Two levels of state court split the work in this county:

• Magisterial district courts handle summary offenses. Those sit at the bottom of the scale: picture a speeding ticket or a citation for disorderly conduct. Every felony and misdemeanor also starts at this level. The district judge sets bail and runs the preliminary hearing.
• The Court of Common Pleas takes felony and misdemeanor cases once the preliminary hearing sends them up. It also hears appeals from summary convictions as a brand new trial.

Grades decide the stakes (18 Pa.C.S. §§ 1101, 1103-1105). Misdemeanors run from M3, with up to 1 year and $2,500, to M1, with up to 5 years and $10,000. Felonies run from F3, with up to 7 years and $15,000, to F1, with up to 20 years and $25,000. The ceiling for a summary conviction is 90 days and $300.

The Court of Common Pleas for the 25th Judicial District, which is this county alone, meets at the Clinton County Courthouse, 230 E. Water Street, Lock Haven, PA 17745. Main line: 570-893-4016. Doors are open Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., and Wednesday from 8:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

• Clerk of Courts, criminal files and filings, same building: 570-893-4007
• Court Administrator, scheduling and court programs, same building: 570-893-4131
• Magisterial District Court 25-3-01, 301 Frederick Street, Suite 100, Lock Haven, PA 17745, 570-893-4086
• Magisterial District Court 25-3-02, 385 Beech Creek Avenue, Mill Hall, PA 17751, 570-726-4064
• Magisterial District Court 25-3-03, 112 Ninth Street, Renovo, PA 17764, 570-923-9931

Federal charges go elsewhere, to the Williamsport federal courthouse, 240 West Third Street, Suite 218, Williamsport, PA 17701, 570-323-6380.

Pennsylvania towns outside Philadelphia and Pittsburgh rely on district judges rather than city courts. So a borough ordinance case, a township traffic stop and the opening of a felony all start in one of these offices:

1. Magisterial District Court 25-3-01, 301 Frederick Street, Suite 100, Lock Haven, PA 17745, 570-893-4086
2. Magisterial District Court 25-3-02, 385 Beech Creek Avenue, Mill Hall, PA 17751, 570-726-4064
3. Magisterial District Court 25-3-03, 112 Ninth Street, Renovo, PA 17764, 570-923-9931

Each office covers its own patch of boroughs and townships. Usually the case goes to the district judge for the place where the offense happened. To find out which office owns a given town, ring the Court Administrator at 570-893-4131.

This is the first time an arrested person faces a judge, usually a district judge on a video link from McElhattan. A state victim guide says it generally comes within about six hours. The checklist for that short hearing (Pa.R.Crim.P. 540):

• The accused is handed the complaint, the paper listing the accusations.
• The judge reads off the charges.
• The judge goes over the person's rights, a lawyer included.
• Bail is decided, anywhere from a simple signature to a cash amount.
• A preliminary hearing gets scheduled. Someone still jailed must get it inside 14 days; someone released, inside 21.

Nobody pleads guilty or not guilty yet. Saying little about the facts until a lawyer is involved is usually wise.

Lesser cases follow a shorter road. Summary charges, such as many retail theft citations or disorderly conduct, stay in the district judge's hands from start to end. Losing there still leaves a way out: within 30 days, the person can ask Common Pleas for a brand new trial.

A misdemeanor gets its preliminary hearing at the district court before it rises to Common Pleas. State law grades a first or second ordinary DUI, the kind with no extra factors, as a misdemeanor punishable by as much as six months (75 Pa.C.S. § 3803). The rules for repeat and high-alcohol cases have shifted often in recent years, so get a lawyer's read on the grade.

• M3: up to 1 year and $2,500
• M2: up to 2 years and $5,000
• M1: up to 5 years and $10,000

Many first-time defendants, a lot of them first DUI cases, are offered ARD. That stands for Accelerated Rehabilitative Disposition, a second-chance program the District Attorney controls (Pa.R.Crim.P. 310 and following). It means supervision, classes, fees and often community service. Complete it, and the charge goes away. The record may later be expunged. A judge must approve each entry. For the local rules, call the District Attorney at 570-893-4141.

A felony passes these stops along the way:

1. Preliminary arraignment before a district judge. Bail is set here.
2. Preliminary hearing before that same district court. At this stage, prosecutors must make out a prima facie case, meaning enough evidence that a crime happened and the accused probably did it. Weak proof gets charges tossed. The defense may also waive the hearing.
3. The information. This charging document lists the final counts, and the DA files it in Common Pleas. Counts may be dropped, or new ones added, at that step.
4. Formal arraignment. Several weeks later, the defense is handed that charging paper.
5. Pretrial conference, where many plea deals are struck.
6. Trial. A jury of 12 must be unanimous, though a judge can hear the case alone instead. Either way, a conviction rests on proof beyond a reasonable doubt.
7. Sentencing. Before it, county probation often writes a pre-sentence report.

Prison ceilings climb with the grade: an F1 can bring 20 years, an F2 10, an F3 7. Losing at trial? Appeals go up to the Superior Court first; the state Supreme Court is the last stop.

Yes, at nearly every turn:

• Bail. Bail can be withheld for two reasons only. One is an accusation that could bring death or life behind bars. The other is proof that no set of conditions could protect others. Even then, the prosecution needs evidence at a hearing to win that point (Pa. Const. art. I, § 14; Commonwealth v. Talley, 2021).
• Murder. First degree brings death or life imprisonment. Second degree brings life. Third-degree murder carries as long as 40 years (18 Pa.C.S. § 1102).
• Young defendants. Teens of 15, 16 or 17 accused of murder start out as adults in court. Certain armed violent crimes put them there too.
• Victim voice. In personal injury cases, the victim may speak up about charge cuts, plea deals and the sentence.
• Prison. A sentence whose maximum reaches 5 years goes to a state prison (42 Pa.C.S. § 9762).

The District Attorney's Office brings criminal charges in Common Pleas and decides who gets offered ARD. It is in the courthouse at 230 E. Water St., Suite 104, Lock Haven, PA 17745, 570-893-4141. Its hours match the courthouse, with a 12:30 p.m. close on Wednesdays.

Anyone who can't pay a lawyer has a right to ask for the county public defender. The Public Defender Act requires one in every county but Philadelphia (16 P.S. § 9960.1 and following). Applicants swear to their finances on a form. The county then uses its own income cutoff. To get the office's number and the application steps, call the Clerk of Courts at 570-893-4007 or the Court Administrator at 570-893-4131.

Federal cases get a different defender: the Federal Public Defender's Williamsport office, 330 Pine Street, Suite 302, Williamsport, PA 17701, 570-323-9314.

Pennsylvania's courts share one free docket site. No account is needed:

1. Open the UJS Web Portal case search.
2. Search by participant name: enter first and last name, then set the county to Clinton.
3. Click the docket sheet. Charges, bail, the coming court date and the courtroom all show there, as do unpaid costs.
4. Holding papers with a docket number? Search by that number for a direct hit.

Fresh filings can lag. Cases about juveniles, and sealed or expunged ones, never show. The portal also won't say where someone is jailed. For a date that seems off, call the Court Administrator at 570-893-4131 or the district court handling it. A preliminary hearing date is set by that district judge, such as Magisterial District Court 25-3-01 at 570-893-4086.

Bench warrants from the Court of Common Pleas go to the Sheriff's warrant division to serve; police and constables handle others. Anyone can phone the Sheriff's Office, 230 East Water Street, Lock Haven, PA 17745, at 570-893-4070, to check, or open its warrants page. Wanted lists from the state: the Ten Most Wanted by State Police and the DOC's parole absconders. Federal fugitives appear on the FBI wanted list and on the Marshals' 15 Most Wanted. Before surrendering to the issuing court, call a lawyer or public defender. The Common Pleas clerk sits at 230 E. Water Street, Lock Haven, PA 17745, 570-893-4007.

The whole case shifts to the federal system. For this county that means the Williamsport courthouse of the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania, 240 West Third Street, Suite 218, Williamsport, PA 17701, 570-323-6380.

• Federal prosecutors for the area work at the U.S. Attorney's Office, 240 West Third Street, Williamsport, PA 17701, 570-326-1935.
• A detention hearing comes early. There, a federal magistrate rules on jail or release until trial (18 U.S.C. 3142).
• Deputy marshals hold and transport federal defendants. The U.S. Marshals Service office for the Middle District is 235 North Washington Avenue, Unit 215, Scranton, PA 18503, 570-346-7277.
• When the sentence is final, check the Federal Bureau of Prisons inmate locator.

The criminal case in Common Pleas keeps moving, but a detainer can change what release looks like. In order:

1. Agents from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) lodge Form I-247A with the jail, here McElhattan.
2. That form seeks a hold lasting up to 48 hours after they would otherwise be released (8 CFR 287.7(d)), giving agents time to pick the person up.
3. The appeals court covering Pennsylvania calls a detainer a request that jails may decline (Galarza v. Szalczyk, 3d Cir. 2014). Because a county can be blamed for holding someone just on a detainer, each jail picks its own approach. Ask McElhattan staff about this one's at 570-769-7680.
4. ICE cases from here are run by its Philadelphia Field Office, 114 N. 8th Street, Philadelphia, PA 19107, 215-656-7164.
5. Search for the person on the ICE Online Detainee Locator.

Immigration questions on top of a criminal charge call for a lawyer who knows both fields.

The maximum term on the sentence picks the place (42 Pa.C.S. § 9762). Below 2 years, the time is done in the county jail at McElhattan. At 5 years or more, the person goes to a state prison. Terms topping out at 2 to 5 years most often go there too. A local term is possible only if the court, the prosecutor and the jail all say yes.

• Before getting a permanent prison, new state inmates go through reception and classification, a process lasting weeks or months.
• Use the DOC inmate locator to track them.
• Pennsylvania Department of Corrections, 1920 Technology Parkway, Mechanicsburg, PA 17050, 717-728-2573
• Our Pennsylvania state prisons section profiles every one of them.

Probation is run by a separate county office, not the jail: 232 East Main Street, Lock Haven, PA 17745, 570-893-4051.

A person under 18 usually goes through juvenile court under the Juvenile Act (42 Pa.C.S. § 6301 and following). Juvenile probation officers steer the case. Youths who must be held go to a center built for juveniles, apart from adult prisoners. These records stay off the UJS portal.

• Juvenile Probation, 232 East Main St., Suite 300, Lock Haven, PA 17745, 570-893-4051
• Central Counties Youth Center, 148 Paradise Rd., Bellefonte, PA 16823, 814-355-0650, co-owned by this county and four others

A few charges bypass juvenile court at the start. Murder is one when the youth is 15 or older. Certain armed violent crimes from a list in the law are others. Defense counsel can later request a move back to juvenile court.

Pennsylvania's Crime Victims Act gives victims a set of rights (18 P.S. § 11.101 and following):

• Word of major court events, plus notice when the accused leaves the county jail in a personal injury case.
• The right to weigh in on bail conditions.
• For burglary or injury crimes, input before charges drop or a plea deal is approved, and a victim impact statement at sentencing.
• Restitution, meaning repayment of losses where possible.

PA SAVIN sends free notices when someone is released or moved. Register through VINELink or by phone at 866-972-7284 (TTY 866-847-1298). For bills a crime caused, apply to the state's Victims Compensation Assistance Program, 800-233-2339. For local victim help, call the District Attorney's Office at 570-893-4141.

Anyone on the defendant's side should avoid the victim completely, and that includes sending word through friends. Passing along a message may violate bail and lead to new charges.