Summary Offense Attorney Serving State College and Central Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania grades criminal charges into three categories: felony, misdemeanor, and summary. A summary offense sits at the bottom of that scale, but it remains a criminal charge with a police-issued citation that looks a lot like a traffic ticket. That resemblance is exactly what leads many people in State College, Bellefonte, and across Centre County to shrug off a summary charge or plead guilty at their first court date without ever speaking to a defense attorney. Many people treat the citation as a minor inconvenience and plead guilty at the first court date without realizing what that plea actually costs.

That decision can be a costly mistake. A summary conviction can carry up to 90 days in jail and fines that reach $300 for most offenses, though certain summary offenses, including some retail theft citations, carry fines up to $1,000 or more. A summary conviction also creates a permanent criminal record unless it is later expunged, which can affect background checks for jobs, housing, and, for Penn State students, university disciplinary proceedings.

Our firm treats every summary citation with the same attention we give felony cases. As a criminal defense attorney handling matters throughout Central Pennsylvania, we know the local district judges, the Centre County Central Court process, and the practical steps that can keep a minor mistake from becoming a lasting record.

Summary citations arise from a wide range of conduct, from a night out downtown to a disagreement between neighbors. As a summary offense lawyer and non-traffic citation attorney, we regularly represent clients facing:

Each of these charges carries its own elements the Commonwealth must prove, and each comes with its own set of defenses. A summary citation attorney who understands the local courts can often identify weaknesses in the police report, the citation itself, or the underlying facts that lead to a dismissal or reduced charge.

We start every summary offense case by reviewing the citation, the police narrative, and the circumstances of the stop or encounter as early as possible. Timing matters because summary cases move quickly through the district judge’s office, and early involvement gives us more room to negotiate with the prosecuting officer or the district attorney’s office before a hearing date locks in a result.

As an experienced criminal defense attorney, we look for procedural defects in how the citation was issued, constitutional issues with how evidence was gathered, and factual disputes that a Centre County district judge needs to hear directly. In many cases, we can resolve a summary charge through a negotiated disposition, a diversionary option like ARD for eligible offenses, or a dismissal, without our client ever needing to accept a permanent conviction on their record.

If you already have a summary conviction on your record, we also work as an expungement attorney to help clients clear old summary offenses once the five-year waiting period under 18 Pa.C.S.A § 9122(b)(3) has passed. Clearing that record can matter enormously for employment, housing, and peace of mind.

Frequently asked questions about summary citations