited for Convictions

Pennsylvania's expungement statute (18 Pa.C.S. § 9122) is more restrictive than many states. Expungement is available for: (1) ARD completion — arrest record can be expunged; (2) acquittals and nolle prosequi (charges dropped); (3) summary offense convictions where the defendant is at least 70 years old and has been free of arrest for 10 years, or the defendant has been dead for 3 years; (4) certain minor summary convictions after 5 years crime-free. For most misdemeanor and felony convictions, Pennsylvania does not provide expungement. Pennsylvania enacted a "Clean Slate" law (18 Pa.C.S. § 9122.2) effective 2019 that provides automatic sealing of qualifying convictions — non-conviction records and most misdemeanor 3 and lower-tier convictions — but sealing is not the same as expungement, and sealed records are still accessible to law enforcement and some employers.

Pennsylvania Felony and Misdemeanor Classifications

Pennsylvania classifies crimes as follows:

• Felony 1 (F1): maximum 20 years imprisonment; most serious crimes short of murder (rape, robbery, kidnapping)
• Felony 2 (F2): maximum 10 years (aggravated assault, burglary)
• Felony 3 (F3): maximum 7 years (theft over $2,000, receiving stolen property)
• Misdemeanor 1 (M1): maximum 5 years (simple assault, DUI with accident)
• Misdemeanor 2 (M2): maximum 2 years (harassment, simple possession in some circumstances)
• Misdemeanor 3 (M3): maximum 1 year
• Summary offenses: maximum 90 days; least severe (disorderly conduct, retail theft under $150)

Pennsylvania also uses mandatory minimum sentencing for gun offenses and certain drug trafficking quantities, though the Pennsylvania Supreme Court has struck down some mandatory minimums as unconstitutional under Alleyne v. United States where facts increasing the mandatory minimum were not submitted to the jury.

PCRA: Post-Conviction Relief in Pennsylvania

The Post Conviction Relief Act (42 Pa.C.S. § 9541) is the exclusive mechanism for most post-conviction relief in Pennsylvania. PCRA claims can be based on: constitutional violations; ineffective assistance of counsel; after-discovered evidence that wasn't available at trial; governmental interference; a plea entered unknowingly; and new constitutional rules applied retroactively. The PCRA has a 1-year filing deadline from the date the judgment becomes final — this is strictly enforced, with very limited exceptions for newly discovered facts, new constitutional rules, or governmental interference. Pennsylvania courts have extensive PCRA jurisprudence, and PCRA practice is specialized. Death-penalty cases have additional procedural protections under PCRA.