Custer County Detention Center Inmate Bail & Bonds

A judge does. State law requires that a person under arrest be brought to the closest judge "without unnecessary delay" (MCA 46-7-101). The judge then rules on jail or release at that very first hearing (MCA 46-9-109).

Here, Justice Court handles most of those first hearings, even for felonies. It sits at 1010 Main Street, Miles City, MT 59301, in courtroom 3 down in the basement, 406-874-3408. People caught on another county's warrant, and people jailed over probation or parole trouble, are seen there too.

A city police arrest inside Miles City is likely to land in City Court, 406-234-5939. Many first hearings run over a video link from the jail (MCA 46-9-206). When a felony climbs to District Court, its bail goes with it, and the district judge is free to adjust it (MCA 46-9-201).

By law, the judge picks the least strict option that still gets the defendant to every court date (MCA 46-9-108). Here is the menu:

• Own recognizance. No payment at all. The person signs and promises to appear (MCA 46-9-111).
• Release on rules. The person goes home under orders. A judge might set a curfew, ban drinking, take away guns, require check-ins or bar contact with the alleged victim.
• Cash in full. Someone pays the full bail in money. The court holds onto it until the case wraps up.
• Bail agent bond. For a fee, a licensed agent promises the court the full sum.
• Personal sureties. Two people with the means to cover it sign a written pledge along with the defendant.
• Real estate. Land in Montana with enough paid-off value may be put up (MCA 46-9-401).
• A license. Some traffic charges let an officer keep a driver's license as the bail.

Expect an ankle monitor, where the county has one, in some cases. These include felony stalking and a second partner assault.

Open the Sheriff's daily roster. It comes as a PDF, and a new one is printed every morning. The bond sits in the far right column of each row.

• A dollar figure, marked cash or surety, is what has to be posted.
• A few rows say the bond came from a judge.
• "No Bond" tells you there is nothing to pay at the moment.

When a person faces several charges, each row has its own bond, so total them. For a "No Bond" row, phone detention at 406-874-3301 and ask what is holding things up and when a judge will review it. Jot down the Jacket number on that row. It is the quickest way for staff to pull up the file.

Montana's highest court approves a statewide Recommended Bond Schedule that justice and city judges can use. Judges here are free to go higher or lower, since it is advice and not a rule. State surcharges are built into each figure. Here are a handful from the 2026 list:

• Misdemeanor assault with bodily injury: $585, and the person goes before a judge before any release
• Furnishing alcohol to a minor: $535, also a must-see-the-judge charge
• Boating while impaired: $335
• Illegal gambling: $535 the first time in 5 years, $750 the second
• Insurance fraud up to $1,500: $285, judge required
• Felonies like homicide: the schedule gives no figure, and the judge picks one

The list can't be used at all for partner or family assault, strangling a partner, stalking, or defying a court's protection order or no-contact order. A judge must see those defendants first (MCA 46-9-302). To learn the figure in a particular case, ring Justice Court at 406-874-3408 during the week.

Yes. Bail can be paid online through the "Bail payments" link on the Custer County Sheriff's page. That form wants two things: the inmate's agency number and the bond amount.

1. Phone detention at 406-874-3301 before you start.
2. Get the agency number and the exact bond. Since the roster prints a Jacket number, check whether the form means that same number.
3. Find out whether a service fee gets tacked on, and how fast the jail sees the money.
4. Make the payment, and keep a copy of the receipt on paper or on your phone.

Jail account money is a different thing from bail. Deposits for snacks and calls use another system, which our money page describes.

You'll find the jail behind the courthouse at 1010 Main Street, Miles City, MT 59301. Montana lets a deputy or jailer collect bail for a judge when the amount is on the court's schedule or written right on the warrant. A signed receipt has to be given to you (MCA 46-9-302). Go in this order:

1. Call 406-874-3301 before leaving home.
2. Spell out the full name and birth date. Then get the bond figure and the charge tied to it.
3. Ask which kinds of payment are taken today, and what name goes on the pay-to line.
4. Some charges, like partner assault, need a judge's OK first. Check whether yours is one.
5. Carry a photo ID and the exact sum. Tuck the receipt somewhere safe.

Release happens on a schedule here, at 8:00 a.m., 11:00 a.m., 3:00 p.m. and 9:00 p.m. every day. Once bail is in, the person usually walks out at the next of those times.

Often, yes. Under Montana court rules, bail from a court's own schedule can be paid at its office during working hours on any day court business is done. Each court has to post that schedule. Phone ahead:

• Justice Court: 1010 Main Street, Miles City, MT 59301, 406-874-3408. Weekday hours are 8:00 a.m. to noon, then 1:00 to 5:00 p.m.
• City Court: P.O. Box 910, Miles City, MT 59301, 406-234-5939. Ask the clerk which building to visit.
• Clerk of District Court (felony cases): 1010 Main Street, Miles City, MT 59301, 406-874-3326, weekdays from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

Before you go, get the amount, the payment types the window allows, and a yes or no on whether the jail lets the person out right after.

For tickets and fines, Justice Court accepts cash, a check, a money order or a cashier's check. Mailing cash is never a good idea. People can also pay a citation there by card through CitePayUSA.

City Court lets people use a card online for fines, fees, time payments and bond forfeitures. A 5% charge is added, and the citation number has to begin with "A." The City Court page has the details.

Both card options are meant for citations. To bail out someone who is in custody, use the Sheriff's online bail link, or ask detention at 406-874-3301 what the jail window will accept.

Every bail agent working in Montana must be licensed by the state insurance office, called the Commissioner of Securities and Insurance. The law's long name for the job is "surety bail bond insurance producer" (MCA 33-17-1601). A few points to weigh:

• The fee pays for the agent's promise. It stays with the agent no matter how the case turns out.
• Agents often hold something valuable, like a pickup title, as security. Get the terms for giving it back on paper.
• Should the person skip court, the agent may take them into custody, usually after a heads-up to local police (MCA 46-6-508).
• A bond only guarantees showing up. It is never used to cover fines or restitution (MCA 46-9-503).
• No lawyer or court official may serve as a surety (MCA 46-9-402).
• Look up any agent on the national licensee lookup first.

Each bail is tied to one case. Before money changes hands, ask about these other holds:

• Another place's warrant. As of 2025, local judges may not grant bail on a warrant from somewhere else (MCA 46-9-201).
• Extradition. After a return from out of state, no bail is set until the judge who signed the warrant sees the person (MCA 46-9-105).
• State corrections. A big share of the roster is held for the Department of Corrections or for probation and parole. That office is at 509 Main St, Miles City, MT 59301, 406-234-1962.
• More than one case. A city charge and a county charge need separate bail.
• Federal or ICE holds. See the answers about those further down.

Have detention staff at 406-874-3301 read off every hold before you pay.

Under Montana's Constitution, bail is a right unless the charge could carry the death penalty and "the proof is evident or the presumption great" (Mont. Const. art. II, sec. 21). Bail that is excessive is banned (Mont. Const. art. II, sec. 22).

Even so, pretrial jail is allowed when there is good cause to believe no set of conditions would bring the person back (MCA 46-9-106). Things the judge weighs include the charge, any record, earlier missed dates, safety, and years spent living here. A scored risk check is allowed as well (MCA 46-9-109).

Requests for high bail or none come from the County Attorney's Office, 1010 Main Street, Miles City, MT 59301, 406-874-3310.

Either lawyer in the case can file a request to raise, cut or rework the bail and its rules (MCA 46-9-311). The other lawyer must hear about it in time.

1. Have the defense attorney put a motion in writing before the court with the case.
2. Bring pay stubs, a lease or deed, names of nearby relatives, and an honest figure the family can afford. Montana bail may not be oppressive and must match what the person can pay (MCA 46-9-301).
3. Suggest conditions that answer the judge's concerns. One idea is regular alcohol or drug testing through the state's 24/7 sobriety program, which is used here.

On a Justice Court case, phone 406-874-3408 to find out how a motion gets on the calendar. For felony motions, phone the Clerk of District Court, 406-874-3326.

At the first appearance, the judge must tell the defendant that a lawyer can be appointed (MCA 46-7-102). The state's Office of State Public Defender handles felonies, misdemeanors that carry possible jail, and Youth Court matters. City Court notes that a public defender may be assigned to those who qualify.

The test is a household income at or below 133% of the poverty line, or proof that hiring counsel would cause real hardship. A job, or enough cash for bail, is not by itself grounds to turn someone down (MCA 47-1-111). The applicant fills out a sworn money statement, and a judge signs off on the result.

• Miles City office phone: 406-851-7080
• Online form: apply for a public defender. Have recent pay stubs and bank records handy.
• Program site: Montana Public Defender

Almost all of the local courts share the county courthouse in Miles City, open on weekdays.

• Sixteenth Judicial District Court (felony cases), Clerk of District Court, 1010 Main Street, Miles City, MT 59301, 406-874-3326. Its two district judges cover seven southeastern Montana counties.
• Justice Court (misdemeanors and early felony steps), basement courtroom 3 in that building, 406-874-3408.
• City Court (charges from inside the city), P.O. Box 910, Miles City, MT 59301, 406-234-5939.
• U.S. District Court (federal crimes), James F. Battin Federal Courthouse, 2601 2nd Avenue North, Suite 1200, Billings, MT 59101, 406-247-7000.

Yes, if the person made every court date and the case is done. Then the court returns the cash (MCA 46-9-502). Court rules only allow the refund in the name of whoever deposited it, so save that receipt and plan to show ID.

Missing a court date allows a forfeiture order, and the court can then keep the bail. A written notice of that order has to go out by mail to everyone who signed within 10 working days. Skip that step, and the bond is void (MCA 46-9-503).

• Within 90 days, the forfeiture can be undone if the person returns or a solid excuse is shown.
• Forfeited misdemeanor money stays with the local city or county. On a felony it goes to the state (MCA 46-9-511).
• The judge may send forfeited bail to a crime victim (MCA 46-9-512).

Refunds come from whichever court received the bail. Justice Court's number is 406-874-3408.

The Detention Center won't accept personal items for inmates, so don't bring clothes or other things to drop off. What the person carried in at booking is stored until they leave. Call 406-874-3301 ahead of the release time and ask two things: how any balance on the jail account is returned, and when their property can be collected.

Have photo ID with you. If the items belong to someone else, find out whether the jail wants a signed release from the owner. To learn how account money is used and refunded, see our commissary page.

Federal charges from eastern Montana are filed in the Billings Division of the U.S. District Court for the District of Montana. Its clerk works from the James F. Battin Federal Courthouse, 2601 2nd Avenue North, Suite 1200, Billings, MT 59101, 406-247-7000, weekdays 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

• The first federal hearing settles whether the person waits for trial at home or in custody. If a lawyer asks, that hearing may slip by a few days (18 U.S.C. 3142).
• Before that hearing, federal pretrial officers look into the person's history for the judge. It is in Suite 1300 of that courthouse, 406-657-6287.
• While a federal case waits for trial, the defendant stays in U.S. Marshals Service custody. Reach the Marshals at 2601 2nd Avenue North, Suite 2300, Billings, MT 59101, 406-200-6004, to ask where the person is housed.
• Once sentenced, the person shows up in the Federal Bureau of Prisons inmate locator.

PACER has federal case papers for a small fee per page.

Paying state bail won't lift a hold placed by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). This is the usual chain of events:

1. ICE sends Form I-247A, its detainer request, to the Detention Center.
2. Staff may then hold the person up to 48 hours after they would otherwise be released (8 CFR 287.7(d)).
3. Montana requires officers to carry out a detainer and tell the person about it. The hold ends early if the person offers credible proof that they are a citizen or are here lawfully (MCA 27-16-801).
4. For this county, ICE's local check-in office is 2900 4th Avenue, Suite 205, Billings, MT 59101, 406-247-4083. Above it is the Salt Lake City Field Office, 2975 Decker Lake Drive, Suite 100, West Valley City, UT 84119, 801-736-1200.
5. Track the person with the ICE Online Detainee Locator. It needs the full name and birth country, or an A-number.

A felony term with the state is handled by the Montana Department of Corrections. Right after sentencing, people often sit in the county jail until state staff sort out where they fit. After that review, state staff move them to whatever fits best: prison, prerelease or a treatment bed.

• The Montana offender search shows where they are, by name or state ID number.
• For mail and visits at each state facility, open our Montana state prisons guide.
• The local probation and parole office answers at 406-234-1962.

Montana law treats anyone younger than 18 as a youth. Their cases are usually heard by the district judge sitting as Youth Court (MCA 41-5-203). Keeping a youth overnight in an adult jail just to book them is not allowed. Rural jails may hold a youth who is waiting for a hearing for a day at most, not counting weekends and holidays, and only in a space fully separated from grown inmates (MCA 41-5-349).

• A locked-up youth gets a hearing before a judge within 24 hours, weekends and holidays aside (MCA 41-5-332).
• Youths can be let out on bail too. The amount must take the parents' money into account (MCA 41-5-323).
• Parents can reach Juvenile Probation at 406-874-3418 to find out where their child is and the hearing time.

The state's youth prison, Pine Hills Youth Correctional Facility, is also in Miles City. It takes youths ages 10 to 17 once a judge has decided their case. A youth who was just arrested is not booked there.