Daniels County Sheriff's Office Inmate Bail & Bonds

A 2022 state survey of jail beds listed zero beds for the Sheriff's Office, so adults from here are housed by another county. The jail used can vary from case to case. Start by calling the Sheriff's Office at 406-487-2691 and asking where the person was booked.

Jails to keep in mind:

• The Valley County jail in Glasgow, found at 501 Court Square #10, Glasgow, MT 59230. It is staffed day and night at 406-228-4333, extension 2. An official roster from 2021 listed inmates held there for this county.
• The Roosevelt County jail in Wolf Point, which had 58 beds in 2022. Reach that county's dispatch at 406-653-6242. Its courthouse is at 400 2nd Ave S, Wolf Point, MT 59201.
• The Sheridan County hold jail, 100 West Laurel Avenue, Plentywood, MT 59254, 406-765-3400. It is meant for short stays of roughly 72 hours.

Only a judge can set bail. Montana law says that after an arrest, the person sees the nearest reachable judge "without unnecessary delay" (MCA 46-7-101). The release choice is made right then (MCA 46-9-109).

Most county cases start with the Justice of the Peace, 213 Main Street, Scobey, MT 59263, 406-487-5432. The county describes this court as the place for first appearances on felonies and warrants. The same judge doubles as Scobey's city judge, so a ticket written in town lands at the same desk.

Since the person is likely sitting in another county's jail, the hearing can be done on a two-way video screen (MCA 46-9-206). If the case becomes a felony case in District Court, the bail carries over. The district judge can then make it higher, lower or a different type (MCA 46-9-201).

Judges in Montana must choose the mildest terms that still make a return to court likely (MCA 46-9-108). Options include:

• Own recognizance. No money. The person signs and promises to appear (MCA 46-9-111).
• Conditions. Going home with rules. The person might have to be home by a set hour, skip drinking, give up guns, check in, or stay away from the alleged victim.
• Cash deposit. Someone pays the total in cash. The money stays on deposit with the court until the case closes.
• Real estate. Owners can pledge Montana property if the debt-free share of its value is large enough (MCA 46-9-401).
• Personal sureties. A pair of backers who can cover the amount sign a written pledge with the defendant.
• Bail bond. For a fee, a state-licensed agent puts up a bond for the total.
• License instead of cash. On certain traffic charges, the driver's license can be kept in place of money.

For felony stalking, a second partner assault and a few other serious cases, the law expects an ankle monitor if one is on hand.

Local judges can start from the statewide Recommended Bond Schedule, which the Montana Supreme Court updates. It only suggests amounts, so a judge can go above or below it (MCA 46-9-301). These figures come from the 2026 edition and include state surcharges:

• Simple assault that hurts someone (misdemeanor): $585, court appearance required
• Furnishing alcohol to a person under 21: $535, court appearance required
• Boating while impaired: $335
• First unlawful gambling offense in five years: $535
• Insurance fraud up to $1,500: $285, court appearance required
• Any felony: no amount listed, so the judge picks one

Some charges can't be settled from the schedule at all. A person accused of assaulting or choking a spouse, partner or relative needs a judge first. So do stalking cases, and cases where someone is accused of disobeying a protective order or no-contact order (MCA 46-9-302). Call the Justice Court at 406-487-5432 for the amount in a given case.

State law lets a deputy or a jail officer collect bail for the judge when a schedule or the warrant itself sets the amount. You must be given a signed receipt (MCA 46-9-302). Here is the order to work in:

1. Phone the Sheriff's Office at 406-487-2691. Find out the jail, the bail figure and which charge it is tied to.
2. Phone the jail. Glasgow's line is 406-228-4333, extension 2. Ask how it handles bail on a case from this county and the exact payee name.
3. Ask if the person still needs to see a judge before going home.
4. Ask if any other case or hold is on record.
5. Bring a photo ID plus exact payment, and save the receipt.

Usually. Under the uniform rules for Montana's justice and city courts, a court can take schedule bail at its counter while it is open on regular court days. Each one must display its schedule.

• Justice Court, also Scobey City Court: 213 Main Street, Scobey, MT 59263, 406-487-5432. Its mailing address is P.O. Box 838.
• Clerk of District Court, for felonies: 213 Main Street, Scobey, MT 59263, 406-487-2651, or email clerkofcourt.daniels@mt.gov. Its mailing address is P.O. Box 67.

Call ahead. Ask about open hours, the amount due, the payments taken, and how fast the jail learns that bail is paid.

Rules on cash, checks, money orders and cards differ from one jail or court to the next. Before you leave, call the office you will pay. Ask which payments it accepts and the name a check should be written to.

• Carry the exact amount.
• Carry a photo ID, since the receipt is made out to you.
• Don't mail cash.
• Watch out for callers who demand gift cards, crypto or a payment app to get your loved one out. End the call and phone the Sheriff's Office directly.

Bail agents need a state license, which the Commissioner of Securities and Insurance grants after a 16-hour training course (MCA 33-17-1602). The law's formal term for them is "surety bail bond insurance producer."

• You pay the agent, and the agent guarantees the whole bail to the court.
• Expect a request for collateral, like the title to a truck. Get a receipt that names each item and when it will be returned.
• An agent may take a client who skips court back into custody. Except in an emergency, the agent has to call local police beforehand (MCA 46-6-508).
• The bond is about showing up in court. It can't be applied to fines or restitution (MCA 46-9-503).
• Lawyers, and officials who grant bail, can't put up bail for anyone (MCA 46-9-402).

The Valley County Sheriff's Office links a statewide list of bail bondsmen. Before signing, look up the agent with the NAIC licensee search.

Paying bail settles one case only. Any of these can still keep the person in custody:

• An outside warrant. Starting in 2025, judges here can't grant bail to someone held on a warrant from another jurisdiction (MCA 46-9-201).
• An extradition return. Someone returned from another state has to appear before the judge who signed the warrant before any bail (MCA 46-9-105).
• Supervision. Being on probation or parole weighs on the judge's choice (MCA 46-9-109).
• A second case. A charge in Scobey City Court and one in Justice Court each carry separate bail.
• A tribal matter. A case in Fort Peck Tribal Court is handled apart from any county case.
• Federal or immigration holds. See the federal and ICE answers further down.

Ask the jail to list every hold and open case before you hand over any money.

Under the Montana Constitution, bail is a right for everyone, except in a death-penalty case where "the proof is evident or the presumption great" (Mont. Const. art. II, sec. 21). Bail may not be excessive either (Mont. Const. art. II, sec. 22).

A judge may still deny release before trial if probable cause shows no safeguards are available to make sure the person returns (MCA 46-9-106). The judge considers the charge, criminal history, any record of running, the danger to others, and any probation or parole. A validated risk tool may help (MCA 46-9-109).

The County Attorney is the one who asks for high bail or none. Its office is in the courthouse at 213 Main Street, Scobey, MT 59263, 406-487-2641.

The prosecutor or the defense can apply to have bail changed, as long as the other side gets reasonable notice (MCA 46-9-311). The judge may then increase it, reduce it, swap it or change its terms.

1. Have the defense lawyer put the request in writing and file it in the court handling the case.
2. Collect papers that show a job, a home, local family and the sum you can truly afford. The law bars oppressive bail and tells the judge to weigh the person's means (MCA 46-9-301).
3. Propose rules that answer the judge's worries, for example sobriety testing, check-ins, or a promise to have no contact with the alleged victim.

For a Justice Court case, call 406-487-5432 to ask how a bail hearing is scheduled. Felony cases are handled through the Clerk of District Court, 406-487-2651.

Right at the first hearing, the judge must mention the right to a lawyer (MCA 46-7-102). Montana's public defender office can be appointed for any felony, for youth cases, and for a misdemeanor if jail is a possible sentence.

To qualify, the household's gross income must not top 133% of the poverty guideline, or hiring a private lawyer must cause substantial hardship. A defender can't be refused just because the person posted bail or holds a job (MCA 47-1-111). The person swears to a statement of income and assets. A judge then signs off on the result or turns it down.

• Regional office for this county: Office of State Public Defender, 100 1/2 S. Merrill, Suite 3, Glendive, MT 59330, 406-987-6010
• Online form: advopd.mt.gov. Attach your latest pay stubs and bank records.
• Program home page: Montana Public Defender

Nearly every local court office is on Main Street in Scobey:

• Justice Court, which also serves as Scobey City Court: 213 Main Street, Scobey, MT 59263, 406-487-5432. Misdemeanors and first felony hearings.
• Clerk of District Court: 213 Main Street, Scobey, MT 59263, 406-487-2651. Felonies and youth cases.
• District judge's chambers, 15th Judicial District, which covers this county plus Roosevelt and Sheridan: 217 Main Street, Scobey, MT 59263, 406-487-2738.
• Fort Peck Tribal Court for reservation cases: 807 Court Avenue, Poplar, MT 59255, 406-768-2400.
• Federal court: Missouri River Federal Courthouse, 125 Central Avenue West, Suite 110, Great Falls, MT 59404, 406-727-1922.

Part of the Fort Peck Reservation, home of the Assiniboine and Sioux Tribes, lies inside the county. The county counts about 33,290 acres of tribal land. The state's Indian law page says the Fort Peck Tribal Court has power over all offenses committed by an Indian within the reservation.

So if your loved one is Indian and the arrest happened on reservation land, the case may go to tribal court instead of the Justice Court. Release in that case follows the tribal court's own rules.

• Fort Peck Tribal Court: 807 Court Avenue, Poplar, MT 59255, 406-768-2400. Mail goes to P.O. Box 1027.
• Tribal headquarters: 501 Medicine Bear Road, Poplar, MT 59255, 406-768-2300.

If you can't tell which court has the case, call the Sheriff's Office at 406-487-2691 and the tribal court, and ask both.

If every hearing was attended and the case is closed, the court hands the cash back to the person who deposited it (MCA 46-9-502). Court rules allow a refund only in the depositor's name. Keep the receipt and bring ID.

Miss a hearing, and the bail can be declared forfeited. Notice must go by mail to the defendant and to any surety within 10 working days. Without that notice, the bond becomes void (MCA 46-9-503).

• For 90 days after that, the person can be brought in, or a good excuse given, and the judge may wipe out the forfeiture.
• Lost misdemeanor cash ends up in the local city or county treasury. Lost felony cash goes to the state (MCA 46-9-511).
• A judge may direct forfeited money to a crime victim as restitution (MCA 46-9-512).
• After a conviction, a bail agent's bond must be released within 30 days (MCA 46-9-121).

Ask about a refund at whichever court has the money. The Justice Court's number is 406-487-5432.

Personal items taken at booking stay with the jail that booked the person. Before release, call that jail, for example Glasgow at 406-228-4333, extension 2. Ask when the items can be collected, how unused account money is refunded, and whether a signed note is needed for you to pick things up. Carry a photo ID.

A car is a separate matter. If the Sheriff's Office had it towed, its fee list shows $125 for the tow plus $25 a day for storage. Call 406-487-2691 to learn where the vehicle is. Our inmate money page covers deposits and refunds in general.

A federal charge from here goes to the Great Falls Division, part of the U.S. District Court for the District of Montana. The courthouse is the Missouri River Federal Courthouse, 125 Central Avenue West, Suite 110, Great Falls, MT 59404, 406-727-1922. The clerk keeps weekday hours of 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

• At the first court date, the federal judge decides whether the person is detained or released, unless a lawyer asks for a few more days (18 U.S.C. 3142).
• U.S. Probation and Pretrial Services writes a report for the judge. Its nearest office is at 312 Railroad Alley N., Glasgow, MT 59230, 406-228-4682.
• Federal defendants waiting for trial stay in U.S. Marshals Service custody. Its Montana headquarters can say where the person is: 406-200-6004.
• Look up the court file on PACER. Once the person is sentenced to prison, the Federal Bureau of Prisons inmate locator shows where.

Not at all. State bail and an ICE detainer are two separate things. The usual steps:

1. ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) files Form I-247A, called a detainer, with the jail.
2. That form lets the jail keep the person for up to 48 hours after they would otherwise be released (8 CFR 287.7(d)).
3. Under Montana law, an officer holding the detainer must arrest on it and let the person know why. Anyone who offers believable papers showing they are a U.S. citizen or are lawfully in the country must not be held on it (MCA 27-16-801).
4. ICE then takes custody. Montana is part of the area served by ICE's Salt Lake City Field Office, 2975 Decker Lake Drive, Suite 100, West Valley City, UT 84119, 801-736-1200. The Billings check-in office handles this corner of the state: 2900 4th Avenue, Suite 205, Billings, MT 59101, 406-247-4083.
5. Use the ICE Online Detainee Locator with the person's A-number, or their exact name and birth country.

Felony sentences to state custody fall under the Montana Department of Corrections. Until state staff finish an assessment, the person normally stays in a county jail. Then the state assigns a spot that fits: prison, a treatment program or a prerelease center.

• On the state's offender search, try the person's name or DOC number.
• For visiting and mail rules at each facility, see the Montana state prisons guide on our site.
• Parole cases are decided by the state parole board, the Board of Pardons and Parole, 1002 Hollenbeck Road, Deer Lodge, MT 59722, 406-846-1404.

Montana's Youth Court Act covers anyone not yet 18. Their cases are heard in Youth Court, where the district judge presides (MCA 41-5-203). An adult jail may hold a youth only briefly. It can be a few hours for booking, never overnight. Outside cities, the wait for a hearing may stretch to 24 hours, with weekends and holidays left off the clock, as long as the youth is kept completely out of sight and hearing of adult inmates (MCA 41-5-349).

• If a youth is locked in detention, a judge must look at probable cause within 24 hours (weekend days and holidays aren't counted) (MCA 41-5-332).
• A youth may be released on bail, and the judge must weigh what the parents can afford (MCA 41-5-323).
• For the youth's location and court date, call the juvenile probation officer at 406-653-6263.