Lake County Detention Facility Inmate Bail & Bonds

Most often, the Justice Court judge. Under state law, police must bring an arrested person before the closest judge "without unnecessary delay" (MCA 46-7-101). Release or jail gets settled at that very first hearing (MCA 46-9-109), which may happen over video from the jail (MCA 46-9-206).

Most state cases begin in Justice Court at the county courthouse, 106 4th Avenue E, Polson, MT 59860, 406-883-7259. The court says this is where most felony suspects make their first appearance and have bail set. Its office keeps weekday hours, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

Tickets from inside a town can go to the Polson or Ronan city court, or to the St. Ignatius town court. If District Court takes over a felony, the amount set below stays in force until the district judge decides to raise, cut or replace it (MCA 46-9-201).

It can. The Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes, known as CSKT, govern the Flathead Reservation, and it covers much of the county. For more than 30 years, misdemeanors there by tribal members, including members of other tribes, have belonged only to the Tribes. Tribal officers book those people into the tribal jail in Pablo, and CSKT Tribal Court decides on bail. State charges run through the county jail and the county courts.

Felonies are shared. The Tribes may file one, the state may file it through the County Attorney, and now and then federal prosecutors take it. Since 2023 the county and the Tribes have been at odds over paying for reservation felony work. SB 393, a 2025 state law, set aside money for those costs and blocks the county from backing out any further until June 1, 2027 at the earliest.

Not sure which side has the person? Phone both jails:

• County jail in Polson: 406-883-7272
• Tribal jail lobby: 406-675-2700 (ask for the tribal jail or tribal police booking)

In Montana, judges aim for the lightest terms that keep the public safe and still bring the defendant back to court (MCA 46-9-108). Options include:

• Own recognizance. The person promises in writing to come back. No money is paid (MCA 46-9-111).
• Conditions. Going home under limits, for example sobriety, no firearms, a curfew or a ban on contacting the alleged victim.
• Cash. Someone pays the court the entire amount up front, and it sits with the court until the case is done.
• Commercial bond. The family pays an agent's fee, and the agent's company covers the full bail.
• Real estate. Montana land can secure the bail if the owner's equity, after any loans, is large enough (MCA 46-9-401).
• Two sureties. Two qualified people join the defendant in signing a written undertaking.
• License in lieu. On certain traffic charges, an officer may keep the driver's license instead of cash.

Where a monitor is on hand, the law expects one for charges such as felony stalking or assaulting a partner for the second time.

The county is one of five test sites for the Pretrial Program run by Montana's court system. Butte-Silver Bow, Lewis and Clark, Missoula and Yellowstone are the other four. When someone is arrested and kept in jail, the program scores their case with a tool called the Public Safety Assessment.

• The score reaches the judge, the prosecutor and the defense at least two hours ahead of court.
• It points to a level of follow-up, ranging from simple court reminders to sit-downs with a case manager twice a month.
• Whatever the score, the decision stays with the judge.

The state's PSA coordinator office takes questions at 406-841-2963. The program lists a deputy county attorney here as its local contact, at 406-883-7247.

Justice and city courts use a statewide guide, the Recommended Bond Schedule, approved each edition by the Montana Supreme Court. The book is labeled "recommended only," so the judge can pick a higher or lower figure. Surcharges are built in. Some 2026 amounts:

• Misdemeanor assault that causes bodily injury: $585 (the person must go before a judge)
• Giving alcohol to anyone younger than 21: $535 (must go before a judge)
• Boat operation while impaired: $335
• Illegal gambling, first offense within 5 years: $535
• Insurance fraud up to $1,500: $285 (judge appearance needed)
• Felonies: left blank, so a judge chooses the number

Certain charges skip the book entirely. No schedule bail is allowed for stalking, for injuring or strangling a partner or relative, or for breaking a protection order or no-contact order. In each of those, a judge decides first (MCA 46-9-302). To hear the real figure in a case, phone the jail at 406-883-7272.

The jail is inside the county courthouse at 106 4th Avenue E, Polson, MT 59860. Its door on the west side of the building doubles as the courthouse's wheelchair entrance. Booking and release go through a control officer at the front desk. State law allows a jailer to take bail for the judge if the figure appears on the warrant itself or on a bail schedule the court has posted, and a signed receipt must be handed over (MCA 46-9-302).

1. Phone 406-883-7272 before leaving. Detention officers work every shift.
2. Read off the person's legal name and birthday, or the Jacket number printed on the roster.
3. Ask the amount on each charge, and whether a judge has ruled yet.
4. Ask which payment kinds the jail is taking that day, and how to make out a money order.
5. Carry photo ID and the precise sum, and hold on to your receipt.

Anyone booked for partner assault, stalking or a protection order violation sees a judge before any bail can be paid.

Usually. Montana's court rules let people pay scheduled bail at the court's own counter in business hours, any day the court is in session. Every court hangs its bail schedule in that office. Call ahead to check the amount and how they take payment.

• Justice Court: 106 4th Avenue E, Polson, MT 59860, 406-883-7259. Weekdays, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
• Clerk of District Court (felonies): 106 4th Avenue E, Room 301, Polson, MT 59860, 406-883-7256. Weekdays, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
• Polson City Court: 106 1st Street East, Polson, MT 59860, 406-883-8212. Office business Monday to Thursday, 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
• Ronan City Court: 207 Main Street SW, Suite B, Ronan, MT 59864, 406-676-0211.
• St. Ignatius Municipal Court: 12 1st Ave., St. Ignatius, MT 59865, 406-745-3791, which is the town office line.

Two city courts accept cards over the internet. Both are meant for tickets and citation bonds, not for getting someone released from the jail:

• Polson City Court takes fines and the bond on a citation by credit or debit card through the City Court Online Payment link on its court page. After hours, a fine drop box waits to the right of the City Hall entrance.
• Ronan City Court accepts bonds for most traffic tickets on CitePay, beginning 7 days after the ticket and ending at the first court date. It also takes payment by mail or at the counter.

For bail at the jail, ring 406-883-7272 and find out which payment forms staff will accept before you set out. CSKT Tribal Court takes its fees only through a money order or a cashier's check payable to "CSKT Tribal Court." Don't send cash through the mail.

The legal title for a bail agent here is "surety bail bond insurance producer." Each one has to carry a state license, issued through the Commissioner of Securities and Insurance (MCA 33-17-1601). Points to weigh:

• The agent's fee is not refunded. What you buy is the agent's guarantee of the full bail to the court.
• Some agents ask for collateral, maybe a pickup's title. Make sure the paperwork spells out when you get it back.
• The bond guarantees appearance in court and nothing else. Fines and restitution can't be taken out of it (MCA 46-9-503).
• An agent whose client skips court may arrest that client, and outside emergencies must alert local police beforehand (MCA 46-6-508).
• Lawyers are barred from serving as a surety (MCA 46-9-402).
• Look up any agent with the NAIC licensee lookup before signing.

Bail clears only its own case. The roster has a column headed charges and hold reasons, which is the first place to look. Holds people run into here:

• Probation or parole. A state officer can detain someone over a suspected violation. On the roster this appears as 46-23-1012.
• An outside warrant. Since 2025, local judges can't grant bail on a warrant from another jurisdiction (MCA 46-9-201). Someone extradited back to Montana must appear first before the judge who signed that warrant (MCA 46-9-105).
• Two cases at once. A Polson city charge and a county charge, for example, are bailed separately.
• Federal or ICE holds. Later answers on this page walk through both.

Have jail staff at 406-883-7272 go through every hold with you before any money changes hands.

Only in narrow cases. Montana's Constitution promises bail except in a capital case where "the proof is evident or the presumption great" (Mont. Const. art. II, sec. 21), and it bans excessive bail (Mont. Const. art. II, sec. 22).

Even so, the judge may keep a defendant jailed before trial on probable cause that no safeguard would bring them back (MCA 46-9-106). The weighing covers the offense, criminal history, earlier flight from court or supervision, risk to others and local roots (MCA 46-9-109).

Arguments for the state at bail hearings come from the County Attorney's Office, on the courthouse's third floor at 106 4th Avenue E, Polson, MT 59860, 406-883-7245.

Either side may ask the court to change the bail. It can go up or down, be swapped for another kind, or come with new rules. The other side must get fair warning first (MCA 46-9-311).

1. The defense lawyer puts the request in writing and files it with whichever court holds the case.
2. Bring the lawyer pay stubs, a rental lease, notes from relatives and a household budget. State law says bail can't be oppressive. The court must also think about what the person can afford (MCA 46-9-301).
3. Propose terms that ease the judge's concerns, such as pretrial check-ins.

In a Justice Court case, ask at 406-883-7259 how a bail hearing is set. For felony cases, phone the Clerk of District Court at 406-883-7256.

Right at the first appearance, the person must be told they may have a lawyer (MCA 46-7-102). In state court, Montana's public defender office represents people facing felonies, jailable misdemeanors and youth court cases. Someone qualifies when the family's gross income is no higher than 133% of the poverty mark, or when a private lawyer would cause substantial hardship. A job or the means to post bail can't by itself be grounds for denial (MCA 47-1-111).

• Office of State Public Defender, 50183 US Highway 93, Polson, MT 59860, 406-883-6080
• Applications go through the public defender's online form.
• In tribal court, the CSKT Tribal Defenders Office, 42487 Complex Blvd, Pablo, MT 59855, 406-675-2700, ext. 1125, represents adults and youths who meet its income limits from the first hearing on.

Most state courts share the county courthouse in Polson, so check the room or office before you go.

• Twentieth Judicial District Court (felonies), 106 4th Avenue E, Polson, MT 59860. Its two judges also cover Sanders County. Department 1: 406-883-7250. Department 2: 406-883-7360.
• Justice Court (misdemeanors and first felony hearings), same building, 406-883-7259.
• City and town courts in Polson, Ronan and St. Ignatius, listed in the court window answer above.
• CSKT Tribal Court, 42487 Complex Blvd., Pablo, MT 59855, 406-675-2700, ext. 1110. Open Monday to Thursday, 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
• Federal court, Russell Smith Federal Courthouse, 201 E. Broadway, Suite 310, Missoula, MT 59802, 406-542-7260.

After the case wraps up, provided the defendant showed up for every hearing, the court hands back the cash deposit (MCA 46-9-502). Under Montana's justice and city court rules, the money goes back only to the person who deposited it. Keep your receipt and ID.

Missing court can cost the deposit, because the judge may order it forfeited. Unless notice reaches the defendant and the sureties by mail within 10 working days, the forfeiture fails and the bond is let go (MCA 46-9-503).

• A 90-day window follows the forfeiture. If the person turns up with a good reason, or a surety returns them, the judge may cancel the penalty.
• Lost cash from a misdemeanor case is kept by the town or county treasury that took it. In felony cases, the state general fund gets it (MCA 46-9-511).
• The court can also hand forfeited bail to a victim to repay losses (MCA 46-9-512).

Ask about a refund at whichever court received the money. For Justice Court, that's 406-883-7259.

Belongings taken during booking are held by the jail until the person walks out. Phone 406-883-7272 before the trip to the courthouse. Ask when items can be collected, how any remaining account balance is refunded, and whether the person must sign something allowing you to pick up for them. Bring photo ID. Deposits and refunds on jail accounts are explained on our money page.

Federal charges here are handled in Missoula, by that division of the U.S. District Court for the District of Montana. Its clerk works out of the Russell Smith Federal Courthouse, 201 E. Broadway, Suite 310, Missoula, MT 59802, 406-542-7260, weekdays 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Some serious crimes on the reservation are brought by federal prosecutors.

• The detention hearing happens when the person first appears before the federal court. The lawyers can push it back only a few days (18 U.S.C. 3142).
• Federal prisoners awaiting trial are the Marshals' responsibility. The U.S. Marshals Service office for Montana, 406-200-6004, can say where someone is housed.
• The Missoula branch of U.S. Probation and Pretrial Services prepares release reports, 406-542-7100.
• After sentencing, use the Federal Bureau of Prisons inmate locator. Federal case files sit on PACER.

No. Posting bail on the state case leaves an immigration detainer in place. The steps:

1. Federal immigration agents lodge a detainer on Form I-247A.
2. With that request in hand, the jail can keep the person up to 48 hours after they would otherwise be released (8 CFR 287.7(d)).
3. Montana requires officers to arrest on the detainer and explain the reason, unless the person offers believable proof of being a U.S. citizen or lawfully present (MCA 27-16-801).
4. ICE's Salt Lake City Field Office then takes custody, since its area includes Montana: 2975 Decker Lake Drive, Suite 100, West Valley City, UT 84119, 801-736-1200.
5. Look for the person on the ICE Online Detainee Locator, using their full name and birth country.

A felony commitment to state custody means the Montana Department of Corrections takes over. Usually the person waits in the Polson jail while state staff assess them. Then they are placed at a prison, in prerelease or in a treatment program, depending on their needs.

• The Montana offender search looks people up by name or by DOC number.
• Each facility has a section in our Montana state prisons guide.
• The Board of Pardons and Parole handles parole hearings: 1002 Hollenbeck Road, Deer Lodge, MT 59722, 406-846-1404.

Montana law calls a person under 18 a youth. Youth Court, which sits inside District Court, hears their cases (MCA 41-5-203). The jail keeps one room for brief youth holds. A youth may stay there no more than 24 hours, weekends and holidays aside, and only while waiting on a probable cause hearing, fully apart from adults by sight and sound (MCA 41-5-349). After that the youth goes home or to a youth detention center.

• Any youth held in detention gets a probable cause review by a judge within one day; weekends and holidays don't count (MCA 41-5-332).
• Youths can get bail, and the court has to weigh the parents' finances (MCA 41-5-323).
• Juvenile Probation, at 406-883-7264, can tell parents where the youth is held and the hearing date. It also covers Sanders County.
• Tribal youth cases go to the youth court that is part of CSKT Tribal Court.