Lehigh County Arrest Records
Lehigh County arrest records and court charge records answer related but different questions. The arrest side may show that a person was taken into custody, booked, fingerprinted, photographed, screened, or brought before a magisterial district judge. Custody status after arrest is handled through jail, Corrections, VINELink, or state custody channels, not by the court docket alone. A court charge record shows the accusations that were filed in court after the arrest and tracks how those charges change.
Charges after arrest can appear first in Magisterial District Court, especially when a preliminary arraignment, bail event, preliminary hearing, traffic matter, summary offense, or complaint starts there. If charges are held for court, the Court of Common Pleas docket becomes the main record for later criminal case activity. The Lehigh County District Attorney decides how many criminal charges proceed, whether charges are amended or withdrawn, and how plea or trial activity moves forward. The final case outcome belongs in the criminal court record, not in a booking entry.
Find Lehigh County Charges
Use Pennsylvania UJS Case Search for public charge and docket information. Search the MDJ docket report when the case is at the preliminary or lower-court stage. Search the Common Pleas report when the case has moved into the Court of Common Pleas. Use Lehigh County ORA and the Clerk of Judicial Records when the question involves a local index, copy request, or document that UJS does not provide.
- Search UJS by docket number if known, or by defendant name with Lehigh County selected when possible.
- Open the MDJ docket first for recent arrests, preliminary hearings, summary matters, and traffic-related criminal cases.
- Open the Common Pleas docket when charges are held for court or a CP-39 criminal docket exists.
- Read each charge row for statute, grading, offense date, disposition, and any amended or withdrawn entries.
- Use the Criminal Division or Clerk of Courts for certified copies and documents not visible in the public docket.
The arrest or custody side may require a different channel. UJS can show bail and court events, but it is not a live jail roster. VINELink, Lehigh County Corrections, and Pennsylvania DOC tools are the right channels when the question is whether someone is currently in custody.
Charges Filed After Arrest
After an arrest, the court record is built through a charging document and later docket activity. Pennsylvania criminal cases often begin with a criminal complaint in the lower-court process. An information is a formal prosecutor-filed charging document used after charges move into Common Pleas. Indictment language can appear in federal or grand-jury contexts, but ordinary Lehigh County state criminal cases should be read through Pennsylvania complaint, preliminary hearing, information, and Common Pleas docket entries.
| Document | Filed By | Common Use | Record Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| Complaint | Police or prosecution-supported filing | Starts many criminal cases in the MDJ process. | Lists initial allegations, statutes, grading, and offense facts. |
| Information | Prosecutor | Formal Common Pleas charging document after lower-court proceedings. | Identifies charges the Commonwealth will pursue in trial court. |
| Indictment | Grand jury process where used | More common in federal or special grand-jury contexts. | Shows grand-jury accusation, not a final conviction. |
The Lehigh County District Attorney's Office is the local prosecution source for criminal cases.
The DA source is relevant because court charges after arrest are prosecution decisions once the case moves through court.
Lehigh County Charge Status
Charge status can change several times. A charge may be pending at filing, amended after review, reduced during negotiation, held for court after a preliminary hearing, dismissed by the court, withdrawn, or ended by nolle prosequi. Do not read the first charge list as the final result. The disposition and later docket entries show what happened after the arrest and filing.
| Status | What It Means | Where It Appears |
|---|---|---|
| Pending | The charge is open and not yet finally resolved. | Charge row and current case status. |
| Held for court | The charge moved from MDJ proceedings toward Common Pleas. | Preliminary hearing and transfer entries. |
| Amended or reduced | The prosecution changed the charge, grading, or count. | Amended information or docket event. |
| Dismissed | The court did not allow that charge or case to proceed in that form. | Disposition entry or order. |
| Withdrawn | The charging party or prosecution withdrew the charge. | Docket entry or disposition field. |
| Nolle prosequi | The prosecution chose not to proceed on that charge. | Disposition or order entry. |
Charges vs Convictions
A Lehigh County arrest record or charge row does not prove a conviction. It shows that an allegation entered the criminal justice process. A conviction requires a guilty plea, guilty verdict, or other final finding recognized by the court. One arrest can produce many charges, and only some may end in conviction. Some charges may be withdrawn, dismissed, reduced, or resolved without a conviction.
| Point | Charge | Conviction |
|---|---|---|
| Meaning | Formal accusation filed after arrest or review. | Final guilty result by plea or verdict. |
| Timing | Appears early in the docket. | Appears after court resolution. |
| What to read | Complaint, information, offense rows, amendments. | Disposition, sentence, final order, appeal status. |
| Public caution | May be public even if later dismissed. | May still be subject to sealing, expungement, or limited access if eligible. |
DA and Defense Contacts
The current Lehigh County District Attorney is Gavin P. Holihan. His official biography states that his term began in January 2024 after election in November 2023 and that he previously served as First Assistant District Attorney beginning in January 2023. DA activity can appear in charge amendments, plea terms, motions, diversion screening, victim-witness references, and other court events.
The county's District Attorney biography page documents the elected prosecutor's role.
That official source helps tie court charges after arrest to the county prosecution office, not to a private background-check site.
The Lehigh County Public Defender represents financially eligible defendants in criminal cases. The official application identifies Kimberly F. Makoul as Chief Public Defender. Public Defender involvement may appear as attorney entries, continuances, filings, hearing appearances, or plea negotiations. Eligibility is not automatic, and a person must complete the office's screening process.
The Public Defender page is an assigned source for Lehigh County arrest records and court charges.
That source is most relevant when a person reading new charges needs to understand court-appointed counsel routing.
Read Charge Codes
Charge rows should be read by offense description, statute, grading, offense date, and disposition. The statute points to the legal offense. The grading shows the seriousness category, such as felony or misdemeanor, when listed. The offense date is not always the same as the arrest date or filing date. The disposition shows where the count ended. A later sentence row applies only to charges that resulted in a conviction or qualifying plea.
Some criminal conduct may involve federal court rather than Lehigh County court. Federal prosecution from Lehigh County generally routes through the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania and the U.S. Attorney's Office, not the county Clerk of Courts. That distinction matters when a search for a local charge does not show a federal indictment or federal docket.
The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania is the federal prosecution source for the region.
Federal charges should be checked through federal court channels, not the Lehigh County Court of Common Pleas docket alone.
Sealed vs Expunged Charges
Dismissed or withdrawn charges can still appear in public court records until a record is sealed, limited, or expunged under Pennsylvania law. Expungement under 18 Pa.C.S. Section 9122 and Clean Slate limited access under 18 Pa.C.S. Section 9122.1 depend on the exact disposition, offense type, waiting period, payment or completion status, and case history. A person should pull the precise docket before deciding whether a charge record qualifies.
| Point | Sealed or Limited Access | Expunged |
|---|---|---|
| Public result | Hidden from most public searches. | Removed or destroyed from eligible repositories. |
| Agency access | Can remain for criminal justice agencies. | More limited and controlled by the order and statute. |
| Common trigger | Clean Slate or court order. | Eligible dismissal, acquittal, ARD, summary waiting period, pardon, or other statutory basis. |
Lehigh County Access Limits
Public access to charge records is limited by the UJS Case Records Public Access Policy, juvenile confidentiality, expungement, Clean Slate limited access, and court orders. Juvenile files are restricted under 42 Pa.C.S. Section 6307. Victim details, minor names, confidential addresses, medical or mental-health material, and sealed filings may be removed from public view. Open-records requests do not override sealed court records or criminal-investigation exemptions.
Access channels should stay separate. Use UJS for the public docket. Use Lehigh ORA and Clerk of Judicial Records divisions for county indexes and copies. Use jail or custody channels for current custody. Use the Sheriff's Office or police only for law-enforcement functions they control. Use counsel, the court office, or the DA when the charge has a pending hearing, bench warrant, or negotiated resolution.
Important: Arrest records and charge records may be incomplete, restricted, or later changed by court order.