Title 46, Title 46

When a peace officer is called to the scene of a reported incident of domestic violence but does not make an arrest, the peace officer shall file a written report with the officer commanding the law enforcement agency employing the peace officer, setting forth the reason or reaso…

Whenever a peace officer arrests a person for partner or family member assault, as defined in 45-5-206, or responds to a call in which partner or family member assault is suspected, the officer, outside the presence of the offender, shall advise the victim of the availability of …

(1) A peace officer who responds to a call relating to partner or family member assault shall seize the weapon used or threatened to be used in the alleged assault. (2) The responding officer may, as appropriate: (a) take reasonable action necessary to provide for the safety of a…

(1) A person arrested, whether with or without a warrant, must be taken without unnecessary delay before the nearest and most accessible judge for an initial appearance. (2) A defendant's initial appearance before a judge may, in the discretion of the court, be satisfied either b…

(1) The judge shall inform the defendant: (a) of the charge or charges against the defendant; (b) of the defendant's right to counsel; (c) of the defendant's right to have counsel assigned by a court of record in accordance with the provisions of 46-8-101; (d) of the general circ…

(1) During the initial appearance before the court, every defendant must be informed of the right to have counsel and must be asked if the aid of counsel is desired. (2) Except as provided in subsection (3), if the defendant desires assigned counsel because of financial inability…

A defendant may waive the right to counsel when the court ascertains that the waiver is made knowingly, voluntarily, and intelligently.

(1) When counsel has been assigned, the assignment is effective until final judgment, including any proceeding upon direct appeal to the Montana supreme court, unless relieved by order of the court that assigned counsel or that has jurisdiction over the case. (2) If counsel deter…

(1) Any court of record may order the office of state public defender, provided for in 2-15-1029, to assign counsel, subject to the provisions of the Montana Public Defender Act, Title 47, chapter 1, to represent any petitioner or appellant in any postconviction action or proceed…

(1) Subject to the provisions of subsections (2) and (3), as part of or as a condition of a sentence that is imposed under the provisions of this title, the court shall determine whether a convicted defendant should pay the costs of counsel assigned to represent the defendant as …

(1) Except as provided in subsection (2), when a defendant is sentenced to pay the costs of assigned counsel pursuant to 46-8-113, the court may order payment to be made within a specified period of time or in specified installments. (2) A defendant's obligation to make payments …

(1) When a defendant who is sentenced to pay the costs of assigned counsel defaults in payment of the costs or of any installment, the court on motion of the prosecutor or on its own motion may require the defendant to show cause why the default should not be treated as contempt …

(1) All persons shall be bailable before conviction, except when death is a possible punishment for the offense charged and the proof is evident or the presumption great that the person is guilty of the offense charged. (2) On the hearing of an application for admission to bail m…

If the judgment of conviction is reversed and the cause remanded for a new trial, the trial court may order that the bail stand pending such trial or substitute, reduce, or increase bail.

(1) An arrested person must be released or detained pending judicial proceedings pursuant to Title 46, chapter 9. When a person is arrested on a judicial warrant after being returned from another state to this state under 46-30-411, the person may not be admitted to bail without …

Before a verdict has been rendered, the court shall: (1) authorize the release of the defendant upon reasonable conditions that ensure the appearance of the defendant and protect the safety of the community or of any person; or (2) detain the defendant when there is probable caus…

A person intending to appeal from a judgment imposing a fine only or from any judgment rendered by a justice's court or city court must be admitted to bail. The court shall order the detention of a defendant found guilty of an offense who is awaiting imposition or execution of se…

(1) The court may impose any condition that will reasonably ensure the appearance of the defendant as required or that will ensure the safety of any person or the community, including but not limited to the following conditions: (a) the defendant may not commit an offense during …

(1) The release or detention of the defendant must be determined immediately upon the defendant's initial appearance. (2) In determining whether the defendant should be released or detained, the court may use a validated pretrial risk assessment tool and shall take into account t…

A release order issued by the court must include a written statement setting forth any restrictions or conditions upon the defendant's release.

Any person in custody, if otherwise eligible for bail, may be released on the person's personal recognizance subject to conditions that the court may reasonably prescribe to ensure the person's appearance when required. Any person released as provided in this section must be full…

If release is ordered or bail is accepted by a court other than the court in which the charge is pending, any bonds, instrument of ownership, or money posted and a written statement of other conditions of release must be delivered without delay to the court in which the charge is…

If a commercial surety bond is posted as bail and the defendant is convicted, the bond must be released and returned to the surety within 30 days after the conviction. If the defendant appeals, the court may order that bail be provided during the appeal.

A judge may admit to bail any defendant properly appearing before the judge in a bail proceeding unless the defendant is on a warrant from another jurisdiction. When bound over to any court or judge having jurisdiction of the offense charged, bail must be continued provided that …

The requirement that a defendant be taken before a judge for setting of bail may, in the discretion of the court, be satisfied either by the defendant's physical appearance before the court or by two-way electronic audio-video communication. The audio-video communication must ope…

In all cases in which bail is determined to be necessary, bail must be reasonable in amount and the amount must be: (1) sufficient to ensure the presence of the defendant in a pending criminal proceeding; (2) sufficient to ensure compliance with the conditions set forth in the ba…

(1) A judge may establish and post a schedule of bail for offenses over which the judge has original jurisdiction. A person may not be released on bail without first appearing before the judge when the offense is: (a) any assault on a partner or family member, as partner or famil…

(1) Upon application by the state or the defendant, the court before which the proceeding is pending may increase or reduce the amount of bail, substitute one bail for another, alter the conditions of the bail, or revoke bail. (2) Reasonable notice of such application must be giv…

(1) Bail may be furnished in the following ways: (a) by a deposit with the court of an amount equal to the required bail of cash, stocks, bonds, certificates of deposit, or other personal property approved by the court; (b) by pledging real estate situated within the state with a…

No attorney at law and no official authorized to admit another to bail shall act as surety or furnish bail.

(1) If property posted as a condition of release is personal property, the defendant or sureties shall file a sworn schedule that must contain a list of the personal property, including a description of each item, its location and market value, and the total market value of all i…

(1) A domestic or foreign surety company that has qualified to transact surety business in this state may, in any year, become surety in an amount not exceeding $1,000 with respect to any guaranteed arrest bond certificates issued in the year by an automobile club or association …

(1) A guaranteed arrest bond certificate must, when posted by the person whose signature appears on the certificate, be accepted in lieu of cash bail in an amount not exceeding $1,000 as a bail bond to guarantee the appearance of the person in any court, including a municipal cou…

When the conditions of bail have been performed and the accused has been discharged from the accused's obligations in the cause, the court shall return to the accused or the accused's sureties the deposit of any cash, stocks, or bonds. If the bail is real estate, the court shall …

(1) If a defendant violates a condition of release, including failure to appear, the prosecutor may make a written motion to the court for revocation of the order of release. A judge may issue a warrant for the arrest of a defendant charged with violating a condition of release. …

(1) Upon failure to comply with any condition of a bail or recognizance, the court having jurisdiction at the time of the failure may, in addition to any other action provided by law, issue a warrant for the arrest of the person. (2) On verified application by the prosecutor sett…

(1) At any time before the forfeiture of bail or within 90 days after forfeiture: (a) the defendant may surrender to the court or any peace officer of this state; or (b) a surety bail bond insurance producer licensed to sell, solicit, or negotiate commercial bail bonds pursuant t…

(1) When an order of forfeiture is not discharged, the court having jurisdiction shall proceed with the forfeiture of bail as follows: (a) if money has been posted as bail in a misdemeanor case, as defined in 45-2-101, the court shall pay the money to the treasury of the city or …

(1) If the court enters a judgment declaring bail to be forfeited or if the order of forfeiture is not discharged, the court having jurisdiction may order the bail forfeited to be paid as restitution to any victim of the offense for which the court has received bail. Whenever the…

After the initial appearance, in all cases in which the charge is triable in district court, the justice's court shall, within a reasonable time, hold a preliminary examination unless: (1) the defendant waives a preliminary examination; (2) the district court has granted leave to…

If the defendant waives the preliminary examination, the judge shall hold the defendant to answer to the court having jurisdiction of the offense.

(1) The defendant may not enter a plea. The judge shall hear the evidence without unnecessary delay. All witnesses must be examined in the presence of the defendant. The defendant may cross-examine witnesses against the defendant and may introduce evidence in the defendant's own …

(1) If from the evidence it appears that there is probable cause to believe that an offense has been committed and that the defendant committed it, the judge shall hold the defendant to answer to the court having jurisdiction of the offense. (2) If it appears from the evidence th…

(1) The testimony of each witness must be taken by a court-appointed stenographer upon demand by the county attorney, the defendant, or the defendant's counsel. (2) After concluding the proceeding, if the judge holds the defendant to answer a charge, the judge shall transmit imme…

A prosecution may be commenced by: (1) a complaint; (2) an information following a preliminary examination or waiver of a preliminary examination; (3) an information after leave of court has been granted; or (4) an indictment upon a finding by a grand jury.

(1) All prosecutions of offenses charged in a district court must be by indictment or information. (2) All other prosecutions of offenses must be by complaint.