Clinton County Correctional Facility

A magisterial district judge does. Think of this as the neighborhood judge who opens almost every criminal case in Pennsylvania. That first session goes by the name preliminary arraignment. A state guide written for victims says most happen inside about six hours after arrest. Often the judge shows up on a video screen while the person never leaves McElhattan.

In those few minutes the complaint is handed over on paper and every charge is read. The judge then announces bail and schedules a preliminary hearing (Pa.R.Crim.P. 540). Three district court offices cover the county:

• 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

Arrests made overnight or on a Saturday usually go to whichever district judge is on call that shift. Down the road, a Common Pleas judge on Water Street may change what was set.

Pennsylvania gives each judge a menu of five (Pa.R.Crim.P. 524). With four of the five, nobody pays a cent up front:

• ROR, or release on recognizance. A signature on a pledge to show up. Nothing more.
• Nonmonetary conditions. That pledge plus duties: a curfew, say, or reporting in, or a no-contact order with some named person.
• Unsecured bail. The paper lists a dollar figure. Nobody owes it unless a hearing is missed.
• Nominal bail. Often just $1 is deposited. A person or group agrees to be the surety. Being the surety means promising the court that the accused comes back.
• Monetary bail. Dollars or property must be posted before release.

Work history and any earlier record are among the things the judge weighs (Pa.R.Crim.P. 523). A dollar figure has to stay reasonable and fit what the accused can actually pay (Pa.R.Crim.P. 528).

No fixed price tag applies. Every case gets its own figure, picked after the judge sizes up both the accusation and the accused. Two neighbors charged alike can walk out with very different numbers. Still, how serious the charge is weighs heavily. These are the state's outer limits for each grade (18 Pa.C.S. §§ 1101, 1103-1105):

• F1, the top felony grade: 20 years, $25,000
• F2: 10 years, $25,000
• F3: 7 years, $15,000
• M1, the top misdemeanor grade: 5 years, $10,000
• M2: 2 years, $5,000
• M3: 1 year, $2,500
• Summary offenses, the class most traffic tickets fall in: 90 days, $300
• Murder (18 Pa.C.S. § 1102): death or life in the first degree; life in the second

For the true figure, search the free UJS docket search by name and county after charges are filed. Or phone the Clerk of Courts at 570-893-4007.

The facility stands at 58 Pine Mountain Road, McElhattan, PA 17748. Its office closes early midweek, so plan around that. Go in this order:

1. Dial 570-769-7680. Staff answer Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. On Wednesday they stop at 12:30 p.m. Callers with hearing loss can reach them through 7-1-1.
2. Read off the full legal name, then the birth date. Then jot down the bail, its type and the docket number.
3. Find out which office must receive the money in this case, the jail or the Clerk of Courts, and which payment types it takes this week.
4. Check whether the judge allowed a 10 percent deposit or wants the whole figure.
5. Carry a photo ID. An itemized receipt is required under Pa.R.Crim.P. 535, so do not leave without it.

One warning before any signature. Whoever signs as depositor may be stuck with the entire amount if the accused fails to appear.

Often, yes. Under Pa.R.Crim.P. 535, a deposit may be accepted by the district judge, a clerk or another named official. In this county the Clerk of Courts holds criminal records for the Common Pleas bench.

• Clerk of Courts: Clinton County Courthouse, 230 E. Water Street, Lock Haven, PA 17745, 570-893-4007
• Courthouse switchboard: 570-893-4016
• Open: Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.; Wednesday, 8:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

For the clerk's counter, call ahead and read off the docket number. Confirm this office is the right one for that case and ask what it accepts. Bring ID, and keep the receipt in a safe spot. When bail was set late at night, use the district court number printed on the bail papers, or ask McElhattan which office has the file.

Rule 528 of the state's criminal rules spells out what can satisfy money bail in full:

• Cash, or a cash substitute the local court accepts
• Some bearer bonds issued by a government
• Pennsylvania real estate with equity at least as large as the bail
• A surety bond from a bondsman holding a license, or from an approved surety company
• Up to 10 percent down, where the judge has okayed that

Whether a card or check will work can change. Before heading out, get a straight answer from the clerk's office at 570-893-4007 or the jail at 570-769-7680 on how to post bail for this case. Never slip cash into an envelope. Also turn away anyone who promises a faster release for a fee.

It is lawful here, and some families have no other way. A bondsman tells the court it will cover the full bail. In return the family pays a premium, and that premium stays with the bondsman for good, even if the case ends well.

• The Insurance Department must license every bondsman (42 Pa.C.S. § 5742).
• Each one also has to be authorized for this particular county (42 Pa.C.S. § 5743.1).
• Since 2015, no state limit on premiums exists, so quotes differ. Insist on a written quote that also spells out any collateral.
• Paying someone a "finder's fee" to locate a bondsman is a crime for the one who takes it (42 Pa.C.S. § 5749).
• When a defendant skips court, the forfeited bail falls on the bondsman (42 Pa.C.S. § 5747.1).

To learn if a given bondsman may write bonds locally, phone the Clerk of Courts at 570-893-4007.

A single bail unlocks one case. Before paying, ask McElhattan at 570-769-7680 to list every hold on file. Typical reasons:

• A bench warrant from elsewhere. If the person is held in the issuing county's jail, a hearing should follow within 72 hours. Held in some other county's jail, the wait can stretch (Pa.R.Crim.P. 150).
• Supervision. A probation or parole detainer can override bail. Adult probation is at 232 East Main Street, Lock Haven, PA 17745, 570-893-4051.
• More than one case. Each open file may come with its own bail.
• Federal or ICE papers. A state bail has no power over those.

Keep in mind that McElhattan also boards prisoners for other counties. Someone held for another county needs that county's matter settled as well.

Rarely. In the state constitution, bail is the default and jail without it the rare exception (Pa. Const. art. I, § 14). Only two kinds of case are carved out:

• Charges punishable by death, or by life as the top sentence.
• Cases in which no conditions besides jail would keep people and the community safe.

Prosecutors carry the load here. They must bring actual proof to a hearing and persuade the judge, a point the state's highest court made in Commonwealth v. Talley (2021). Pointing to the charge alone falls short.

Prosecutors seeking steep bail or none work out of the District Attorney's Office, 230 E. Water St., Suite 104, Lock Haven, PA 17745, 570-893-4141.

A formal written request from the defense is the way in. Early on, that goes to the district judge who chose the figure. Once the preliminary hearing is over, a Common Pleas judge decides.

1. Get defense counsel, hired or public, working on it right away.
2. Gather paychecks, a lease or deed, signs of family close by and a truthful figure your household can raise.
3. Propose rules aimed at the judge's worry, like weekly reporting.

Long waits help too. Past 180 days locked up since the complaint (time lost to defense delays is not counted), defense counsel can file for release on nominal bail (Pa.R.Crim.P. 600). To learn when such a request could be heard, phone the Court Administrator at 570-893-4131.

Anyone who truly can't afford a lawyer may qualify. State law requires a public defender in all 66 counties outside Philadelphia (16 P.S. § 9960.1 and following). That help can start as early as the preliminary hearing.

• To apply, the person swears to a form describing income and what they own. False answers are treated as perjury.
• Income cutoffs are set county by county.
• Act 34 of 2023 brought the first state money for county defense work.

For the Public Defender's Office phone and how to apply, ask the Clerk of Courts at 570-893-4007 or the Court Administrator at 570-893-4131. Relatives are always free to retain a private attorney instead.

The 25th Judicial District covers only this county. Criminal matters from here pass through these doors:

• Court of Common Pleas, Clinton County Courthouse, 230 E. Water Street, Lock Haven, PA 17745, 570-893-4016. Felonies and misdemeanors climb to this level after the preliminary hearing stage. Reach the Clerk of Courts at 570-893-4007.
• 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 cases: the Williamsport federal courthouse, 240 West Third Street, Suite 218, Williamsport, PA 17701, 570-323-6380

Plan Wednesday trips to Water Street for the morning, since the courthouse shuts at 12:30 p.m. that day.

Guard that receipt. Within about 20 days after a case is completely finished, the money goes back to the depositor, less a county fee for handling it (Pa.R.Crim.P. 535).

• If the accused posted the money personally, it can be applied by the judge to fines, costs and restitution.
• Better: let a parent or friend be the named depositor.
• Skipping court invites three troubles: a bench warrant, losing every dollar of the bail, and maybe a new charge.
• Bondsman fees never come back.

Questions about the fee or the check's timing go to the Clerk of Courts at 570-893-4007.

Sort this out ahead of the release if possible. During office hours, phone 570-769-7680 with two questions. How will leftover account money be repaid? And when can stored items be fetched from 58 Pine Mountain Road, McElhattan, PA 17748?

Staff will want photo ID. If the belongings are not yours, ask whether a signed okay from the owner is needed. For how deposits and leftover balances usually work, read our money and accounts page.

Only a federal judge can. Federal charges here belong to the Williamsport branch of the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania, 240 West Third Street, Suite 218, Williamsport, PA 17701, 570-323-6380.

• Soon after arrest, a federal magistrate weighs release against detention, picking home or a cell until trial (18 U.S.C. 3142).
• A pretrial officer digs into the person's background first. Reach U.S. Probation and Pretrial Services at 240 West Third Street, Suite 114, Williamsport, PA 17701, 570-323-3688.
• Deputy marshals guard federal defendants who are waiting for trial. The U.S. Marshals Service's Scranton office, 235 North Washington Avenue, Unit 215, Scranton, PA 18503, 570-346-7277, knows which jail has the person.
• Once sentenced, a person can be traced on the Federal Bureau of Prisons inmate locator.

Money posted on a county charge has no effect on a federal one.

Yes, it can. Immigration holds ignore state bail. Here is the sequence:

1. It starts with paperwork. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, called ICE, lodges a Form I-247A at McElhattan.
2. In it, ICE asks McElhattan to keep the person up to 48 hours after they would otherwise be released (8 CFR 287.7(d)).
3. The federal appeals court over this region found a detainer to be a request that a jail may turn down (Galarza v. Szalczyk, 3d Cir. 2014). It also said a county that holds someone solely because of one may share the blame. So detainer rules differ from jail to jail. McElhattan staff at 570-769-7680 can explain theirs.
4. After agents take the person, the file goes to the ICE Philadelphia Field Office: 114 N. 8th Street, Philadelphia, PA 19107, 215-656-7164.
5. Then try the ICE Online Detainee Locator with their name plus birth country.

Judges here give two numbers, a low one and a top one. Only the top number decides the location (42 Pa.C.S. § 9762). A top number under 2 years keeps a person in county jail. Five years or more sends them to a state prison. A top number of 2 years but under 5 usually means state prison too. The exception comes when three sides agree, the prosecutor, the judge and the jail, that the term is served in McElhattan.

• State-bound people are first held at a reception and classification center. Expect that sorting to last weeks or months. Staff there pick a security level and plan any treatment.
• Track them with the DOC inmate locator.
• Pennsylvania Department of Corrections headquarters: 1920 Technology Parkway, Mechanicsburg, PA 17050, 717-728-2573
• For each prison's details, browse our Pennsylvania state prison pages.

Anyone younger than 18 usually lands in juvenile court and a youth detention center, not McElhattan's adult housing (42 Pa.C.S. § 6301 and following). The public docket portal leaves their cases out.

• 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. Five counties, this one included, own the center and get first pick of its beds.

One major carve-out exists. Adult court is the starting point for murder cases against youths aged 15 to 17. Certain violent charges from a list in the law, with a deadly weapon involved, begin there as well. From there, defense counsel can ask that the file move down to juvenile court.

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.