Wayne County Correctional Facility Inmate Bail & Bonds

A Magisterial District Judge makes the call. Think of this judge as the local judge who handles the start of each criminal case. In the words of the District Attorney's office, the person arrested is brought before that judge for a preliminary arraignment, and bail gets set right there. A state guide for crime victims puts this hearing within roughly six hours of an arrest, and a video link to the jail is common.

Three things happen at that brief hearing. The person is handed the complaint listing each charge. Bail is decided. A preliminary hearing date is fixed: inside 14 days when the person stays behind bars, and inside 21 days when they go home (Pa.R.Crim.P. 540).

A first or second DUI that counts as a misdemeanor may skip the judge, since the officer can let the driver go when they seem safe and likely to return. Questions about hearings after dark or about Central Court go to the Court Administrator, 570-253-0101.

Pennsylvania's court rules give five choices (Pa.R.Crim.P. 524). Just one of the five requires money before the jail door opens:

• ROR. Lawyers say this for release on recognizance. The person's signed word to come to court is all it takes.
• Nonmonetary conditions. A signed promise again, now with added duties, maybe reporting by phone or a no-contact order. Break those duties and the judge can revisit release.
• Unsecured bail. The judge writes down a dollar figure. The person owes it only after missing court.
• Nominal bail. A token amount, often $1. A trusted person or an agency signs as surety.
• Monetary bail. Release waits until somebody covers the amount with cash, a deed or a bondsman.

Rule 523 lists what goes into the decision. The judge thinks about the offense, the person's jobs over the years, how deep their local roots go, their record and their history of showing up to court.

No fixed price chart ties a charge to a bail figure in this district. The judge sizes the amount case by case, and Rule 528 requires it to be reasonable and tied to what the defendant can pay. Even so, the grade of the top charge sets the stakes. These are the maximum penalties by grade (18 Pa.C.S. §§ 1101, 1103-1105):

• F1: up to 20 years and $25,000
• F2: up to 10 years and $25,000
• F3: up to 7 years and $15,000
• M1: up to 5 years and $10,000
• M2: up to 2 years and $5,000
• M3: up to 1 year and $2,500
• Summary offense (many traffic tickets fall here): up to 90 days in jail and a $300 fine

A felony grade, a long record or a history of skipped court tends to raise the figure. The exact amount shows on the case docket. The free UJS Web Portal finds it by name plus county, or have jail staff read it to you at 570-253-2621.

In this county, the Clerk of Courts is the office to call about posting bail and getting bail money back. Follow this order:

1. Dial the county switchboard, 570-253-5970. Ask for Corrections first. The jail also picks up at 570-253-2621.
2. Spell the full name and share the person's date of birth. Jot down three things: the amount, the release type and the docket number.
3. Next, ask the switchboard for the Clerk of Courts. Find out where the money goes, what kinds of payment work, and whether a 10 percent cash deposit is an option this time.
4. Bring the right amount plus a photo ID. The office must hand you an itemized receipt (Pa.R.Crim.P. 535). Store it somewhere safe.
5. Check back with Corrections on when the person will walk out.

The clerk's window is in the courthouse at 925 Court Street, Honesdale, PA 18431, open 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on weekdays. If someone is booked overnight, over a weekend or on a holiday, Corrections staff can explain what happens before that window reopens.

Under Rule 535, a deposit may be accepted by the judge who set bail, by the clerk, or by some other official. Phone ahead, since the right place depends on where the case stands and what time it is.

• Clerk of Courts, 925 Court Street, Honesdale, PA 18431, 570-253-5970. Monday to Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Closed weekends and federal holidays.
• Magisterial District Court 22-3-01, 98 Main Avenue, Hawley, PA 18428, 570-226-4981. Monday to Friday, 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
• Magisterial District Court 22-3-02, 925 Court Street, Honesdale, PA 18431, 570-253-4560. Monday to Friday, 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
• Magisterial District Court 22-3-04, 1065 Creamton Drive, Honesdale, PA 18431, 570-448-2061. Monday to Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., with a lunch break from noon to 1:00 p.m.

Have the docket number ready. Then ask if this office accepts bail on the case. Ask which payments it takes. Ask whose name belongs on the "pay to" line of a check or money order.

Payment rules are set locally. Before you gather the money, phone the Clerk of Courts at 570-253-5970. Statewide, Rule 528 lets the full amount be covered by one or a mix of these:

• Cash, or something like cash where the court permits it
• Land or a home in Pennsylvania, if its value after debts equals the bail
• Bonds issued by the U.S., the state or a local government
• A bail bondsman's bond, or a surety company's bond, if properly approved
• A deposit of 10 percent in cash, where the judge or a local rule says yes

You may notice a "Pay Court Fees Online" button on the court's web page. It opens PAePay for fines, costs and restitution, which is for paying what a case costs later. It is a separate thing from bail. Mailing cash is never safe, so keep paper money out of any letter.

Hiring a bondsman means paying a fee so that they guarantee the whole bail. If the person flees, the bondsman owes the court. Pennsylvania allows this business under rules like these:

• The state Insurance Department must license every bondsman (42 Pa.C.S. § 5742).
• A bondsman must also register in each county where they plan to work (42 Pa.C.S. § 5743.1). Ask the Clerk of Courts at 570-253-5970 whether a bondsman has done this here.
• No state law limits the fee anymore. The cap ended in 2015, so have the bondsman put the price on paper.
• Even if charges are dropped, the bondsman keeps the fee.
• Taking money for steering someone to a bondsman is against the law (42 Pa.C.S. § 5749).

Read every page before signing. A co-signer or depositor may have to cover every dollar of the bail when the defendant fails to appear.

Bail only covers the docket it was set on. Call the jail at 570-253-2621 and have staff read off any holds, and do it before money changes hands. Watch for these:

• A bench warrant. Rule 150 gives a person on a bench warrant a hearing within 72 hours, but the clock starts only after they reach the issuing county's own jail. A stay in a different county's jail can stretch that wait (Pa.R.Crim.P. 150).
• A probation or parole violation. County Adult Probation is in the courthouse at 925 Court Street, Honesdale, PA 18431, through the switchboard at 570-253-5970.
• Another open case. Each charge on a separate docket needs its own release.
• Federal or immigration custody. Posting county bail leaves both in place.
• Conditions still pending. A judge may want an address or a no-contact order in place first.

The Pennsylvania Constitution makes bail the rule, not the exception (Pa. Const. art. I, § 14; 42 Pa.C.S. § 5701). A judge may say no to bail only when:

1. a conviction on the charge could mean execution or a life term, or
2. nothing short of jail would reasonably protect people and the community.

Both reasons need strong proof. Commonwealth v. Talley, a 2021 state Supreme Court case, put the job on prosecutors. They have to present evidence at a hearing and persuade the judge, and suspicion alone falls short.

A push for very high bail, or for none, would come from the District Attorney's Office, 925 Court Street, Honesdale, PA 18431, 570-253-4912, staffed weekdays 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

A bail change comes from a judge, and the lawyer files for it (Pa.R.Crim.P. 529). Early on, the district judge who set bail can review it. After the preliminary hearing, the case sits with the Court of Common Pleas, and a judge there rules.

1. Have the defense lawyer or Public Defender file a written motion.
2. Gather proof: recent paychecks, a rental agreement, letters from relatives, and a true number for what everyone can pool together.
3. Offer conditions that would calm the judge, like checking in by phone.
4. Attend the hearing. Seeing relatives in court tells the judge someone will help.

Rule 600 protects people who wait too long. After 180 days of pretrial jail, minus any delay that came from the defense, the lawyer may move for release on nominal bail. Reach the Public Defender through the county switchboard, 570-253-5970.

The Public Defender's Office takes adults facing criminal charges who can't pay for a lawyer, plus young people in juvenile court. Its office is in the courthouse, 925 Court Street, Honesdale, PA 18431. Phone 570-253-5970, ask for the Public Defender, and book a time to apply.

• Applications are done in person, Monday to Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
• Bring pay stubs or other proof of income, plus any court papers about the charge.
• State law has the applicant sign a sworn statement about their money (16 P.S. § 9960.1 and following). A false statement counts as perjury.

With Act 34 of 2023, Harrisburg began paying part of county public defender costs. A family can still choose to pay a private lawyer whenever it wants.

The 22nd Judicial District covers this single county and no other. Its criminal court offices are:

• Court of Common Pleas and Clerk of Courts, county courthouse, 925 Court Street, Honesdale, PA 18431, 570-253-5970, weekdays 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Felonies and misdemeanors move here once a preliminary hearing is done.
• Magisterial District Court 22-3-01, 98 Main Avenue, Hawley, PA 18428, 570-226-4981, for Hawley Borough and seven townships around it.
• Magisterial District Court 22-3-02, also in the courthouse at 925 Court Street, Honesdale, PA 18431, 570-253-4560, for the county seat, Waymart, Prompton and four townships.
• Magisterial District Court 22-3-04, 1065 Creamton Drive, Honesdale, PA 18431, 570-448-2061, for Bethany, Starrucca and eleven townships.
• U.S. District Court (federal charges), 235 N. Washington Avenue, Scranton, PA 18503, 570-207-5600.

Your receipt is your proof, so file it safely. When the case is completely finished and no court date was missed, the money is returned to whoever is listed as depositor, within 20 days (Pa.R.Crim.P. 535). The county may hold back a fee to cover the cost of handling cash bail. The Clerk of Courts, 570-253-5970, can tell you that fee and when the refund is mailed.

• Did the defendant post it personally? Then restitution, fines and costs may be paid from it.
• When a parent or friend is the named depositor, that money has more protection.
• A no-show lets the judge issue a bench warrant and keep the whole deposit.
• Skipping court may also add a fresh criminal charge.

Corrections keeps two things until release: the items taken from the person at booking, and the money still on their jail account. Phone 570-253-2621 to learn how the leftover balance is paid and when belongings can be collected at 44 Mid-Wayne Drive, Honesdale, PA 18431.

Carry photo ID. Collecting for a friend may need a signed note from them, so ask staff about that first. The jail must approve any drop-off of clothes or other items for a court appearance. Our inmate account money guide walks through how jail deposits and payouts often work.

This area's federal cases are heard in Scranton, at the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania, 235 N. Washington Avenue, Scranton, PA 18503, 570-207-5600.

• Soon after the first appearance, a detention hearing takes place. The judge picks between release with rules and custody until trial (18 U.S.C. 3142).
• Pretrial Services officers prepare a background report for that judge. Their Scranton office is at 235 N. Washington Avenue, Room 107, Scranton, PA 18503, 570-207-5840.
• Anyone the judge keeps locked up is a U.S. Marshals Service prisoner from then on. Its office is at 235 North Washington Avenue, Unit 215, Scranton, PA 18503, 570-346-7277. The Marshals can say which jail has them.
• Once a sentence starts, the Federal Bureau of Prisons inmate locator shows where they are.

No. Bail and an immigration detainer are two different things, and paying one does nothing to the other:

1. Paperwork from ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement), called Form I-247A, can land at the Mid-Wayne Drive jail.
2. That form seeks extra jail time for the person, up to 48 hours after they would otherwise be released (8 CFR 287.7(d)).
3. A 2014 ruling, Galarza v. Szalczyk, came from the Third Circuit, whose decisions bind Pennsylvania. It found that detainers are requests, never orders. Keeping someone on nothing but a detainer can leave that county legally to blame. So the choice sits with every jail separately. Call this one at 570-253-2621 to hear how it handles detainers.
4. After an ICE pickup, the ICE Philadelphia Field Office handles the case, 114 N. 8th Street, Philadelphia, PA 19107, 215-656-7164.
5. To find where ICE has the person, use the ICE Online Detainee Locator. Use the alien registration number (A-number) when the family knows it. Without one, enter the person's name and birth nation.

Judges here give a minimum and a maximum term. It is the maximum that picks the building (42 Pa.C.S. § 9762):

• Max shorter than 2 years: county jail.
• Max in the 2-to-5 band (2 or more, below 5): usually state prison, but the county may keep the person if the warden, the DA and the judge all agree.
• Max of 5 years or longer: state prison.

A person headed to the state is first tested and sorted at a reception and classification center. Weeks or months may pass there before the DOC names a permanent prison. The state's DOC inmate locator lets you search a name. The DOC's central office is at 1920 Technology Parkway, Mechanicsburg, PA 17050, 717-728-2573. Prison-by-prison visit and mail rules sit in our Pennsylvania state prisons guide.

Pennsylvania's Juvenile Act sends almost all cases of people younger than 18 to juvenile court (42 Pa.C.S. § 6302). When a youth is not sent home, a juvenile detention center holds them. Grown-up inmates and youths are never mixed. Juvenile files stay private and away from the UJS portal.

• There is one big exception. Murder charges, and a short list of armed violent crimes, work another way for teens who were 15, 16 or 17. Such a case starts out in the adult system. Through a lawyer, the teen can ask that the case go to juvenile court instead.
• The county Public Defender represents youths too.

Juvenile Probation is the office to call, at 570-253-5970 on weekdays from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Staff there can name the center holding the youth and share the first court date. The office is inside the courthouse, 925 Court Street, Honesdale, PA 18431.