Cases split between a local tier and a county tier:

• Magisterial district courts decide summary cases, the minor end of the scale, such as a speeding ticket or a public disorder charge. They also fix bail and run the arraignment and preliminary hearing in bigger cases.
• The Court of Common Pleas of the 27th Judicial District serves this county alone. It hears every felony and misdemeanor case that gets past the preliminary hearing. It also hears summary appeals, which give the person a brand-new trial.

Each grade has a ceiling on punishment (18 Pa.C.S. §§ 1101, 1103-1105):

• Felony 1: 20 years and $25,000. Felony 2: 10 years and $25,000. Felony 3: 7 years and $15,000.
• Misdemeanor 1: 5 years and $10,000. Misdemeanor 2: 2 years and $5,000. Misdemeanor 3: 1 year and $2,500.
• Summary offense: 90 days and $300.

The courthouse stands at 1 South Main Street, Washington, PA 15301. Several court offices share it:

• Clerk of Courts, Suite 1005, 724-228-6787. This office keeps criminal records, takes bail bonds and files court papers. It says the public is welcome at any time, so plan on regular business hours.
• Court Administrator, Suite 2004, 724-228-6797. The treatment courts coordinator works from this office.
• Treatment courts for drug, DUI, mental health and veterans cases. People apply with the treatment court application and send it to the coordinator in Suite 2004. Questions go to 724-250-4018.
• Magisterial District Court 27-3-03 works inside the building in Courtroom 8, Suite 1004, 724-632-3143.

Each district court hears cases from its own list of towns. All ten close for lunch from noon to 1:00 p.m.

• 27-1-01: Caldwell Building, 26 South Main Street, Washington, PA 15301, across from the courthouse, 724-228-8836. Open 8:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Serves the City of Washington and East Washington Borough.
• 27-1-02: 604B Park Avenue, Monongahela, PA 15063, 724-258-5106. Open 8:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Serves Carroll Township, the City of Monongahela, Donora and New Eagle.
• 27-1-03: 250 Chamber Plaza, Charleroi, PA 15022, 724-483-6373. Open 8:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Serves Allenport, Bentleyville, Charleroi, Dunlevy, Elco, Long Branch, North Charleroi, Roscoe, Speers, Stockdale, Twilight and Fallowfield Township.
• 27-2-01: 68 E Pike Street, Suite 205, Canonsburg, PA 15317, 724-745-5754. Open 8:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Serves Canonsburg, Houston and North Strabane Township.
• 27-3-01: 453 Valleybrook Road, Suite 100, McMurray, PA 15317, 724-941-1015. Open 8:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Serves Finleyville and the townships of Nottingham, Peters and Union.
• 27-3-03: 1 South Main Street, Suite 1004, Washington, PA 15301, in Courtroom 8, 724-632-3143. Open 8:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Serves Beallsville, California, Centerville, Coal Center, Cokeburg, Deemston, Ellsworth and Marianna, plus East Bethlehem, North Bethlehem, Somerset, West Bethlehem, West Brownsville and West Pike Run townships.
• 27-3-05: 3000 Park Place Drive, Suite 106, Washington, PA 15301, 724-746-1227. Open 8:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Serves Chartiers, North Franklin and South Strabane townships.
• 27-3-06: 3441 Millers Run Road, Suite 103, Cecil, PA 15321, 724-746-8515. Open 8:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Serves Cecil, Mount Pleasant and Robinson townships and McDonald Borough.
• 27-3-07: 2038 Smith Township State Road, Suite 3, Burgettstown, PA 15021, 724-947-5492. Open 8:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Serves Burgettstown and Midway, plus Cross Creek, Hanover, Jefferson and Smith townships.
• 27-3-10: 200 Buffalo Center Lane, Suite C, Washington, PA 15301, 724-222-8122. Open 8:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Serves Claysville, Green Hills and West Middletown, plus Amwell, Blaine, Buffalo, Canton, Donegal, East Finley, Hopewell, Independence, Morris, South Franklin and West Finley townships.

There are no city or borough courts. Local ordinance tickets go to the district court for that town.

This short first appearance covers four things: the counts, the complaint paper itself, a lawyer and bail (Pa.R.Crim.P. 540). The judge also books a preliminary hearing, due inside 14 days for someone held at the jail and 21 days for someone released.

When the district offices are closed, a judge on call for the whole county handles new arrests (Local Rule L-117). Where the person is booked depends on the time:

• Central Booking Center: Family Court Center, 29 West Cherry Avenue, Suite 209, Washington, PA 15301, 724-229-5931. It handles daytime booking, plus the fingerprints and photos a judge orders after release.
• Interim Booking Center: a room inside the Correctional Facility that books adults from 4:30 p.m. to 7:00 a.m.
• Correctional Facility: 100 W. Cherry Ave., Washington, PA 15301, 724-228-6845. This is the jail for people who cannot make bail and for county sentences of up to two years.

Public defender forms are at every district court office, so the person can ask for a lawyer right away.

A shoplifting citation is often a summary case, decided by the district judge in one trial. The top penalty for a summary offense is 90 days and a $300 fine. Someone found guilty can appeal to the Court of Common Pleas within 30 days and get a new trial there.

A first DUI is usually a misdemeanor; the jail cap is six months (75 Pa.C.S. § 3803). The District Attorney often steers first offenders into ARD, a second-chance program. Here is how DUI cases tend to run in this county:

• Want ARD? Call the alcohol highway safety school within 20 days of the preliminary hearing. It books a CRN evaluation, a check of drinking habits (Local Rule L-178).
• The Booking Center schedules the DUI program. The CRN evaluation costs $100 and the safety school costs $300, or $375 for both. A missed class adds $30.
• Those fees can be paid at Adult Probation's collections office or the Booking Center by cash, credit card, debit card or money order made out to the county.
• The ARD fee itself is paid to the Clerk of Courts.

A 2025 court order sets up a DUI Central Court. DUI cases that also carry a non-DUI felony, or that have a victim, stay out of it. Ask the Court Administrator at 724-228-6797 how a case gets there.

A felony moves through these stages:

1. Preliminary arraignment. Bail is set, often within hours of the arrest.
2. Preliminary hearing. The district judge decides if the prosecutor has a prima facie case, which means evidence that a crime took place and points to this defendant. If not, the charges are dropped. The person may also waive this hearing.
3. Information. This is the prosecutor's charging paper for the courthouse; counts can be added or cut.
4. Formal arraignment. Held at the courthouse some weeks after that. A plea is entered on the written counts.
5. Pretrial conference. Many cases settle by agreement at this stage.
6. Trial. Twelve jurors must all agree, or the person can choose a trial by a judge alone. Jurors convict only if guilt is shown beyond a reasonable doubt.
7. Sentencing. The court's probation staff write a report first. The judge can order fines, probation, community service, jail or prison, and repayment to the victim.

A conviction can be challenged in the Superior Court, with a later request to the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania.

The most serious cases follow tighter rules:

• No bail at all. That outcome is limited to charges that carry life or death, plus cases where release on any terms would put others in danger. The DA has to make that case at a hearing (Commonwealth v. Talley).
• Murder. First degree: life or a death sentence. Second degree: life. Third degree: as long as 40 years (18 Pa.C.S. § 1102).
• Victims get a voice. In injury crimes and burglary, victims can weigh in on any proposed plea and address the judge when the sentence is imposed (Crime Victims Act, Section 201).
• Protection orders. Breaking one is handled as indirect criminal contempt, and the Public Defender takes these cases.
• State prison is likely. When the top term reaches five years, the DOC takes custody (42 Pa.C.S. § 9762).

The prosecutor is the District Attorney's Office, 26 South Main Street, Washington, PA 15301, 724-228-6790. The DA decides who is offered ARD and sets its own rules for it (Local Rule L-178). The county also has an Alternative Disposition Program, and the prosecutor must tell the victim when someone applies.

People who cannot pay a lawyer turn to the Public Defender's Office, 95 West Beau Street, Suite 500, Washington, PA 15301, 724-228-6818. Questions by email go to public.defender@co.washington.pa.us.

• It covers felonies, misdemeanors, juvenile petitions, mental health hearings and some summary cases that could mean jail.
• Apply with the county application form, proof of income and the complaint.
• The office wants it a full seven business days before the court date.

Since Act 34 of 2023, Pennsylvania helps fund county public defenders for the first time.

The Clerk of Courts points the public to the UJS Web Portal case search run by the state courts. It is free, with no login.

1. Pick the participant option, or type a docket number if you have one.
2. Enter the last and first names, then mark Washington as the county.
3. Click into the result. You'll see counts, bail, scheduled events and the courtroom.

A fresh case may lag a day or so before it appears. You won't see juvenile matters, sealed records or expunged files. If the case hasn't left the magisterial district judge, phone that office. Courthouse cases belong to the Clerk of Courts, 1 South Main Street, Suite 1005, Washington, PA 15301, 724-228-6787. Bring the birth date and the exact spelling of the name.

Bench warrants from the Court of Common Pleas are served by the Sheriff's Office, 95 W. Beau St., Suite 110, Washington, PA 15301, 724-228-6840. Police and constables serve other warrants. The Sheriff's Fugitive Warrant Unit, 724-229-5907, tells people to check the UJS docket search by name. Domestic relations warrants appear on the court's DRS warrant listing. Wider lists cover a few high-profile fugitives: the state parole absconders, the Marshals' federal 15 Most Wanted page and the State Police Ten Most Wanted list. To resolve one, hire or ask for a lawyer to reach out to the judge who signed it. Courthouse warrant questions also go to the Clerk of Courts at 1 South Main Street, Suite 1005, Washington, PA 15301, 724-228-6787.

A federal charge is heard by the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania in Pittsburgh. The courthouse is at 700 Grant Street, Pittsburgh, PA 15219, 412-208-7500, with clerk's office hours of 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on weekdays.

• Prosecutor: U.S. Attorney's Office, 700 Grant Street, Suite 4000, Pittsburgh, PA 15219, 412-644-3500.
• Defense: Federal Public Defender, 1001 Liberty Avenue, Suite 1500, Pittsburgh, PA 15222, 412-644-6565.
• Detention hearing: soon after the arrest, a magistrate judge chooses between custody and release pending trial (18 U.S.C. 3142). The judge reads a background study from U.S. Probation and Pretrial Services (700 Grant St, Suite 3330, Pittsburgh, PA 15219, 412-395-6907) before ruling.
• Custody: Federal pretrial detainees are in Marshals custody. To learn the housing site, call 700 Grant Street, Room 2360, Pittsburgh, PA 15219, 412-644-3351.
• After sentencing: Track them on the Federal Bureau of Prisons inmate locator.

Not directly. Hearings in Common Pleas go on as scheduled. The hold only matters once the person is due to leave the jail.

1. Immigration agents can lodge Form I-247A at the jail. It requests a hold of up to 48 hours after they would otherwise be released (8 CFR 287.7(d)).
2. Galarza v. Szalczyk was decided in 2014 by the Third Circuit, which hears Pennsylvania's federal appeals. Under that ruling, ICE detainers ask but do not compel, so a jail that holds a person on nothing else risks a lawsuit.
3. Because of that, every county jail adopts a detainer policy of its own. Call the Correctional Facility at 724-228-6845 to hear it.
4. After transfer to ICE, questions go to the Philadelphia Field Office, 114 N. 8th Street, Philadelphia, PA 19107, 215-656-7164.
5. Find the person with the ICE Online Detainee Locator.

A sentence here comes as a pair of numbers, like 1 to 3 years. Its top number sets the location. A top below two years is served locally on Cherry Avenue. Five years or more at the top means DOC custody. For a top from two to five, state prison is the default; keeping it local takes jail certification, DA consent and court approval (42 Pa.C.S. § 9762).

• Expect tests and interviews at a DOC reception and classification center for some weeks before a long-term prison is picked.
• Look up a name on the DOC inmate locator.
• DOC headquarters: 1920 Technology Parkway, Mechanicsburg, PA 17050, 717-728-2573.
• See our Pennsylvania state prison directory for visiting and mail at each one.

County probation is its own office: Adult Probation and Parole, Family Court Center, 29 W Cherry Avenue, Suite 413, Washington, PA 15301, 724-228-6860.

The Juvenile Act sends nearly all under-18 cases to juvenile court (42 Pa.C.S. § 6302). Their files are left out of UJS portal results.

• Juvenile Probation, Family Court Center, 29 W Cherry Avenue, Suite M41, Washington, PA 15301, 724-228-6794, handles youth ages 10 to 17. Ask that office where the youth is being detained and the hearing date.
• Teens stay out of the adult jail.
• Some cases start in adult court. This applies to youth 15 or older facing a murder count, or an armed violent felony from the statute's list. A transfer back, called decertification, can be requested by defense counsel.
• The Public Defender handles juvenile petitions at 724-228-6818.

Pennsylvania law gives victims real rights (Act 111 of 1998, Section 201). They can be told about key steps. They may give views on release. In injury cases, they can speak before a plea deal and at sentencing.

• The county's Crime Victim / Witness Assistance Program answers at 724-229-5922.
• PA SAVIN sends a free alert the moment the accused leaves custody or changes facilities, locally or in the state system. Call 866-972-7284 or TTY 866-847-1298.
• Out-of-pocket losses may be repaid by the Victims Compensation Assistance Program, including counseling, medical bills, missed wages and burial costs. Call 800-233-2339.

Relatives of a defendant must not contact the victim, even to deliver a note. That can break bail rules and add charges.