How Pennsylvania handles a case
What happens after an arrest anywhere in Pennsylvania: who decides release first, how fast a person sees a judge, which courts hear the case, and who runs the offices around them. Every county in the state works under these rules.
From arrest to court
- Who decides release first
Outside Philadelphia, a magisterial district judge sets bail at the preliminary arraignment. In Philadelphia, an arraignment court magistrate appointed by the Municipal Court sets it; magistrates need not be lawyers if they complete a training program. Neither may set bail for murder or voluntary manslaughter; a Common Pleas judge does.
Pa.R.Crim.P. 51942 Pa.C.S. 1515(a)(4)42 Pa.C.S. 1123(a)(5)- Time to see a judge
A person arrested without a warrant must have a preliminary arraignment without unnecessary delay. The rule sets no hour limit. The U.S. Supreme Court's 48-hour rule for a probable cause finding applies as the federal floor.
Pa.R.Crim.P. 516(A)- Money bail
Money bail is allowed. The rules list five kinds of release, from release on recognizance to a money condition no larger than needed to ensure the person appears.
Pa.R.Crim.P. 524(C)- Pretrial risk assessment
No statewide tool. Allegheny County built its own risk instrument, which two other counties adopted, and other counties vary.
Mapping Pretrial Risk, How many jurisdictions use each tool?- Courts
The Court of Common Pleas, organized in 60 judicial districts, tries felonies and misdemeanors. Magisterial district judges hear summary offenses, the lowest grade, and hold first arraignments and preliminary hearings. In Philadelphia, the Municipal Court tries crimes punishable by up to five years without a jury.
Unified Judicial System of Pennsylvania, Courts of Common Pleas42 Pa.C.S. 151542 Pa.C.S. 1123- Judges and magistrates
Common Pleas judges win a contested election for a 10-year term, then run in yes-or-no retention elections without party labels. Magisterial district judges are elected in contested elections to six-year terms and need not be lawyers. All other judges must be members of the bar.
Unified Judicial System of Pennsylvania, How Judges Are Elected- Prosecutors
Each county elects a district attorney to a four-year term.
Pa. Const. art. IX, s. 4- Public defense
Each county runs and pays for its own public defender office, whose head is appointed, not elected. The state first funded public defense in December 2023, with grants that add to county money.
Pa. Const. art. IX, s. 4Spotlight PA, Pennsylvania public defense state funded, January 2024- Jails
Counties run their own jails, usually through a county prison board of the president judge, district attorney, sheriff, controller, and county commissioners. The sheriff's duty ends once a person is committed to the jail.
61 Pa.C.S. 1731
Read from the statutes and court rules cited, 2026-09-30. The prison board statute covers counties of the third to fifth class and those that opt in; Philadelphia and Allegheny run jails under other arrangements not read here.