Fergus County Detention Center Inmate Bail & Bonds

Bail is always a judge's decision. Montana law gives no set hour count. It says the person must see a nearby judge "without unnecessary delay" (MCA 46-7-101). That judge must settle release at the very first appearance (MCA 46-9-109).

Nearly every first appearance here takes place at the Justice/City Court, County Complex, 121 8th Avenue South, Lewistown, MT 59457, 406-535-5418. Its judge hears county charges and city charges alike, with appearances held weekdays from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. The person can stand in the courtroom or join by two-way video from the jail (MCA 46-9-206).

A felony later moves to the Tenth Judicial District Court. The same bail follows the case there, though the district judge may raise it, cut it or trade it for another kind (MCA 46-9-201).

Yes. Montana tells judges to use the least restrictive terms that will still get the person to court (MCA 46-9-108). Release can take any of these forms:

• Own recognizance. A signed promise to appear, with no money paid (MCA 46-9-111).
• Rules instead of money. Going home under orders like a curfew, no drinking, no weapons, reporting in, or keeping clear of the alleged victim.
• Cash deposit. The court receives every dollar of the bail and keeps it until the case closes.
• Commercial bond. For a fee, an agent with a state license guarantees the whole sum.
• Personal sureties. The defendant plus two qualified people sign a written undertaking (MCA 46-9-401).
• Property. Montana real estate with enough debt-free value may be pledged.
• License in place of bail. On some traffic offenses, an officer may hold the driver's license.

Where monitoring gear exists, judges are expected to use it for charges like felony stalking or a repeat partner assault. The court can make the person cover that cost.

Each bond is the judge's call. The Detention Center roster usually shows it beside each charge, as a dollar figure or the words "No Bond." Justice and city judges can look at a guide the Montana Supreme Court puts out, the Recommended Bond Schedule. Judges treat it as advice, so the real number may differ. A sample of 2026 amounts, surcharges included:

• Truancy: $135, with a required court appearance
• Misdemeanor assault causing bodily injury: $585, and a judge must see the person
• Boating under the influence: $335
• Unlawful gambling, a second time in 5 years: $750, or a third time: $1,500
• Deliberate homicide and the other felonies on the list: "NO BOND," so a judge picks the figure

Five kinds of charges skip the schedule entirely: partner or family member assault, strangulation of a partner, stalking, and violating a no-contact order or an order of protection. Every one of these needs a judge first (MCA 46-9-302). Call 406-535-5418 for the bail in a particular case.

Sometimes. A deputy or detention officer can collect bail for the judge in two cases: when a posted schedule sets the amount, or when the warrant names it. Either way, you get a signed receipt (MCA 46-9-302). The jail uses the Sheriff's Office address, 121 8th Avenue South, Lewistown, MT 59457. Before you go:

1. Phone 406-535-3415, or the toll-free line, 877-361-3014.
2. Spell the person's name, give their birth date, and ask the bond for each charge.
3. Find out which payment types are taken today and the exact name to put on a money order.
4. Ask whether a judge must hold a hearing first, as the law requires for partner assault.
5. Bring a photo ID plus the exact payment, and hang on to your receipt.

The office keeps weekday hours of 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. At night or on weekends, call before you make the drive.

The Detention Center roster puts a bond or a status next to each charge. Here is what the common notes mean in plain words:

• A dollar amount. This is the bail set for that charge. A few entries add a GPS monitor to the money.
• No Bond. No amount is set right now, so paying money will not free the person on that charge.
• DOC Hold. State corrections has a hold on the person.
• Serving Time or Pending Sentencing. The person is doing a jail sentence or is waiting to be sentenced.
• Courtesy Hold. The jail is keeping the person for another court or agency.
• Bond Runs Concurrent. The bond is linked to another one on the list. Ask staff how that changes the total.
• ICE Detainer or a U.S. Marshals hold. A federal agency wants the person. The federal and ICE answers below explain these.

The roster prints the date it was last updated. If the notes don't match what you have been told, call 406-535-3415.

It can. Under the statewide rules for justice and city courts, bail from a judge's posted schedule may be paid at the court's counter during business hours, except on days the court is closed. Ask the amount and the accepted payment types before you go.

• Justice/City Court (county misdemeanors, city charges, first felony appearances): County Complex, 121 8th Avenue South, Lewistown, MT 59457, 406-535-5418, email justicecourt.fergus@mt.gov
• Clerk of District Court (felonies): 712 W. Main Street, Suite 303, Lewistown, MT 59457, 406-535-5026, Monday to Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

Ask the clerk one more thing: will the jail release the person once you pay, or is something else holding them?

The Justice Court has an online payment page that takes cards. It handles fines, fees, time payments and forfeited bonds. Have the ticket or citation number ready, and expect a 5% convenience fee on top.

For bail on someone in the jail right now, start with a phone call. Ask the Sheriff's Office at 406-535-3415 what it accepts right now. A money order or cash is usually the safe bet. Pay staff at the jail or the court only, ask for a receipt every time, and never put cash in an envelope.

"Surety bail bond insurance producer" is the long legal name Montana uses for a bail agent. The state's Commissioner of Securities and Insurance issues each license once the agent passes a 16-hour basic course (MCA 33-17-1602). A few things to understand first:

• The agent's fee pays for the service and does not come back to you.
• Agents often want collateral, like the title to a truck or a deed. Get the return terms in writing.
• A commercial bond is an appearance bond only. Fines and restitution can't be taken from it (MCA 46-9-503).
• An agent may arrest a client who skips court. Except in an emergency, the agent must alert local police beforehand (MCA 46-6-508).
• Montana bars attorneys, and anyone with power to grant bail, from serving as a surety (MCA 46-9-402).
• Look up any agent on the NAIC licensee search.

Bail covers one case only. Call the jail at 406-535-3415 and ask about every hold before you pay. Watch for these:

• Courtesy holds and outside warrants. The roster often includes people kept for courts elsewhere in Montana. A judge here cannot set bail when the warrant comes from another jurisdiction (MCA 46-9-201).
• Extradition. Someone brought back from another state on a warrant waits to appear before the judge who issued it (MCA 46-9-105).
• DOC Hold. State corrections staff decide when these end.
• Separate city and county cases. Each one can need its own bail.
• Federal and ICE holds. Read the federal and immigration answers below.

Rarely. The state Constitution promises bail for every charge except a capital crime where "the proof is evident or the presumption great" (Mont. Const. art. II, sec. 21). It also forbids excessive bail (Mont. Const. art. II, sec. 22).

Even so, if a judge finds probable cause that no reasonable safeguards would bring the person back, the judge may keep them in jail until trial (MCA 46-9-106). Factors include the charge itself, prior record, drug or alcohol problems, any history of fleeing, the risk to others and any probation or parole. The court may also use a tested risk score (MCA 46-9-109).

The County Attorney's Office handles the state's side of bail hearings. It is at 801 W. Broadway St., Lewistown, MT 59457, 406-535-8127.

A motion is the way. Either side may ask the court to lower or raise bail, swap its form, change the conditions or revoke it (MCA 46-9-311), and the other side must be told in advance.

1. Ask the defense attorney to put the request in a written motion.
2. Bring papers showing steady work, a home in the area, close family and years spent in the community. Montana bail has to consider a person's ability to pay and can't be oppressive (MCA 46-9-301).
3. Suggest safeguards the judge might accept instead, like alcohol testing or a monitoring device (MCA 46-9-108).

Justice/City Court cases: 406-535-5418. Felony cases: Clerk of District Court, 406-535-5026.

The judge raises it at the first appearance. The person hears that they may have a lawyer, and that one will be appointed if they can't pay (MCA 46-7-102). Montana's Office of State Public Defender covers felony cases, misdemeanors that carry possible jail time and youth court matters.

A person can get one if household income sits at 133% of the poverty line or below, or when the cost of a private lawyer would leave them in hardship. The person signs a sworn statement about money, and the court reviews the result. Turning someone down only because they work, or only because they could post bail, is not allowed (MCA 47-1-111). The Justice Court notes that a person may be ordered to repay part of what a public defender costs.

• Lewistown office: Office of State Public Defender, 505 W. Main St, Lewistown, MT 59457, 406-535-3703
• Fill out the AdvOPD application online, with recent pay stubs and bank statements nearby
• General details: publicdefender.mt.gov

Two courts in Lewistown handle state charges, and federal cases go to Great Falls.

• Tenth Judicial District Court (felonies and youth cases), Clerk of District Court, 712 W. Main Street, Suite 303, Lewistown, MT 59457, 406-535-5026. A single district judge covers this county plus two neighbors, Judith Basin and Petroleum.
• Justice/City Court (lesser crimes, city charges and early felony hearings), County Complex, 121 8th Avenue South, Lewistown, MT 59457, 406-535-5418.
• Federal court (federal charges), Missouri River Federal Courthouse, 125 Central Avenue West, Suite 110, Great Falls, MT 59404, 406-727-1922.

The towns of Moore, Denton, Winifred and Grass Range don't hold court. Charges from those towns are filed at the Justice/City Court.

When every court date is kept, the cash goes back once the case is over (MCA 46-9-502). Statewide court rules say a bond goes back only to whoever deposited it, so keep the receipt and bring ID.

Skipping a hearing allows the judge to declare the bail forfeited. The defendant and any surety must be sent written notice of the forfeiture. The deadline is 10 working days, and a late notice voids the bond (MCA 46-9-503). The Justice Court adds that missing court can lead to an arrest warrant and a license suspension.

• The forfeiture can be set aside if, within 90 days, the person returns or gives the judge an acceptable excuse.
• A forfeited misdemeanor deposit goes into the local city or county treasury. A forfeited felony deposit goes to the state's general fund (MCA 46-9-511).
• The court may also apply forfeited bail to a victim's losses (MCA 46-9-512).

Ask the court that holds the money about a refund. For the Justice/City Court, that number is 406-535-5418.

Items taken at booking stay in the jail's storage until release. Call 406-535-3415 on a weekday during office hours. Ask when items can be picked up and how any balance on the inmate account is refunded. Bring photo ID. If you are collecting for the person, find out if the jail wants their written permission. Our inmate money page covers how jail accounts tend to work.

The Great Falls Division of the U.S. District Court for the District of Montana takes federal cases from here. Its clerk works from the Missouri River Federal Courthouse, 125 Central Avenue West, Suite 110, Great Falls, MT 59404, 406-727-1922, on weekdays from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

• At the first appearance, a federal judge decides between release and detention. The hearing can be put off only a few days (18 U.S.C. 3142).
• Federal prisoners can be kept in the Lewistown jail, because the county signed an agreement with the U.S. Marshals Service. A person held this way may show a Marshals hold on the roster. The Marshals' Montana headquarters answers at 406-200-6004.
• The judge gets a background report from U.S. Probation and Pretrial Services in Great Falls, 406-453-4461.
• Court filings are on PACER. After sentencing, check the Federal Bureau of Prisons inmate locator.

Yes. Paying state bail leaves an immigration detainer untouched. The usual steps:

1. ICE gives the jail a detainer request, Form I-247A. On the roster this can appear as an ICE detainer.
2. The jail can then hold the person up to 48 hours after they would otherwise be released (8 CFR 287.7(d)).
3. Officers in Montana must act on the detainer and let the person know about it. Credible papers proving U.S. citizenship or lawful status end the duty to hold them (MCA 27-16-801).
4. For this county, ICE's Billings check-in office is at 2900 4th Avenue, Suite 205, Billings, MT 59101, 406-247-4083. ICE's Salt Lake City Field Office oversees Montana from 2975 Decker Lake Drive, Suite 100, West Valley City, UT 84119, 801-736-1200.
5. Use the ICE Online Detainee Locator, entering the full name and birth country.

Felony sentences to state custody are carried out by the Montana Department of Corrections. Right after sentencing, the person usually stays at the Lewistown jail while the state assesses and classifies them, and the roster may list a DOC hold. Then the state picks a prison, a prerelease program or a treatment setting.

• Use the Montana offender search with a name or DOC number.
• Each prison's visit and mail rules: see our Montana state prison listings.
• Parole questions: Board of Pardons and Parole, 1002 Hollenbeck Road, Deer Lodge, MT 59722, 406-846-1404.

In Montana, anyone under 18 counts as a youth. Youth Court, a part of District Court, normally takes their cases (MCA 41-5-203). Adult jails can hold a youth only briefly. A booking stay is capped at 6 hours and may never last overnight. In a rural county, the limit while waiting for a hearing is 24 hours, skipping weekend days and holidays, and the youth must be kept apart from adults by sight and sound (MCA 41-5-349).

• The probable cause hearing for a detained youth has to happen within 24 hours, and weekend days and legal holidays don't count toward that (MCA 41-5-332).
• Bail is possible for a youth. The amount should reflect the money the youth's family has (MCA 41-5-323).
• Call Juvenile Probation, 523 W Main St, Lewistown, MT 59457, 406-535-9242, to ask where the youth is and when the hearing is set. It is open weekdays from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. After hours, call law enforcement.