Bail After An Arrest
42 Pa.C.S. 5701 — bailable by sufficient sureties, except in two kinds of case
The rule. All prisoners are bailable by sufficient sureties.
- Capital offenses, and offenses for which the maximum sentence is life imprisonment.
- Cases where no condition or combination of conditions other than imprisonment will reasonably assure the safety of any person and the community, when the proof is evident or presumption great.
Those are the two exceptions the section lists.
The details are in the rules. Except as a statute or the surety laws provide otherwise, the fixing, posting, forfeiting, exoneration and distribution of bail are governed by general rules of court.
The procedure for a bail hearing, the types of release, and the factors a court weighs are set in the rules of criminal procedure, which are not on this page. A particular bail decision is a question for the court, or a licensed Pennsylvania attorney.
Sources for this section (2)
- 42 Pa.C.S. 5701 — Right to bail
- 42 Pa.C.S. 5702 — Bail to be governed by general rules
Legal information, not legal advice. Verified as of September 2026. Applying it to a particular situation is the work of a licensed Pennsylvania attorney.