Criminal Court Administration

Troy Petery
Deputy Court Administrator – Criminal
Dauphin County Courthouse
101 Market Street
3^rd Floor
Harrisburg, PA 17101
(717) 780-6642
tpetery@dauphincounty.gov

Rachel Marino
Administrative Assistant II
Dauphin County Courthouse
101 Market Street
3^rd Floor
Harrisburg, PA 17101
(717) 780-6643
rmarino@dauphincounty.gov

Emmy Hockenberry
Administrative Assistant
Dauphin County Courthouse
101 Market Street
3^rd Floor
Harrisburg, PA 17101
(717) 780-6640
ehockenberry@dauphincounty.gov

Your first stop at the Court of Common Pleas is formal arraignment.  You will meet with a representative from the District Attorney’s Office who will advise you of the charges filed against you and rights and responsibilities that you need to be aware of at this stage. You will then receive your next court date which will be before a Common Pleas judge. Formal arraignment generally is a quick process, taking just a few minutes. At the current time, these hearings are conducted virtually.  

After formal arraignment, your case may flow in a few different ways which will be explained individually. These include Accelerated Rehabilitative Disposition (ARD), miscellaneous court (also referred to as plea court), bench trial, jury trial, or other Pretrial proceedings. 

Miscellaneous Court (also called Plea Court) is a general listing of a case. At this time, a defendant would have the ability to go in many directions such as listing for a jury trial, seeking a Pretrial hearing, seeking a bench trial, applying for ARD, etc. 

ARD is a voluntary program (generally) offered to first time offenders by the District Attorney’s Office. You would be subject to certain conditions that are determined by the DA’s Office and upon successful completion, discharged from the program and usually would be eligible for the charge to be expunged. (Note, in some instances you may not be eligible for an expungement, but this will be discussed with you at admission to the program). 

A bench trial occurs when a judge sits as the decider of fact and determines whether there is sufficient evidence to find you guilty of your offense. 

A jury trial occurs when 12 members of the community are used to decide the facts of the case and determine whether there is sufficient evidence to find you guilty of your offense. 

A suppression hearing is a hearing that is held when a defendant wants to withhold certain evidence associated with a case. The judge would make that ruling based on case law and facts presented. 

DROP Bail Hearing (DUI Repeat Offender Program) is an expedited hearing for individuals who obtain a second or subsequent DUI charge within certain criteria. This hearing is held before a Common Pleas judge who determines whether you should have certain conditions placed on your liberties while the charges are pending against you. 

Rule 150 Hearing is derived by the Rules of Criminal Procedure which dictate that an individual incarcerated because of a bench/arrest warrant is entitled to appear before a judge within 72 hours of their apprehension to determine whether the individual is entitled to be released on bail pending the next court date. 

The Court of Common Pleas also has some treatment court programs, Drug Court, Mental Health Court, Recovery Connections Court, and Veteran’s Court. Each one targets a slightly different population but focuses on incorporating more treatment options into an individual who meets certain criteria for admission into these respective programs. 

You should navigate to the Court Calendar portion of the website to see more information when these hearings occur and always reach out Court Administration if you have specific questions.